Should Dillon keep his speaker seat if he runs?

In an opinion piece for the Oakland Press, Tim Skubick looks at the question of whether Andy Dillon might be forced by his fellow Democrats to give up his position as Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives if he chooses to run for governor.

Macomb County Democrat Miller, with strong ties to the labor movement, floated his idea the other day, noting that Dillon’s “ability to speak (on issues) will be compromised” and any position Dillon takes on behalf of the remaining Democrats will be “overly politicized,” which Miller figures will needlessly complicate government at a juncture where there are complications enough…

However, and here’s the tricky part, if Dillon relinquishes his leadership mantle, he gives up a powerful tool to enhance his run for governor. He’ll lose a lot of free media coverage; he becomes one of 109 House members trying to convince the new speaker to move the old speaker’s agenda and who knows what impact stepping down might have on his fundraising prowess?

Skubick says that while there are a number of Democrats who “have concerns” about Dillon playing this dual role, “the support for ousting Dillon is about a mile long and two or three legislators deep.” It’s unlikely that the party would want to undergo such a fight at this point. But the “should” question is still an interesting one.