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Levin, LBP and Hizzoner all facing challengesBy Nick, Section News
Tuesday, May 13th. Filing deadline. Big day as candidates turn in their petition signatures or pay that one-time fee to slap their names on the ballot for later in the year. And as of this morning there are still plenty of potential challenger slots still up in the air.
Nothing up in the air in this portion of the race for Michigan's US Senate seat, though. Yesterday both Senator Carl Levin and State Representative Jack Hoogendyk filed their signatures and, barring any unexpected hiccups, should each find themselves on the ballot, sans primary opponents. Remember, there was some talk back in the day that either a cat named Bart Baron or Rocky (or both) would also challenge for the GOP nod. You never count the chickens before they're hatched but it doesn't look like either of their eggs have thousands of petition signatures in them today. Of course Levin is pretty well entrenched in what he likely considers a lifetime term in the United States Senate. Strong incumbent with the "Democrat" label and you can probably assume this race will generate as much serious mainstream media coverage as what I had for breakfast yesterday. Now, flip the labels around and you get an entirely different story. Strong incumbent with the "Republican" label over in Oakland County and the MSM is already going into convulsions over the prospects of propping up assisting a lefty in an upstart bid. To hear the Ivory Tower tell it Oakland County Exec. L. Brooks Patterson is facing the battle of his life against the Dem mayor of Southfield. Get ready for what'll likely be an onslaught of high energy profile pieces "introducing" (read: puffing up) the candidate for Oakland County voters. That's the way they operate. You ignore the left when they're misbehaving and then you prop them up like they're the best thing since sliced bread come campaign time. Conservatives? Do your best not to say anything nice even if you have to ignore them. Ten will get you twenty there winds up being twice as much positive ink headed Southfield's way as Jack Hoogendyk sees in his direction from the FREEP this summer. As for LBP? Read on...
Patterson said Monday he plans a spirited campaign that stresses what he considers the two most important parts of his job: creating jobs and safeguarding tax dollars. Not that Detroit couldn't use a blank check right now. Today the City Council is expected to take a couple of votes on Kwame Kilpatrick's fate. They could censure the man but it looks like they very well might both ask the Governor to step in to remove the man from office and start their own impeachment like process. A process that could cost an arm and a leg and drag on for... well... I'll let the News explain it:
Kilpatrick's deputy mayor, Anthony Adams, said he's confident Granholm won't enter the fray. He predicted she won't want to impede on Kilpatrick's due process rights in the criminal case and will see the measures as more "political grandstanding" by the council...
A spokesperson for Granholm continued her no-comment stance Monday, saying the law outlines a potential role for Granholm and that they don't want to compromise the process. The Governor is still recovering from that emergency surgery so she's probably not in any shape to give a comment even if she wanted to. Get well soon, Gov. Who am I kidding, even if she were in the office today she wouldn't have anything to say about this. As much as I'd love her to. I normally have a million and three problems with Lansing reaching into any city or municipality and getting involved with local governance. That said, this is a strange confluence of just-plain-strange events. You've got a Democrat mayor. A Democrat City Council. A 100% Democrat electorate (feels that way anyways) and a Democrat Governor. And the Council is asking the Governor to get involved. And getting involved would very likely save the city cash. Kinda appealing, isn't it? But what really excites me about the prospect of gubernatorial involvement is the Kwame sized wedge it would drive between groups of Democrats in Lansing and Detroit. I love a good family feud. Wish I could kick this pesky "principle" thing so I could embrace the idea wholeheartedly. Alas, I'm forced to look at Lansing involvement in local affairs as a generally rotten thing, especially when the locals have their own recourse, even if it's more expensive. Of course, Kwame could just do the right thing and resign. Stop laughing. Seriously. He could!
Levin, LBP and Hizzoner all facing challenges | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
Levin, LBP and Hizzoner all facing challenges | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
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