Hamtramck election results … Updated 11/9/18

Hamtramck 31st District Court Judge Alexis Krot will remain Hamtramck’s District Court Judge.

 

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck voters came out in droves on Election Day (Nov. 6) Tuesday, and remained firmly in support of Democratic candidates – just as they have done for decades.
Voters here also elected Hamtramck 31st District Court Judge Alexis Krot over her opponent John Gorniak, an attorney who moved here last year to enter the race.
Krot won overwhelmingly with 3,390 votes over Gorniak’s 855 votes.
Krot was appointed to the position a year ago by Gov. Rick Snyder after former judge Paul Paruk resigned to take a new job. She will serve out the remaining two years of Paruk’s term.
That means she will be up for re-election again when the term expires in 2020.
The only other local election was for two seats on the Hamtramck Public School Board.
Incumbent Board President Magdalena Srodek coasted into victory, with 3,105 votes, and write-in candidate Jihan Aiyash pulled an upset over current Boardmember Ataur Khan.
Aiyash beat Khan 542 to 290.
Khan initially decided to not seek re-election, but just a few weeks before Tuesday’s vote he changed his mind and registered as a write-in candidate. No one else registered to be a candidate by the deadline to have their name printed on the November ballot.
Aiyash also jumped into the election as a write-in candidate.
In the three state proposals, Hamtramck voters approved two of them – opening up voter registration (proposal 3) and ending gerrymandering (proposal 2).
But voters here defeated legalizing the recreational use of marijuana (proposal 1) by 2,588 to 2,099 votes. That result is curious considering that 10 years ago voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing medical marijuana.
Statewide, all three proposals passed – including the legalization of marijuana for adults 21 years and older. That means despite a majority of Hamtramck voters rejecting recreational use of pot, it will still be legal here in town.
It’s not clear when exactly you can legally light up. State officials still have to work out the details on how to roll out the new law.
Political observers say it will take several months or more before state legislators figure out how to allow the sale of marijuana.
All of the state Democratic candidates in the top races – including the governor – won their elections. That means for the first time in decades Democrats will fill the position of governor, attorney general and secretary of state.
The weather Tuesday first started out sunny, but blustery. As the morning progressed, cloudy skies came in along with rain. And this being Michigan in the fall, the sun broke out occasionally.
But as the day wore on, the weather grew foul.
Despite it all, the Hamtramck voter turnout was over 5,007.
Nationwide, Democrats took control of the US House of Representatives, but Republicans increased their majority in the Senate.

Nov. 7, 2018

This story was updated on Nov. 9, 2018

5 Responses to Hamtramck election results … Updated 11/9/18

  1. Concerned

    November 7, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    “But voters here defeated legalizing the recreational use of marijuana (proposal 1) by 2,588 to 2,099 votes”

    Hopefully city officials will withdraw their lobby-guided ordinances.

  2. Roadman

    November 7, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    “….Jihan Aiyash pulled an upset over current Board- member Ataur Khan.”

    Not a surprise.

    Across the street from one polling place a Yemeni-American was passing out flyers in Arabic and English urging to vote for Judge Krot AND Jihan Aiyash. A copy of a sample ballot with blacked out ovals for endorsed candidates was included also on the flyer.

    No campaign worker for Krot was present.

    Aiyash rode the coattails of Krot and vice-versa.

    Such is local politics in Hamtramck – strange bedfellows indeed.

  3. Resident

    November 12, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    Wondering if Gorniak is going to stay in the city? 🙂

    What a beat down!!!! 20% just what many people predicted.

  4. John Dory

    November 22, 2018 at 10:52 pm

    Does anyone have any idea what was spent by the candidates’ campaigns in the local judicial race between Judge Krot and John Gorniak?

    There was speculation that Alexis Krot’s campaign spent a record amount for a local judicial race in this city.

  5. Roadman

    November 27, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    @John Dory:

    Alexis Krot raised $51,000 and Mr. Gorniak spent about $4,300.

    The vast majority of Krot campaign funding was from donors who were non-residents of Hamtramck.

    The “Keep OUR Judge” signs were ironically chiefly funded by non-resident contributions to her campaign committee – many from affluent suburbs such as Bloomfield Hills and the Grosse Pointe communities.

    Labor unions PACs and non-resident attorneys were major contributors to the Krot campaign.

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