Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Files of state chairs, Neil Staebler, John J. Collins, Zolton Ferency, Sander Levin, James McNeely, Morley Winograd, Olivia Maynard, Richard Wiener, F. Thomas LeWand, Gary Corbin and Mark Brewer; files of deputy state chair, Billie S. Farnum, vice chairs Adelaide Hart and Olivia Maynard, and vice chair Robert Mitchell; files relating to state constitutional convention, and to state and national political campaigns, since 1950; sound recordings, visual materials, and digital files.

The records of the Democratic Party of Michigan have come to the library in several accessions beginning in 1967 and periodically thereafter. The record group is comprised of files mainly from the Lansing office of the Democratic Party of Michigan. The files are of the officers of the party: state chair, vice chair, deputy chair, and secretary, among others. As of 2025, close to one-half of the files in the collection is concentrted in the the Mark Brewer subseries within the State Chair series, as he was the longest serving chair. The records relate to the day-to-day operation of the party, the management of political campaigns (i.e., selecting candidates, defining issues, raising funds, getting out the vote, etc.). In addition, some records concern the state organization's relationship with the National Democratic Party and its participation in the national convention to select a presidential nominee. Because of inconsistencies in how files were maintained and used, the files of one party officer might also include materials of their predecessor. Thus the researcher should examine the entire finding aid for material on any given topic or time period.