WCC student reflects on racing for Michigan Senate

By Nicholas Ketchum
Staff Writer

Matthew Miller, a current WCC student and Ypsilanti resident, says he has no regrets after an unsuccessful run for public office. Miller, 22, had sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Michigan Senate’s 18th District seat, which is up for grabs in the general election later this November.

The Michigan Senate’s 18th District seat, which represents Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Milan, and adjacent areas, is currently held by Sen. Rebekah Warren, who cannot seek re-election for the Senate due to term limits. She is currently running for the Michigan House of Representatives’s 55th District seat.

Miller said that his drive to work on hard problems is what prompted him to enter the primary contest.

“I’ve always been told—and now I see it in myself—that I find uncommon solutions to unpredictable problems,” he said.

Miller officially launched his campaign when he filed election papers with the Secretary of State last January. Personal friends of Miller’s encouraged him to run for office, and offered in-kind support to his campaign.

Yet before his campaign had even begun, he knew that his underdog candidacy would be nothing less than an extreme long shot. But to Miller, that was no matter.

He had faced a steep fight in the primary against political veterans Michelle Dietrick, and Jeff Irwin, as well as established Ann Arbor business woman Anuja Rajendra. Both Dietrick and Irwin have a record of legislative experience, name recognition and financial support.

Miller was a newcomer to the political scene; unknown to the voting public with only modest resources fueling his campaign. Even so, Miller didn’t let these obstacles discourage him from making waves and attempting an electoral upset.

Although Miller lacked the level of support that his opponents had, he still managed to affect the outcome at the polling booths in the Aug. 7 primaries. “I raised 1.6 percent of the total funds that were raised in the entire race. We got just under 3 percent of the vote. And that was after dropping out on June 29th—after five weeks of no campaigning,” Miller said.

During the campaign, Miller focused his attention mostly on social issues.

One key message that Miller expressed in his campaign was the growing economic divide between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. “Ann Arbor and Ypsi… has one of the greatest wells of disparity when it comes to education and economics and housing,” he said.

Although the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti region is often characterized by both townies and out-of-towners as a hub for progressivism, Miller expresses deep concern that the region suffers from an underlying social inequality and subtle disregard, which many people don’t—or won’t—perceive.

“There’s a level of classism in eastern Washtenaw County that gets brushed underneath the rug,” Miller said. “Our team kind of coined the phrase ‘glass wall’ on U.S. 23 that separates Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. These cities are less than five miles apart. (In Ypsilanti) the average income drops $20,000 a year; the percentage of renters goes up tremendous amounts… and the African-American population is four or five times greater.

“In Ypsi, people loved our message. We were calling for reform in the police departments. We were calling for reform of the criminal justice system and corrections. We were calling for reform of how we fund our schools, and fund them in a more equitable manner.

“The only real issue I would run into is people saying, ‘You have no experience. How do you expect to get any of this done?’”

When asked how he responded to peoples’ skepticism, he chuckled, saying, “It’s a hell of a question.” Then, after a brief pause he added, “The thing is, though, I wouldn’t be alone. There are other Democrats and moderate Republicans who want to move forward.”

Miller has not yet stated whether he plans to seek public office in the future. He has said that he supports Jeff Irwin, who won the August 7th primary and will be included on the general election ballot this November as the Democratic nominee for senate.

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