Michigan State University - Red Cedar Log Yearbook (East Lansing, MI)

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5 Donald Riegle addresses a rally in the Union Ballroom. was a Michigan resident. Also, many East Lansing residents felt right up to the time of the election that Jimmy Carter was hazy on the issues. Prob- ably the most important factor was the apparent change in student attitudes. No longer were the liberal anti-war rebels charging the political atmo- sphere of the community. There was a new breed of students with a different set of loyalties. Three student precincts: the West Circle wom- en's dormitory area, a coed dormitory complex and a crowded apartment area known as the Riv- er Ghetto went to President Ford by 59, 49, and 54 per cent of the vote. In 1972 George McGovern won all three precincts with 65, 80 and 67 per cent of the vote. The last two national elections have Aaron Sussell gone against the preferences of the student voters, but at least in 1976 the vote was relatively close to the pulse of the nation as a whole. In Michigan, the campaign battles focused on the seat vacated by' Sen. Philip Hart who died of cancer December 26, 1976. Congressman Don- ald Riegle, a Flint Democrat, defeated Ann Arbor Republican Marvin Esch. Riegle captured the Michigan labor vote by a 2-to-1 margin and over- came a 1969 sex scandal which surfaced courtesy of The Detroit News tsee related storyt. Michigan had four statewide proposals on the ballot. The most controversial, yet the only one to win approval, was Proposal A. The bottle bill referendum passed with 63 per cent of the vote

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Dirt, mud and a US. Senate race After a bitter battle including charges and counter-charges of dirty campaign tactics, ruthless attacks on leadership ability and the front-page unveiling of a 1969 extra-marital af- fair, a battered victor emerged to claim the US. Senate seat. Don Riegle, Democrat from Flint, defeated Marvin Esch, Republican from Ann Arbor, in one of the most abusive senate races in the nation. Al- though both men claimed to have had no intention to conduct their cam- paigns with personal assaults, discus- sion of the real issues was clouded by continual mud-slinging. Esch attacked Riegle as a do-noth- ing congressman who had never sponsored or written a bill that had become law. Incidents in Riegle's per- sonal life prompted Esch to describe him as immature, irresponsible and poorly qualified to handle a position of leadership. Riegle retorted to the accusations by charging Esch with running a Nixon-style dirty tricks campaign. He called the Esch advertisements criticizing his pro-busing bills a clas- sic smear. Riegle pointed out that Esch voted in favor of stopping the Nixon impeachment inquiry and sup- ported legislation that would have de- stroyed an emergency jobs bill. Esch, a former professor of speech at Wayne State University, represent- ed the Ann Arbor area as a congress- man for 10 years. He was sometimes referred to as middle Marv, and had a reputation as a solid moderate Re- publican. Riegle, who did graduate work in finance and business at MSU and Harvard, was a Republican congress- man in the Flint area for 10 years. Strong disagreements with the Nixon administration about the Vietnam War and several domestic issues prompted a switch to the Democratic party in 1973. Carlos Sosa, coordinator of the cam- pus Esch campaign, did not expect a favorable response toward his candi- date. When the commercials began the picture brightened up, and for a short while I thought victory was pos- sible, Sosa said. But three or four days after the Detroit News story re- vealed Riegle's affair with an unpaid staff member, we knew we wouldn't win. Sosa felt handicapped from the be- ginning of the campaign because im- portant literature arrived late. As a re- sult, only dorms with fairly conserva- tive voting patterns were leafletted. A mere seven students volunteered time for Esch, and their efforts were con- centrated in Akers, McDonel, Shaw and Landon Halls. There was too lit- tle too late, Sosa said. We didn't have enough literature or money and Waiting 45 minutes to vote was not uncommon on Election day. Here married housing residents wait to vote in the Red Cedar School gymnasium. -s v s a 4'. , z a n. ' 4, , . only a small work force. He was pleasantly surprised that Esch carried 38 per cent of the campus Vote. Sosa credited Esch campaign head- quarters in Lansing for its special in- terest in getting young people in- volved with the party. i'The Demo- crats say 'I'll call you back' when you offer to volunteer, but the Republi- cans are really interested in your sup- port and letting you get involved, Sosa said. Marty McCormick, an MSU stu- dent who arranged a political science internship as a paid staff member for Riegle, was disappointed with only 58 per cent of the campus vote. He cited misdirected newspaper coverage as a reason. All the articles were about the mud-slinging, he said. The is- sues were not adequately covered, es- pecially in the State News. We should have had the coverage Carr and Taylor did. McCormick also felt that Ford pulled a lot of votes for Esch on straight Republican-ticket voting. Riegle stimulated a good student re- sponse and his two campus visits gar- nered student volunteers, resulting in a staff of fifty working with McCor- mick. The combination of an enthusi- astic work force and Riegle's charis- matic personality secured his sound victory. by Karen Houdek Bob Bloom

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Nobel Prize winner Dr. Milton Friedman appears on campus in support of Proposal C. despite massive opposition by the beverage indus- try. Throwaway beverage cans and bottles will be banned in November, 1978 tsee related story on page 341 Other proposals would have lowered the minimum age for running for the legislature from 21 to 18, set a limit on state spending and set a graduated income tax. They all failed by wide margins. Proponents of Proposal C, which advocated an 8.3 per cent limit on state spending, received a shot in the arm when Dr. Milton Friedman ap- peared on campus to support the measure. The announcement of his Nobel Prize in economics came the same day, but despite the added public- ity the proposal was defeated. On the local scene, the voters of the Sixth Dis- trict sent Congressman Bob Carr back to Wash- ington, D.C., when he whipped Republican chalh lenger Clifford W. Taylor by 16,200 votes. In 1974 Ca,rt won by 647 votes isee related story on page 28 . The residents of East Lansing defeated a second attempt to pass a city-wide rent control. The mea- sure failed by 1,800 votes. Campus voters and East Lansing residents also Mike Bissett united to send Democrat H. Lynn Jondahl back to the capital in Lansing as 59th District State Repre- sentative. Jondahl defeated Republican Donald P. Bunka, an Okemos businessman, by 6,200 votes. Although Jondahl was a very popular, liberal leg- islator, Bunka gave him a good fight. Bunka Stickers were seen all over East Lansing. There were also some dramatic changes in the Ingham County public offices. For the first time in county history a Democrat, Lingg Brewer, won the county clerk's race. Brewer defeated Republi- can John Whitmyer by capturing 54 per cent of the vote. And for the first time in 40 years the Republican party lost control of the Ingham County Prosecutor's office. Lansing City Attorney Peter Houk defeated R. David Wilson for the post vacated by Raymond Scodeller. Houk captured 53 per cent of the vote over Wilson, who was the chief assistant prosecutor and Scodeller's hand- picked successor for the post. Ingham County also saw a dramatic change in its governing body, the Board of Commissioners. In 1970, 19 of the 21 commission seats were con- trolled by Republicans. In the 1976 general elec- tion, 17 of the 21 seats went to Democrats.