BAY CITY — Area residents looking to learn more of the candidates running for judgeships in Bay County will have their chance Thursday.

From 7 to 9 p.m., the Bay County League of Democratic Women and Men will host a judicial candidate forum. The forum will be held in the community room of St. James Catholic Church, 710 Columbus in Bay City, and will feature all the candidates hoping to win a judgeship in the Nov. 2 general election.

Bay City attorneys Harry P. Gill and Darrin Nichols are running for Bay County circuit judge, with Judge William J. Caprathe set to retire later this year. Dawn A. Klida, who was appointed to replace former Bay County District Judge Craig D. Alston in January, is running unopposed to retain her seat.

Jennifer C. Barnes was appointed to replace Bay County District Judge Scott J. Newcombe, who is slated to retire on May 31. She is running against Bay City attorneys Eric W. Zimostrad, Abel B. Torres, Mark E. Janer and Stevens J. Jacobs.

The forum will allow the candidates to field questions from the public.

Credit: Bay City Times

Gubernatorial Race

State House Speaker Andy Dillon and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has filed 30,000 petition signatures each to get on the Democratic gubernatorial ballot. Andy Dillon submitted his petitions on April 28th and Virg Bernero filed his earlier today. State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith has yet to file any petitions.

1st District Congressional Race

The race to replace Representative Bart Stupak is getting more crowded day by day. State Representative Joel Sheltrown announced in April that he planned on running, however he has since backed out. So far the list of Democratic candidates include Connie Saltonstall and State Representative Matt Gillard. State Representative Gary McDowell has said that he intends to run, however no formal announcement has been made. Contact information and web site links for these candidates can be found on our 2010 candidates page.

As the debate begins to heat up between our three Democratic candidates for governor, we thought it would be fun to see who you plan on supporting in the primary.

Please be reminded that the results of this poll DO NOT constitute an endorsement from the Bay County Democratic Party it is also not meant to be an accurate representation of our party's view on the candidates.

Participants can only vote once.

The Michigan Democratic Party endorsed two candidates this weekend during the party's Endorsement Convention. Candidates were endorsed for the Secretary of State and Attorney General offices.

Both candidates were chosen on Saturday by more than 2,000 party members, who attended the convention at the Cobo Center in Detroit.

Wayne State University law professor, Jocelyn Benson, won the endorsement of the Democratic party by a 95% to 5% margin.

Benson was running against the current Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey.

In the race for Attorney General, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton beat Attorney Richard Bernstein by a very small margin, receiving 52% of the delegate vote compared to 47% that went for Bernstein.

The MDP endorsement doesn’t guarantee that Leyton or Benson will be the ultimate nominee. That decision will come in August when the party meets for the state convention to officially pick their nominees.

Here is the text from his speech, which he delivered today in a press conference in Marquette:

The people of Northern Michigan have provided me with the honor of representing them in Congress for the past 18 years. I am truly grateful for their support.

I have the distinct honor of serving as your Congressman longer than any other member in modern times - longer than Bob Davis, Phil Ruppe, or John Bennett.

When I first ran for Congress in 1992, I campaigned on a pledge to make affordable, quality health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. I promised the people of the First District that I would not accept the insurance that Members of Congress receive – the Federal Employees Health Benefit Package – until all Americans could have access to that same quality of care. For the last 18 years, I have kept that promise.

Since the day I took office, I have fought to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for people throughout Northern Michigan, and across this country. Despite many set backs, in the process and in politics, I never gave up hope, and I never gave in. As a result, we’ve made significant progress.

Today, in Northern Michigan, eleven Community Based Outpatient Veterans Clinics have been established to provide veterans with the care they need and deserve.