Detroit City Council candidate scared to campaign, considers carrying a gun

DETROIT — It’s no secret that the city is short on cash. So it must not come as a surprise that those running for public office are also strained financially. During tough economic times in a city where many residents are drowning in bankruptcy, fighting foreclosure and barely putting food on the table, campaign fundraising isn’t easy with candidates looking outside the city, and sometimes the state, to raise money.

And among the 167 city council candidates running in the Aug. 4 primary, one has bigger worries beyond trying to keep her candidacy afloat, telling Michigan Messenger that she may start carrying a gun for safety.

Detroit City Council candidate Lawanda Harrison

Corrections officer Lawanda Harrison has been dipping into her savings to keep her campaign going. So this week, when someone stole her campaign yard signs from lawns across the city, it was more than just annoying. It was scary.

Harrison said she’s been receiving prank calls luring her to vacant lots across the city to drop off campaign T-shirts and signs. These incidents have Harrison so worried about her safety that she’s thinking about carrying a weapon for protection.

On Tuesday when Harrison drove to an east side address to deliver campaign materials requested by an unknown caller, she couldn’t find the house so she asked a man who lived nearby. “He told me, ‘that address was torn down a long time ago. It’s a vacant lot,’” Harrison said in an interview.

Immediately she started feeling uneasy, especially since just days before her yard signs were stolen.

“All my signs are missing,” she said. “These signs are expensive. I paid $400 for 50 yard signs. This is money. My money. I’ve gone into my 401k plan and everything,” she said without concealing her frustration.

“The reason I don’t keep [a gun] in my home is I have a teenage son,” she explained. But now Harrison considering carrying a handgun when on the campaign trail.

As a corrections officer, she is worried that former prisoners might be after her. “It could be an ex-con or a former inmate,” she said.

Because of the calls, Harrison has stopped delivering campaign materials. Instead, she’s asking that supporters to pick them up at her campaign office on Livernois.

Harrison also updated her Facebook page to alert friends of her troubles.

Her status on Wednesday morning read:

Lawanda Harrison : Hey facebook family, please pray for me bcuz I don’t want to be like Monica! The Devil has his hater demons circling like bees. Mostly all my general area yard signs have been removed and I have received prank calls to come to unknown addresses to drop off signs. As you all may or may not know I am a corrections officer so looks like I may have to start carrying my >>> on a regular. This is crazy!

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