Fred Durhal, Jr.
Fred Durhal, Jr. was a 2016 Democratic special election candidate for District 4 of the Michigan State Senate.
Durhal served in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 5 from 2009 to 2015.
Durhal served as Community Resource Specialist for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Assistant to Mayor Coleman A. Young, District Director for Congresswoman Barbara Rose Collins, Legislative Aide to Wayne County Commissioner Bernard Parker, Deputy Director of the Detroit Charter Revision Commission, Legislative Aide to State Senator Jackie Vaughn, III, Communications Analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives Democratic Staff, Executive Director of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, Rent Subsidy Audit Clerk for the City of Detroit Housing Commission and Executive Director of the Virginia Park Citizens District Council.
Biography
Durhal earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Wayne State University and attended Wayne County Community College and the University of Phoenix, where he studied Public Administration.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Durhal served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Durhal served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Durhal served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
Campaign themes
2012
A questionnaire distributed by the League of Women Voters asked the candidates to provide information about their legislative priorities and proposed actions regarding those priorities. Durhal responded that "fixing the present tax code to reflect the realities of the Michigan economy, appropriating more funds for our cities, villages and townships in the revenue sharing process, and encourage the development of a new toolbox to enhance job development and economic growth," were his top priorities and he would propose legislation to serve said causes.[1]
Voting record
Key votes of 2009-2010
- Click below to see how this representative voted.
- Super Speedway, Lawmakers voting on whether TO EXTEND A SPECIAL TAX PERK for a super speedway.
- Driver Responsibility Fees, Lawmakers voting on whether TO IMPOSE 'driver responsibility fees.'
- Crony Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether TO RESTRICT THE RIGHT of shareholders to sell their own stock.
- Right to Work, Lawmakers voting on an amendment SUPPORTING RIGHT-TO-WORK zones.
- Dept. of State Cost-Saving, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SLOW DOWN PROGRESS ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S COST-SAVING CONSOLIDATION PLAN.
- Golf Carts, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SUBSIDIZE the production of electric vehicle batteries.
- Home Court Disadvantage, Lawmakers voting on whether TO GIVE MORE TAXING POWER to local government in Kalamazoo so it can finance a taxpayer-subsidized sports arena.
- Fire Safe Cigarettes, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN the sale of cigarettes that are not "fire safe."
- Balancing Act, Lawmakers voting on a budget to CUT REVENUE SHARING PAYMENTS to local governments as a way to balance the state budget without raising taxes.
- Balancing Act 2, Lawmakers voting on a cut of less than 3 percent to K-12 school aid payments so as to balance the state budget without tax increases.
- A Good Tax Gone Bad?, Lawmakers voting on the Michigan Business Tax.
- It’s From the Children, Lawmakers voting on whether to RAID $90 MILLION from the Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority.
- Left Behind, Lawmakers voting on whether TO FINANCE "No Worker Left Behind" with a 59.9 percent increase in general fund spending in the 2009 DELEG budget.
- First Class Schools, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep Detroit Public Schools' "first class" status even though the district no longer meets the population standard.
- Politically Correct Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE SUBSIDIES for plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
- Politically Correct Capitalism 2, Lawmakers voting on whether to GIVE SUBSIDIES for Michigan film production.
- Politically Correct Capitalism 3, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE ELECTRIC CAR SUBSIDIES for a subsidiary of a Korean battery company.
- Secret Ballot, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep a SECRET BALLOT for union elections.
- Property Taxes Assaulted Again, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
- Sneak Attack, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
- Grapes of Wrath, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN home shipment of beer and wine to Michigan consumers.
- Subsidize Manufacture of Electric Cars, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a refundable Michigan Business Tax credit for makers of plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
- Authorize Special Tax Breaks for Ethanol Gas Stations, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a non-refundable Michigan Business Tax credit equal to 30 percent of the costs incurred by a gas station to convert existing pumps and tanks, or acquire new ones that deliver E85 ethanol or biodiesel fuel.
More voting record details
- List of all of Fred Durhal, Jr’s roll call votes, bills introduced, and floor amendments from MichiganVotes.org (use site’s “advanced search” to narrow by date range, issue category and/or keyword).
- List of Fred Durhal, Jr's missed roll-call votes
Elections
2016
A special election for the position of Michigan State Senate District 4 was called for November 8. A primary election took place on August 2. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 10.[2]
The seat was vacant following Virgil Smith's (D) resignation on April 12, 2016. He resigned from jail after he pleaded guilty to shooting up his ex-wife's Mercedes Benz.[3]
Ian Conyers defeated James Cole Jr., Fred Durhal, Jr., Patricia Holmes, Vanessa Simpson Olive, Carron Pinkins, Ralph Rayner, Helena Scott, and Howard Worthy in the Democratic primary. Keith Franklin was unopposed in the Republican primary.[4] Conyers defeated Franklin in the special election.[5][6]
2012
Durhal won re-election in the 2012 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 5. He defeated Renard Berry, Cynthia Ann Johnson, Mark Murphy, Jr., Nathaniel Nathan, and Tonya Renay Wells in the August 7 Democratic primary and defeated Samuel Rodriguez (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Fred Durhal, Jr. Incumbent |
94.2% | 22,996 | |
| Republican | Samuel Rodriguez | 5.8% | 1,413 | |
| Total Votes | 24,409 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Fred Durhal, Jr. Incumbent |
50.7% | 2,752 |
| Cynthia Ann Johnson | 29.8% | 1,620 |
| Mark Murphy, Jr. | 8.2% | 447 |
| Tonya Renay Wells | 7.3% | 398 |
| Renard Berry | 3.9% | 213 |
| Total Votes | 5,430 | |
2010
Durhal won re-election to the District 6 seat in 2010. He defeated Renard Berry Sr., Marvin Crawford, Cynthia Johnson, Kofi-Akin Kenyatta and Denise Young in the August 3 Democratic primary. He faced Robert Midgett (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[9][10]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 6 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Fred Durhal, Jr. (D)
|
14,328 | |||
| Robert Midgett (R) | 519 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Fred Durhal, Jr. ran unopposed for District 6 of the Michigan House of Representatives.[11]
Durhal raised $35,463 for his campaign.[12]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Fred Durhal, Jr. (D)
|
28,156 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
Tea Party Scorecard
The Independent Tea Party Patriots, a Michigan Tea Party group, grades the votes of this and every other Michigan legislator on “core tea party issues” in a regularly-updated scorecard. 100% is considered an ideal rating.[13]
January 2011 - March 2012
Fred Durhal, Jr. received an 8% rating on the January 2011 - March 2012 Tea Party Scorecard.[13]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Durhal has four sons and two daughters.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Fred + Durhal + Michigan + Legislature
See also
- Michigan State Legislature
- Michigan House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Michigan state legislative districts
- Michigan State Senate
- Michigan State Senate District 4
- State legislative special elections, 2016
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Michigan Votes - Fred Durhal, Jr.
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2002, 1998
- Fred Durhal on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Vote411.org, "Michigan House District 005," accessed August 2, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Gov. Snyder sets elections to fill Virgil Smith's Senate seat," accessed April 12, 2016
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Sen. Virgil Smith resigns his seat in Michigan Senate," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan candidate listing," accessed May 12, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2016 Michigan election results," accessed August 3, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2016 Michigan general election results," accessed November 10, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "Election Results - Primary Election - August 07, 2012," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Michigan - Summary Vote Results," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Election Results - General Election - November 04, 2008," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Durhal Jr, Fred," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Michigan Votes, "Tea Party Scorecard Jan 2011-Mar 2012," accessed June 22, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Michigan House of Representatives District 6 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Rashida Tlaib (D) |
| Preceded by John Olumba (D) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 5 2013-2015 |
Succeeded by Fred Durhal III |
