RandySF
RandySF's JournalSlotkin, Peters ask National Weather Service why no tornado watch was issued for deadly storms
One week after four tornadoes touched down in southwest Michigan, killing four people and injuring 22, U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) sent a letter to the director of the National Weather Service seeking answers into why no tornado watch was issued ahead of the storms.
In their letter to National Weather Service Director Ken Graham, Slotkin and Peters requested information on what prevented the weather service from issuing a tornado watch for the March 6 storms and what changes would be needed to improve its ability to provide timely and accurate forecasts and alerts in the future.
“We mourn for those who lost their lives to this storm, and we stand fully prepared to work with the impacted families and communities to begin the process of rebuilding and recovering,” Peters and Slotkin wrote in their March 13 letter. “At the same time, we seek to better understand how this tragic event unfolded and what changes are required to better protect public safety and avoid such tragic loss of life during future extreme weather events.”
A request for comment was left with the National Weather Service’s press office.
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/16/slotkin-peters-ask-national-weather-service-why-no-tornado-watch-was-issued-for-deadly-storms/
NJ-02, NJ-04: Alexander, Peace get Ocean Dem endorsement for GOP-held House seats
Democrats in Ocean County, which is split between New Jersey’s two reddest congressional districts, awarded endorsements at their convention yesterday to two Democrats running to flip those districts this year: Tim Alexander in the 2nd district and Rachel Peace in the 4th district.
The county party has thus far declined to provide full results in each race, but a party official said that Alexander won the endorsement in the first round while Peace defeated fellow 4th district candidate John Blake in a runoff.
Also winning Ocean Democrats’ support was U.S. Senator Cory Booker, who’s running for a third full term this year; Booker was endorsed by acclamation, though one of his primary opponents, Chris Fields, also made an appearance at the convention. Kia Phua, an MTA train operator from Berkeley Township, got the endorsement for county commissioner unopposed.
Alexander, a civil rights attorney and former detective who has run for Congress twice before, has now gotten four of the 2nd district’s six county party endorsements, following convention wins in Atlantic, Cumberland, and Salem Counties. Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock has party support in his home of Cape May County; also running are Bayly Winder, Terri Reese, and Bill Finn.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/alexander-peace-get-ocean-dem-endorsement-for-gop-held-house-seats/
NJ-07: Morris Dem screening committee gives highest marks to Bennett for Congress
Six days out from the Morris County Democratic convention, the county party’s screening committee has given its highest marks to Rebecca Bennett in the six-way Democratic primary for the 7th congressional district.
The screening committee, which included Morris Democratic Chair Darcy Draeger and six other local Democratic leaders, evaluated the candidates on “vision, readiness to serve in Congress, policy knowledge, campaign strategy, and fundraising, with additional consideration given to Morris-County-specific knowledge, perceived campaign scalability, and commitment to supporting down-ballot Democrats.” Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, had the “strongest overall performance,” the committee determined.
Finishing in second place in the committee’s estimation was physician Tina Shah, followed in order by former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth, climate scientist Megan O’Rourke, businessman Brian Varela, and professor Beth Adubato. Varela is the one candidate of the six who lives in Morris County, and has made the most concerted effort to win the March 22 convention.
The screening committee result, which was accompanied by questionnaires and filmed interviews with each of the candidates, is not an endorsement, and does not guarantee Bennett a victory at the convention on Sunday.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/morris-dem-screening-committee-gives-highest-marks-to-bennett-for-nj-7/
Kamia Brown (D) files to run for Orange County Commission in District 2
Former Rep. Kamia Brown has filed to run for Orange County Commission’s District 2 as she runs on a campaign on affordability issues.
“Residents in every corner of Orange County feel the stresses of everyday life and I chose to run for County Commission because local governments can make life better for families by advancing real solutions. This campaign is about strengthening the future of District 2,” said Brown, who represented Pine Hills, Apopka and Ocoee when she served in the House from 2016 to 2022.
“This moment requires thoughtful, and bold leadership that is rooted in community and resident focused problem-solving.”
Also in the running for the District 2 nonpartisan seat are lawyer Marsha Summersill and Ocoee City Commissioner George Oliver III.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/785251-kamia-brown-files-to-run-for-orange-county-commission-in-district-2/
FL-SD14: Early voting data so far suggests Dems might not get the flip they hope for in SD 14
Early voting in the Special Election for Senate District 14 began Saturday without much activity, though mail ballots are rolling in by the tens of thousands.
As of noon Monday, nearly 37,000 voters had cast a ballot in the race between Republican state Rep. Josie Tomkow and Democrat Brian Nathan, with most of those — nearly 34,000 — coming in by mail.
More Republicans have voted early (nearly 16,000) than Democrats (nearly 15,000). Nearly 6,700 voters affiliated with a minor party or no party have also voted.
Those numbers should be troubling for Democrats, who, historically speaking, tend to outperform Republicans in vote-by-mail and in-person early voting.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/785537-early-voting-data-so-far-suggests-dems-might-not-get-the-flip-they-hope-for-in-sd-14/
WI-GOV: Tom Tiffany (R), regular absentee voter, says 'I don't believe we should be doing mail-in voting'
US Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee in this fall’s election for Wisconsin governor, told a podcast host Thursday, “I don’t believe we should be doing mail-in voting,” making an exception only for members of the US Armed Forces.
More than 1.5 million Wisconsin voters cast absentee ballots in the November 2024 presidential election in Wisconsin, including about 600,000 that were mailed in, demonstrating its ongoing popularity.
Records indicate Tiffany has voted absentee 12 times since 2016, according to an official with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. It was not clear if those ballots were cast by mail or in-person at his local election clerk’s office.
Tiffany made his comment while answering a listener question on the DrydenWire podcast.
https://upnorthnewswi.com/2026/03/12/tom-tiffany-eliminate-mailed-absentee-voting/
Join us for a live virtual forum with Supreme Court candidate Chris Taylor and Assembly minority leader Greta Neubauer
The April 7 Supreme Court election and the fall elections for the Legislature could have a lasting impact on Wisconsin’s future for voting rights, women’s health, education, the state economy.
Join COURIER, parent company of UpNorthNews, on Tuesday, March 17 at 1:30pm CT for a virtual conversation with Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate — followed by a visit with Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine).
Pat Kreitlow, founding editor of UpNorthNews, will ask both women to discuss the importance and the long-term impacts of the upcoming Supreme Court special election on April 7 and the elections this November for seats in the Wisconsin Legislature. Their outcomes will have far-reaching consequences on key issues across the state. With decisions on voting rights, reproductive rights, election administration, and fair representation potentially before the court, the outcome will shape the legal landscape in one of the nation’s most pivotal battleground states.
Please use this link to register. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GZVzv0w9RYu-JTEtaCs-sA#/registration
https://upnorthnewswi.com/2026/03/13/forum-supreme-court-candidate-chris-taylor-and-assembly-greta-neubauer/
We are expecting a high in the 80's today in San Francisco
Warmest March I have seen since I moved here twenty year ago on the heels of a nasty cold snap. Hope this swing is an aberration and not a sign of something permanent because moderate weather has always been my favorite quality of the City.
Eyeing voting rights, liberals aim to secure Wisconsin Supreme Court through 2030
Liberals have an opportunity next month to lock down a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court through 2030, which would hand them a critical backstop during the next presidential election, as the right floats new ideas on how to take over election administration.
Ever since he lost Wisconsin’s electoral votes in 2020, Donald Trump and his allies have spread lies about those results and baselessly blamed his defeat on fraudulent mail ballots, winning a key legal victory in 2022 when the state supreme court’s conservative majority banned ballot drop boxes. But that win was short-lived; liberals flipped the court in 2023 and restored drop boxes ahead of the next presidential election.
Rebecca Bradley, the conservative justice who authored the 2022 decision banning drop boxes, is retiring this year, and two judges on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, liberal Chris Taylor and conservative Maria Lazar, are running to replace her on April 7. Should Taylor win, liberals would expand their hold on the court to a 5-2 majority. Liberals have not had such an advantage on this court since at least the 1970s, according to analysis by Wisconsin political scientist Alan Ball.
A Taylor win would also prevent conservatives from flipping the court until at least the end of this decade, barring an unforeseen death or early resignation, as Wisconsin faces continued legal debates on elections, abortion, labor rights, and the role courts should play in overseeing immigration enforcement.
https://tonemadison.com/articles/eyeing-voting-rights-liberals-aim-to-secure-wisconsin-supreme-court-through-2030/
Lazar (R) follows conservative candidate playbook in claiming mantle of impartiality
Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, the conservative candidate in the race for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, has built her campaign around the idea that she will be an independent justice while her opponent, Appeals Court Judge and former Democratic legislator Chris Taylor, will be a partisan actor on the bench.
Lazar has frequently said on the campaign trail that she’s “never been a member of a political party” — a claim aided by the fact that Lazar has never served in partisan office and Wisconsin voters don’t register their party affiliation — while at a recent event Taylor, who served in the state Assembly for nine years, affirmed that she’s a Democrat.
The argument of the Lazar campaign closely mirrors the arguments made by the last two conservative candidates for the Court.
Last year, former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel frequently said that as a justice he’d be like a baseball umpire, simply calling balls and strikes about the law. During the 2023 race, former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly said that if he was elected Wisconsin would have “the rule of law” while if his opponent Janet Protasiewicz were elected Wisconsin would have the “rule of Janet.”
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/03/16/lazar-follows-conservative-candidate-playbook-in-claiming-mantle-of-impartiality/
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