In 49011 Athens, MI, politics are a major part of the local community. The city is governed by a mayor and four city council members who are elected by the residents. The current mayor is James Millen, and the city council members are Derek Goss, William Laidlaw, Paul Needham, and Mike Satkowski. All political candidates for election in 49011 Athens must meet the requirements set out in Michigan's election laws. This includes filing a petition with at least 25 signatures from registered voters to be included on the ballot for any local office. Each candidate must also submit an affidavit stating that they will abide by all applicable laws and regulations governing their candidacy in order to be eligible for office. Candidates have opportunities to participate in forums and debates held throughout the year in order to inform voters of their stances on different issues that concern the city such as public safety or infrastructure improvements. The people of 49011 Athens can make sure their voices are heard during elections by getting involved with local politics and making sure they know who they want to vote for when election day comes around.
The political climate in Zip 49011 (Athens, MI) is moderately conservative.
Calhoun County, MI is somewhat conservative. In Calhoun County, MI 43.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 54.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Calhoun county remained strongly Republican, 54.6% to 43.6%.
Calhoun county voted Republican in 2020, 2016 and 2004, and Democratic in 2012, 2008 and 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 49011 (Athens, MI) is moderately conservative.
Athens, Michigan is moderately conservative.
Calhoun County, Michigan is somewhat conservative.
Battle Creek Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Michigan is leaning liberal.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Athens, Michigan: d r d d R R
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D for the Democrat and I for the Independent. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 49011 (Athens)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 15 contributions totaling $940 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $63 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3 contributions totaling $95 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $32 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)