Solemnly Swearing

City Clerk Jackie Beaudry swears in, from left to right, Mayor John Hieftje and Ann Arbor City Council Members Sandi Smith, Margie Teall, Carsten Hohnke, Tony Derezinski and Christopher Taylor after their successful re-election campaigns.

Sawdust Man

Before tonight, the last time I saw Ben Kweller take the stage was in the summer of 2002 at a hole-in-the-wall venue called The Shelter in Detroit (you know, the same place where Eminem battle raps in the movie "Eight Mile"). Back then he was just a skinny barely-21-year-old from Texas, garbed in a Maria Sabina T-shirt and riding high on the initial success of his first album, "Sha Sha." I remember meeting him and his girlfriend Liz after the show and offering to help them load the band's gear as I chatted away with the guys from My Morning Jacket. That all seems like a lifetime ago, so it was a trip to finally see Ben again eight years later at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. He's 29 now, and I found out he ended up marrying that beautiful girlfriend of his and they have two little boys. Ben still rocks a mic like a vandal; I was beyond impressed with his new material and his showmanship. In fact, I'm calling it right now: I think he's got a spot in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame someday. But it's gonna take a lot of time before he can cross that finish line.

Final Words

Virg Bernero, Lansing's mayor and Michigan's Democratic nominee for governor, gave a pep talk at a Democratic Party campaign office in downtown Ypsilanti tonight on the eve of the election. Joined by attorney general candidate David Leyton, Supreme Court Justice Alton Thomas Davis and running mate Brenda Lawrence, Bernero said this is still an election about two different visions. "There are still those that believe if you take care of the people at the top — the folks that got the advantages — that eventually some of the good will trickle down," he said. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being trickled on." Read the story here.

Lil Jon Meets Boba Fett

Beetlejuice Eats Pizza

Alternative Rider

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate Steve Bean fielded a question recently that most candidates for public office aren't asked: Is your candidacy serious or merely symbolic? He says he's serious, though whether he has a shot at winning remains to be seen. Bean, an independent challenging Mayor John Hieftje in Tuesday's election, has run a deafeningly quiet campaign. And some might argue he hasn't waged the kind of aggressive battle it takes for an independent to upset a popular Democratic incumbent in a left-leaning town like Ann Arbor. As part of his campaign, he rode the bus around Ann Arbor on Wednesday. Read the store here.

Tea Party Rally

The conservative Republican crowd that gathered on the University of Michigan Diag Wednesday night cheered loudly in support of cutting government spending, repealing national health care reforms and putting up further barriers between Mexico and the U.S. The "Take Back Congress" rally sponsored by the U-M College Republicans was organized to provide a boost to Republican congressional candidate Rob Steele's campaign heading into Tuesday's election. Thayrone X, a tea party activist who served as master of ceremonies, criticized what he called "weak sister Republicans" for reaching across the aisle and trying to work with Democrats. He said that's why Michigan and the United States has "been led to the gates of hell." Read the story here.

One Week To Go

With one week to go before the Nov. 2 election, Democrat Virg Bernero told a crowd gathered on Eastern Michigan University's campus Monday night that education will be among his top priorities if elected governor. "I'm not here to say, 'Elect me and it'll all be peaches and cream,' but I am here to tell you these are my priorities: education, public safety, economic development — meaning jobs," Bernero told a crowd of about 140 gathered inside EMU's Student Center. Bernero was joined by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, who discussed a fight for education he says the Democrats are leading. Read the story here.

Necto Halloween

Big Willy Style's All In It

Former President Bill Clinton arrived in Ann Arbor today to stump for U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, who is being challenged by Republican Rob Steele on Nov. 2. This is one of those times as a photographer when you want to scream. No, not because Bill Clinton is scary. But because I was stuck in a press section in the back of a very large auditorium and told I couldn't move up closer. That forced me to have to shoot straight on against a gaudy orange background from far away the entire afternoon. Ugh. Anyway, it was an interesting rally. Lots of politicking and Tea Party bashing. Read the story here. Oh, and that last photo is of a U-M a cappella group called Gimble that was probably the highlight of the day for me. They opened with this cover of "Far From Home" by the Gabe Dixon Band, one of my favorite bands in the whole wide world (I didn't think anybody knew who they were). Oh, and I have to give a shout out to Bill for looking pretty healthy these days (it's that new "almost vegan" diet of his). He has followed in daughter Chelsea's vegan footstep in hopes of becoming healthier (he had a quadruple heart bypass in 2004) and has reported losing 24 pounds since starting the diet. "I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer recently. "I drink a protein supplement every morning — no dairy — I drink almond milk mixed in with fruit and a protein powder so I get the protein for the day." Viva la vegan.

Eastern Flame