I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Is former Congressman Joe Schwarz flirting with the idea of an independent run for the governor’s office?
Schwarz, a moderate Republican who was ousted in 2006 from the 7th Congressional District seat by Tim Walberg, backed by cash from the Club for Growth. Walberg nearly lost the general election to Democrat Sharon Reiner, who raised only $50,000 for her race. And in 2008, voters of the 7th told him to pack up his D.C. apartment and sent Democrat Mark Schauer to D.C. to represent them instead.
But Schwarz is not gone from the political scene.
Tim Skubick reports on his blog that Schwartz is weighing a possible independent run for the governor’s office.
In other words, it can happen but Schwarz needs guys like Phil Powers, who talks a good game about changing the culture in Lansing, to open his check book to launch such a bid.
Time is running out. Schwarz is not getting any younger but his ideals and approach to government are not out dated and could have appeal to an electorate that wants a government that works for them and not the two political parties.
Schwarz puts the chances of an independent run for the Gov’s office at 50-50, but his entrance into an already complicated race could certainly change the calculus of the electorate.
The GOP field features conservative luminaries like Mike Cox, the attorney general; Mike Bouchard, the Oakland County Sheriff; Pete Hoekstra, U.S. Congressman from Holland; Tom George, a state senator from Kalamazoo and Tim Rujan, a Huron County Commissioner. Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder remains distrusted by the conservatives in the GOP, who raise questions about his cultural values.
Meanwhile, Democrats have only one person officially in the race, state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith. Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero has formed an exploratory committee, but sources in his campaign have confirmed he is running. Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon has also formed an exploratory committee and is expected to announce whether or not he is running by March. Meanwhile, Denise Ilitch, a University of Michigan regent; Bob Bowman, former state treasurer under Gov. James Blanchard; Dan Kildee, former Genesee County treasurer; and others have been huddling behind closed doors with representatives of labor unions and the trial lawyers to discuss bids.
In short, the 2010 field is in no way settled out, and voter anger, as Schwarz has noted, could well change the electoral math, with the x factor being totally undefined.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter