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Robert Wittenberg

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Robert Wittenberg
Image of Robert Wittenberg
Prior offices
Michigan House of Representatives District 27
Successor: Regina Weiss
Predecessor: Ellen Lipton

Robert Wittenberg (Democratic Party) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 27. Wittenberg assumed office on January 1, 2015. Wittenberg left office on January 1, 2021.

Wittenberg (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 27. Wittenberg won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Wittenberg was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2017
Financial Liability Reform, Vice chair
Insurance
Law and Justice

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Wittenberg served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

Robert Wittenberg was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2018

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg defeated Janet Flessland and Benjamin Carr in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Robert Wittenberg
Robert Wittenberg (D)
 
78.5
 
35,054
Image of Janet Flessland
Janet Flessland (R)
 
18.5
 
8,270
Benjamin Carr (L)
 
3.0
 
1,328

Total votes: 44,652
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg defeated Michelangelo Fortuna III in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Robert Wittenberg
Robert Wittenberg
 
83.6
 
15,379
Michelangelo Fortuna III
 
16.4
 
3,024

Total votes: 18,403
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Janet Flessland advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Janet Flessland
Janet Flessland
 
100.0
 
3,283

Total votes: 3,283
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Benjamin Carr advanced from the Libertarian primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Benjamin Carr
 
100.0
 
83

Total votes: 83
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 19, 2016.

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg defeated Kyle Forrest in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 general election.[1]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Wittenberg Incumbent 76.78% 36,392
     Republican Kyle Forrest 23.22% 11,007
Total Votes 47,399
Source: Michigan Secretary of State


Incumbent Robert Wittenberg ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 Democratic primary.[2][3]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Wittenberg Incumbent (unopposed)


Kyle Forrest defeated Stefan Graziano in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 Republican primary.[2][3]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Kyle Forrest 58.03% 1,275
     Republican Stefan Graziano 41.97% 922
Total Votes 2,197

2014

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Robert Wittenberg defeated Andrew Cissell, Joe McHugh, Rudy Serra and Kelli Williams in the Democratic primary. Michael Ryan defeated Mark Manier in the Republican primary. Wittenberg defeated Ryan in the general election.[4][5][6][7]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Wittenberg 75.6% 23,756
     Republican Michael Ryan 24.4% 7,671
Total Votes 31,427
Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Wittenberg 44% 4,165
Rudy Serra 19.5% 1,845
Kelli Williams 15% 1,423
Joe McHugh 11.6% 1,094
Andrew Cissell 9.9% 940
Total Votes 9,467
Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMichael Ryan 67.1% 1,382
Mark Manier 32.9% 678
Total Votes 2,060

Endorsements

In 2014, Wittenberg's endorsements included the following:[8]

  • Jules Olsman - Huntington Woods City Commissioner
  • Bob Paul - Huntington Woods City Commissioner
  • Jeff Jenks - Huntington Woods City Commissioner
  • Jack Lloyd - Former Hazel Park Mayor
  • Mike Webb - Hazel Park City Council
  • Arnold Shifman - Hazel Park City Attorney, Past Berkley School Board Pres.
  • Ryan Cook - Trustee, Hazel Park Board of Education
  • Paul Levine - Oak Park Mayor Pro Tem
  • Menachem Hojda - Treasurer, Oak Park Board of Education
  • Alan H. Kideckel - Berkley City Council
  • Eileen Steadman - Berkley City Council
  • Tina Edgar - Berkley City Council
  • Paul Ellison - President, Berkley Board of Education
  • Roger Blake - Treasurer, Berkley Board of Education
  • Jon Switalski - State Representative, 28th House District
  • Andy Schor - State Representative, 68th House District
  • Eric Smith - Macomb County Prosecutor
  • Samantha Steckloff - Farmington Hills City Council
  • Dana Nessel - Lead Attorney on The Michigan Marriage Challenge Case
  • Professor Harvey Bronstein - Oakland Community College

Campaign themes

2014

Wittenberg's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[9]

Cities

  • Excerpt: "In the past decade, Lansing has slashed over $6 billion in funding to local cities. Robert will fight to return funding to our communities. These funds will help to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods by supporting infrastructure repairs, promoting public safety, and providing long-term solutions to our crumbling roads."

Schools

  • Excerpt: "Robert knows the challenges that both new and veteran teachers face in the state of Michigan, and is committed to making educators a top priority. Robert strongly opposes the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) and will fight for his mother and all public school educators."

Seniors

  • Excerpt: "Robert will protect our retirees’ hard-earned incomes by working to repeal the unfair tax on pensions. Robert will fight to ensure seniors can retire with financial security and dignity. Robert also supports current efforts to make Michigan a “no-wait state” for in-home health care services. This policy change will make it easier and more cost-effective for our seniors to receive the help they need to stay in their homes."

Health Care

  • Excerpt: "Robert has witnessed far too many people getting denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions and believes that everyone should have access to affordable health care and that we have a duty to protect the most vulnerable - our children, the elderly and the sick."

The Economy

  • Excerpt: " The “Brain Drain”, where Michigan-educated college graduates must leave the state to find work elsewhere, must stop. House Bill 4182 is a great start towards a better future. But more needs to be done to keep college graduates in our state. We need to invest in our schools, our infrastructure and our people. Robert will work to encourage entrepreneurship to foster the growth of new businesses in Michigan."

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.


Robert Wittenberg campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2018Michigan House of Representatives District 27Won general$46,866 N/A**
2016Michigan House of Representatives, District 27Won $65,549 N/A**
2014Michigan House of Representatives, District 27Won $58,292 N/A**
Grand total$170,707 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Michigan

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.






2020

In 2020, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 8 to December 31.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015



See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Ellen Lipton (D)
Michigan House of Representatives District 27
2015–2020
Succeeded by
Regina Weiss (D)


Current members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Matt Hall
Minority Leader:Ranjeev Puri
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Mai Xiong (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
Matt Hall (R)
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
District 73
District 74
Kara Hope (D)
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
Tim Kelly (R)
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
Tom Kunse (R)
District 101
District 102
District 103
District 104
John Roth (R)
District 105
District 106
District 107
District 108
District 109
District 110
Republican Party (58)
Democratic Party (52)