Examiner.com article on Jennifer Gratz and Ron Weiser, candidates for U of M Board of Regents

Ron Weiser in front of Michigan Republican Party headquarters.
Ron Weiser has been busy locking up support for his nomination as University of Michigan Regent.
Credit: Ron Weiser for Regent Facebook page.

U-M Regents: Gratz considers running while Weiser consolidates support

In the contest for two seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents, the past month has seen one person declare her interest in running for the office while another has been consolidating support from Republican politicians a year in advance of the Michigan Republican Party's nominating convention.

An editorial in Thursday's Detroit News mentioned that Jennifer Gratz, who sued the University of Michigan over its use of affirmative action in admissions, a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, was considering running for a spot on the University of Michigan Board of Regents.

Friday, Grassroots for Weiser, a website supporting the candidacy of Ron Weiser for University of Michigan Board of Regents, reposted a report from Michigan Tea Party News that Weiser, a resident of Ann Arbor who is currently the Republican National Committee’s National Finance Chairman, as well as a former Ambassador to Slovakia and Michigan Republican Party Chair, was "the only candidate for University of Michigan Regent with a presence" at last month's Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference.

Both Gratz and Weiser would be attempting to replace two Democratic incumbents, Julia Donovan Darlow Katherine E. White, both of whom are attorneys from Ann Arbor.  Both women were elected in 2006.  White is serving a second term, having first been elected in 1998.

Details on both Gratz and Weiser, along with a video from the Wall Street Journal featuring Gratz talking about the Supreme Court hearing a suit involving the Michigan "Civil Rights" Initiative, at the link.

Yes, I'm digging deep into the ballot for next year, but endorsements and university governing board candidates are two things I specialize in.  I'm also a U of M alum, so I have three reasons to care about this story.