Raphael Washington wins Wayne County sheriff primary, setting him up for November election
Results from Wayne County’s local primary elections trickled in early Wednesday, and by morning the results were in.
In one of the most closely watched primaries in Wayne County, appointed incumbent Sheriff Raphael Washington faced challenges from two other Democrats: Joan Merriewether and Walter Epps.
Washington was appointed interim sheriff in January 2021 after popular Benny Napoleon died in December 2020 from complications of COVID-19.
With all precincts reporting, Washington took 47.45% of the vote, followed by Merriewether with 28.03% and Epps with 24.12%. Washington is expected to be elected handily in November because of Wayne County’s strong Democratic tilt.
In a related nonpartisan ballot proposal, again with partial results, Wayne County voters gave 61.46% of votes cast in saying yes to renewing the county jail’s millage; 38.54% voted no on the question.
More: Michigan primary election 2022: Live results, races to watch
More: Who is Tudor Dixon? 4 things to know about Michigan's GOP nominee for governor.
Among county commission races, longtime incumbent Tim Killeen, a Democrat from Detroit’s far east side who has served on the board since 2007, was challenged by former state representative Brian Banks, whose background would seem to have disqualified him from the get-go.
Banks has been convicted of eight felonies. He has a sordid history of financial failure, evictions and misrepresenting his careers. But there's more. In 2013, Banks was sued for sexual harassment by a legislative aide and, ultimately, the state paid nearly $12,000 to settle his case after spending about $85,000 on legal fees to defend Banks. In early 2017, Banks resigned his seat in the state House of Representatives to avoid prison time. Yet, in his primary race against the popular Killeen, Banks gained high profile endorsements — without explanation — from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and State Senator Stephanie Chang of Detroit.
Killeen garnered 61.59% of votes cast compared with Banks at 38.12%.
More: Election totals come in slowly in Wayne County following change in transmitting results
There was initially a delay in reporting results. A disclaimer atop the web page for Wayne County elections blamed it on new voting methods meant to insulate the process from computer hackers; and on a decision by AT&T to end internet transmission via the older 3G system in favor of the new, faster 5G system that has yet to be widely adopted.
The disclaimer said that, based on recommendations of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and “coupled with AT&T's decision in March 2022 to no longer support 3G modems,” local clerks in 65 of Michigan’s 83 counties, including Wayne County, were no longer able to electronically forward unofficial election results to their county clerk’s vote tabulators.
“This has significantly delayed the reporting process,” the statement said, adding: “We do not have a definitive time of when we will reach 100 percent reporting, but will continue to work throughout the evening and morning until this is achieved.”
But it appeared to be resolved by 8 p.m., with all precincts reporting results.
Contact: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Raphael Washington wins Wayne County sheriff primary
