Assignment:
This is about the Michigan government. State or Local political office. School board elections, city council elections, mayoral elections, state legislative elections, and state-wide elections for Michigan government positions.
MUST BE FROM THE CURRENT ELECTION. THIS MUST BE WRITTEN IN PARTS AS SEEN BELOW.
Part IA: The Candidates (2 to 3 pages)
Name your candidate and the office he or she is running for. Who are/were the other major candidates? Very, very briefly describe the major candidates. (If there were many candidates, discuss only two or three major candidates) What were the one or two (three at most) major issues? How did your candidate get nominated or included on the ballot? For example, some offices require that candidates get citizens' signatures to run, others allow people to pay a fee, for others the candidates are nominated at a party convention, sometimes there's a primary election, sometimes there isn't. Look in the Michigan Manual, your city charter, newspaper articles, ask at your local library for local candidates, also check the county or city clerk's office for specific information-and cite those sources in your reference list.
Part 1B: The Office (2 to 3 pages) Describe the office the candidate is seeking. Be sure to include the following:
1) its powers, (What can the person in this office do?)
2) its benefits, (for example salary, health insurance, legal protection)
3) its limits, (What is the person in this office prohibited from doing-conflicts of interest, etc.), and
4) some history of the office (has it been held by the same candidate/party forever- did the position always exist)? For example: when was the city founded, and has the mayor always been elected in partisan elections?
5) Also, describe how candidates are elected to this office (partisan or nonpartisan elections, the top vote getters out of a long list, two major candidates facing off against each other . . .?