D’Real Graham, write-in candidate for Washtenaw County Prosecutor

I don’t have time to write about the entire episode right now, but, as the election is tomorrow, I wanted to draw your attention to an interview I did a few weeks ago, during episode 51 of the Saturday Six Pack, with Radical Washtenaw co-founder D’Real Graham. Graham, as you may know, has spent the past several months waging an ambitious write-in campaign for the office of County Prosecutor against incumbent Brian Mackie, who, in the opinion of many, has not been as aggressive as he could be when it comes to things like holding police officers accountable for their conduct, and putting programs in place that would seek to reduce the number of local people being sent to jail for non-violent offenses. So, I know it’s late, and the election is tomorrow, but, if you have a moment, please start listening to the following recording, beginning at the 1:27-mark, where you’ll hear Graham and I talk about everything from last year’s police shooting of Ann Arbor’s Aura Rosser, to the four-point plan he’s promised to put in place if elected… Here’s Graham talking with me in the AM 1700 studio.

ssp51dreal

[If you would like to listen to episode 51 of The Saturday Six Pack, you can either download it from iTunes or scroll the bottom of this post, where you’ll find the Soundcloud file embedded.]

Here, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Graham’s four-point plan, is what it entails.

Once elected, D’Real R. Graham will:

1) take the lead in implementing a completely revisioned first-responder protocol

2) steer everyone accused of a non-violent offense into appropriate rehabilitative programs or transformational spaces, rather than jail

3) deconstruct and reimagine—from the ground up, with community direction and concensus—the mission and responsibilities of the Prosecutor’s office

4) prosecute all forms of police misconduct, and require all investigations into police misconduct to be handled by investigators who are in no way associated with or representative of any law enforcement system

This entry was posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Politics, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

11 Comments

  1. Loser Larson
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    But the question is, what will he do about Deja Vu?

  2. Loser Larson
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:18 am | Permalink

    It is fair to bring up the record of people running for office. That Mr. Graham took it upon himself to “protect women” by defacing the private property (regardless of impermanence) of a lawfully operating business was extremely troubling.

    However, the guy deserves respect for trying to make something happen. I wish him the best.

    I probably would not vote for him, but I wish him the best.

  3. Tim
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:19 am | Permalink

    I’d forgotten that he was busted for graffiti on the Vu.

  4. Loser Larson
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:31 am | Permalink

    Apparently, the only place you can read about it is on this blog.

    http://markmaynard.com/2014/06/is-it-time-for-deja-vu-to-go/

    “Apparently no photographic proof exists, but an acquaintance of mine was issued a written warning by Ypsilanti police yesterday after writing “Ypsilanti respects women” and “Ypsilanti doesn’t need a strip club” in liquid chalk on the facade of our local all-nude strip joint, Deja Vu. (See his written warning from the officer below.) He and I have yet to have an opportunity to speak about it in person, but it would seem as though, based on what he’s shared online, that he’s initiating a campaign to have the Washington Street club shut down. At least that’s what it looks like to me, given the fact that he’s publicly reached out to several individuals currently running for elected office in Ypsilanti, asking that they “ban strip clubs from Ypsi’s city limits,” followed by the hashtag #WhatWouldMarthaWashingtonDo… a reference to the fact that the building in question, long before it was a strip joint, was the Martha Washington Theater.

  5. Loser Larson
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:33 am | Permalink

    Granted, he isn’t running for prosecutor based on a platform of shutting Deja Vu down.

  6. Anonymous
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 7:14 am | Permalink

    I believe, based on the interview, he’s focusing elsewhere these days.

  7. iRobert
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 9:25 am | Permalink

    Does he explain why he didn’t file in time to have his name on the ballot?

  8. Lynne
    Posted November 8, 2016 at 11:58 am | Permalink

    I voted for him!

    I also hadn’t realized what a celeb Mark Maynard is. LOL. I saw him leaving the polling place and then people up and down the line were whispering “I think that was Mark Maynard” and then I suggested to the lady next to me that it could have been OR it could have been an Mark Maynard impersonator. LOL.

  9. Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:06 pm | Permalink

    There are a number of Mark Maynard decoys who wander around the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor area. Though you might assume it’s done for security reasons, it’s actually done primarily to create the impression that Mark gets out of the house once in a while.

  10. Posted November 8, 2016 at 12:21 pm | Permalink

    Ha. That’s hilarious.

    And, yes, I have more doubles than Sadam and Hilly combined.

  11. iRobert
    Posted November 28, 2016 at 5:31 pm | Permalink

    People always seem disappointed when they meet the ‘real’ Mark.

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