Cross-posted to MichiganLiberal.com.
Hello again, everyone. I'm back from a self-imposed summer recess (even junkies get burned out sometimes), and I'm ready once again to plunge into the murky--not to mention chilly--waters of Great Lake State politics.
In This Week's Edition
- Michigan By the Numbers
- Motown Politics
- What's Happening in Washington
- Looking Ahead to 2006...and 2008
- Legislature Update
- Around the State
- Sound Bite of the Week
Motown Politics
Is Detroit About to Go Broke? Whoever wins next month's will face daunting fiscal problems. This week, Auditor General Joseph Harris again warned that Detroit is headed for insolvency, and that city finances are in worse shape than Mayor Kilpatrick has led residents to believe. The mayor fired back, calling Harris's remarks baseless, irresponsible and inaccurate.
Media Air Kilpatrick's Dirty Laundry. Friday's Free Press reported that the mayor and his staff drew $144,000 from the city's petty cash account, in violation of account rules. Expenses included catered meals, Detroit Lions tickets, and a tuxedo rental for the mayor's cousin.
Another story involving Kilpatrick also resurfaced in the news. The Wayne County prosecutor is taking another look at the murder of Tamara Greene, a stripper who was rumored to have been at a wild party at the Manoogian Mansion. Attorney General Mike Cox, whose office investigated the alleged party, called it "an urban legend." Kilpatrick and a group of ministers blasted the media for sensationalizing lies and "filth".
Hendrix Campaign Shaken by Son's Legal Woes. Legal troubles dogged the Freman Hendrix as well. Washtenaw County authorities filed two separate criminal charges against his 21-year-old son, Stephen. On Monday, the younger Hendrix pled not guilty to a charge of domestic battery. The next day, he was in a court again, this time to answer a drunk driving charge stemming from a traffic stop earlier this year. The DUI charge was filed one day before Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick raised questions during a debate about whether any members of the Hendrix family had been in trouble with the law. So now we know what that exchange was all about.
On TV, Candidates Get Down and Dirty. In their latest television commercials, Kilpatrick and challenger Freman Hendrix kicked the nastiness up a couple of notches. A Hendrix ad urged voters to tell the mayor "the party's over," while a Kilpatrick ad suggested that the challenger is in the pocket of white suburbanites.
Mayor Holds Wide Lead...in PAC Contributions. According to the latest filings, Kwame Kilpatrick has raised more than $770,000 from PACs since taking office in 2002, compared to $121,758 for Freman Hendrix. Observers expect PACs to give even more generously now that their contributions won't be part of the public record until well after Election Day.
Speaking of campaign contributions, the Free Press reported that more money came from suburbia than from Detroit proper.
Farewell, Maryann Mahaffey. The October 5 Metro Times bade a fond farewell to Councilmember Maryann Mahaffey, who last week dropped her bid for re-election on account of her health. It described her as "one Democrat who never moved to the center." and an officeholder who "has always been steadfast in maintaining her core values."
Mayor Makes a Fashion Statement. Finally, Mayor Kilpatrick has taken off his trademark diamond earring, and says it's gone for good. For what it's worth, the mayor's earring looked a lot better than the one Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson sported two years ago on Mackinac Island.
What's Happening in Washington
John Dingell's Golden Anniversary in Congress. John Dingell (D-Dearborn) has been a member of the Congress for almost 50 years, and Tuesday's Detroit News reviewed his long tenure on Capitol Hill. It includes chairing the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he had a reputation for being very tough but scrupulously fair. Dingell considers his greatest successes the 1965 passage of Medicare, the 1973 adoption of the Endangered Species Act, and the 1990 approval of the Clean Air Act, all of which he helped draft and push through Congress. His greatest disappointment? Congress's failure to pass national health insurance.
Friday's Free Press focused on Dingell's defense of the domestic auto industry, which the congressman said "is not overrun with friends." Not everyone is impressed with Dingell's advocacy of the Big Three--especially Ralph Nader, who accused him of being "on the wrong side of history" and favoring policies that actually made domestic automakers less competitive.
Looking Ahead to 2006...and 2008
Fieger to Run for Attorney General. Trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger is back in politics. The upset winner of the 1998 Democratic gubernatorial primary announced that he's a candidate for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. The same day he announced, Fieger sued Attorney General Cox and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, arguing that their investigation of a an campaign he funded during last year's election for a Supreme Court seat was an effort to chill his exercise of free speech.
Does Fieger have a chance? George Weeks of the Detroit News thinks that he does, noting that the flamboyant trial lawyer has mended fences with organized labor.
To win the nomination, Fieger has to persuade a majority of delegates at next August's state Democratic convention to put him on the ticket. His likely opponents are former Kent County Circuit Judge Scott Bowen, who's Governor Granholm current favorite, Representative Alexander Lipsey (D-Kalamazoo).
Update on Senate Fund-Raising. Senator Debbie Stabenow has a much bigger war chest than her challengers. According to her campaign, Stabenow had $4.7 million available to spend, including $1.2 million raised during the third quarter. That compares to $764,587 for Keith Butler and only about $100,000 for Jerry Zandstra.
Despite Butler's huge lead over his Republican opponents in both endorsements and fund-raising, he hasn't pulled away from the field. An EPIC-MRA poll showed another minister with senatorial ambitions, Jerry Zandstra, with an eight-point lead over Butler. Then there's the problem of cash burn: Butler's campaign has reportedly gone through half of the money it raised.
Free Press Sizes Up Next Year's Ballot Proposals. A number of groups are circulating petitions in an effort to put measures on the 2006 ballot, and the Free Press offered its predictions of which ones will make it onto the 2006 ballot. A proposed ban dove hunting and a measure that would protect conservation funds from legislative raids are definitely going the ballot. A proposed raise in the state's minimum wage and a ban affirmative action in state hiring and education are likely to make the cut. Others with at least a 50-50 chance: an expansion of the 10-cent deposit law, constitutional protection against eminent domain, and guaranteed minimum funding for public schools.
In Brief. Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans won't challenge County Executive Robert Ficano in next year's Democratic primary...Chris Andrews of the Lansing State Journal salutes Senator Carl Levin's efforts to break the Iowa-New Hampshire axis that has dominated the presidential nomination process.
Legislature Update
Democrats Propose Insurance Reform. On Monday, Governor Granholm and legislative Democrats announced a comprehensive reform package to address the rising cost of insurance. Key provisions include mandating an immediate 20-percent rollback in premiums, barring insurers from using an individual's credit history or credit score in setting rate, and making it easier for policyholders to sue an insurer that fails to negotiate and settle an insurance claim in good faith.
Legislators Tiptoe Toward Wine Shipment Compromise. The Senate appears to be moving toward a compromise wine-shipment bill that is friendlier to wineries than the House-passed version. Wine interests contend that the House bill could put smaller wineries out of business.
The People Behind the Jobs Bill Deal. Bipartisanship is still alive and well in the State Capitol. In his Monday column, the Free Press's Chris Christoff lauded two legislators who worked out a compromise on the "Jobs Tomorrow" initiative. They are Representatives Andy Dillon (D-Redford Township) and Bill Huizenga, (R-Zeeland).
Sounding Off on Stem Cells. In the October 12 Metro Times, columnist Jack Lessenberry took aim at Michigan's restrictive laws governing stem-cell research, likening them to a hypothetical 1905 law barring the internal-combustion engine. In the same column, Lessenberry blasted President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, telling his readers that "she has the same qualifications to be on the Supreme Court that I do to be president of Harvard University."
In Brief. The Senate Health Policy Committee will hold hearings next week on the growing problem of childhood obesity...Representative Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale) will introduce a bill allowing low-stakes gambling at senior centers...The Senate passed legislation that would end state regulation of most telephone rates...The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would ban those under 18 from using cell phones while driving. Violators would be fined $50.
Around the State
High Court to Hear Michigan Wetlands Cases. The thorny issue of the extent of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce is back before the Supreme Court, which decided to hear two wetlands cases from Michigan, Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. Army Corps of Engineers. The landowners in both cases claim that the area alleged to be a wetland is too distant from navigable waters to be connected to them. The feds argue that if the water from the property could theoretically reach navigable water, Congress can regulate it.
Are High School Curricula Too Easy? Michigan law requires that in order to graduate, high school students must take one semester of government and one semester of health. That's it. Lieutenant Governor John Cherry's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth is proposing a tougher curriculum that would include four years each of math, science, English and social studies. However, some school officials fear that beefed-up curriculum requirements might make the state's dropout problem even worse.
Accolades for State's High Court. Patrick Wright, a former commissioner (attorney/researcher) of the Michigan Supreme Court now at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote an article in Thurdsay's Wall Street Journal entitled "The Finest Court in the Nation". He contended that "[f]or the past six years, the Michigan Supreme Court has been a leader in attempting to restore a proper balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the people." John Engler, who is largely responsible for the court's composition, has since moved on to the National Association of Manufacturers, where he hopes to have a similar impact on the federal judiciary.
Sound Bite of the Week
"Simply put, no homosexual or lesbian union is ever appropriate...Rather, it is utter perversity"--Senator Mike Goschka (R-Brant).