A2Politico: The Washtenaw County Democratic Party’s Voter Suppression Must Stop

by P.D. Lesko

For the past several years, Chris Savage has chaired the Washtenaw County Democratic Party (WCDP). Let’s begin by acknowledging that there are plenty of good, honest people who belong to the group and who volunteer. A Dexter resident, Chris used to get paid to write for A2Indy. I saw his blog way back when and I really liked his smart style and his choice of topics. I still do. Chris and his wife Anne fight the good fight. Chris wrote for me until he made a homophobic joke on social media about a Michigan legislator. Then, he didn’t write for me. Chris tried to explain that because he was a bisexual man the joke wasn’t offensive. Homophobia is unacceptable. Period. Chris also told me he was finding it difficult to stand up to the pressure of Ann Arbor Democrats who didn’t like what he was writing for me. Chris never understood the importance of revealing the truth regardless of whether the politician was a Republican, Independent or a Democrat, with one noted exception in 2021.

For the past several years, Chris has chaired the WCDP. Unlike the Ann Arbor Democratic Club, the County Dems are officially affiliated with the Michigan Democratic Party. The WCDP has Bylaws and that’s a good thing. Chris, and other members of the Executive Committee, however, have been openly flaunting those Bylaws in ways that are undemocratic with a small and capital d. They have been behaving as if the WCDP were their own club, where they get to decide who is a loyal and good enough Democrat to run. Just to be clear, the WCDP Bylaws explicitly state the group can’t demand any “loyalty test” of Democrats or, worse still, use their positions as WCDP board members to manipulate voters.

The WCDP recently sent out a “statement” to voters in which the group openly endorsed a primary candidate. Chris donated $250 to the same candidate and Chris’s photo is on the candidate’s website. He is identified there not as a freelance writer, but rather as a “democratic organizer” and a “community leader.” Community leader? He’s the Chair of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party. The pretense that Chris the “freelance writer” has endorsed and made the campaign contributions is deceptive. Likewise, WCDP Vice Chair Mary Hall-Thiam has publicly endorsed, and donated to, the same primary candidate. Mary (whom I know) is identified on the candidate’s website as a “Community Activist.” The endorsements of both Chris and Mary certainly imply, or could be perceived by a reasonable person to imply, the backing of the WCDP. Their actions are unethical and violate the group’s Bylaws, below:

Thanks to Chris and Mary’s endorsements and donations in support of a Dem candidate in a primary, the credibility of the WCDP has been damaged. No County voter should look to the WCDP for candidate information. Fortunately, very few do. The group’s YouTube page has candidate election information videos with fewer than 35 views.

Under Savage’s leadership, the group has been run as if it were a private club, where ethically challenged leadership members send around emails in which they strategize about how to torpedo certain candidates whom they feel are not sufficiently “Democratic” for their political tastes. Democrats are supposed to encourage voting, right? After all, voter suppression traces its roots back to post-Civil War America. White people wanted to hang on to their control of the political process after Blacks were given the vote.

Any Democratic political group that works as diligently as the WCDP has recently worked to suppress the vote, is a threat to Democracy, and a huge embarrassment to Democrats. I’ve been told Chris has no plans to seek re-election as Chair of the MCDP. Good. He should resign now. Likewise, Mary Hall-Thiam should step down. They have openly abused their leadership positions, and violated the trust of Dems county-wide. Anti-Democratic thuggery is rampant throughout Michigan, but it should no longer be the modus operandi of the County Democratic Party.