Meinecke, Ginotti to Compete for 44th District Court

In the  (48 percent) and (32.09 percent) were the two candidates with the most votes in the August primary and will move on to the Nov. 6 general election. received 19.06 percent of votes.

Meinecke, 37, celebrated his victory with supporters at the Royal Oak Elks Lodge.

"This night was about Royal Oak and its citizens," he said. "I have walked in every neighbrhood in this town. I have heard so many voices. People are telling me what is important. We're excited to continue to get our message out to voters and push on to Nov. 6."

Meinecke, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Oakland County, said he will be back in circuit court Wednesday morning and after work he'll be coaching the Royal Oak Chargers freshman football team.

"In other words, I'll keep being the same person I always was," he said. "I'll be working hard."

Mayor Jim Ellison announced the results of the 44th District Court race to a group of Ginotti supporters on the patio of the . The mayor said Ginotti, 51, "finished solid" but "there is still a lot of work to do."

"Phase two starts tomorrow morning," said Ginotti, who works as an assistant to Michigan's Attorney General. "I am extremely happy tonight. I have good people and good support but we know we have lot of hard work to do."

Over at , attorney Nahhat, 50, gathered with his supporters. The group, while disappointed with the results, remained upbeat.

"For Ed to come out as well as he did against established competition, we're really proud of him," said Robert Zawideh. 

Nahhat seemed to be in good spirits as he enjoyed a late dinner with friends and family.

"Nineteen percent is a pretty good showing for first-time candidate," Nahhat said.

Royal Oak City Clerk Melanie Halas described turnout in Royal Oak as steady when she checked in with poll workers midday. As it turned out, 12,356 ballots were cast, representing a 25 percent voter turnout Tuesday.

44th District Judge results

 of Royal Oak's . The two candidates with the most votes in the August primary move on to the Nov. 6 general election.