February - 2018

THE REAL DAVE TROTT?

Congressman David Trott (R-Birmingham) appeared to be suffering from multiple personality disorder following the federal government shutdown in January. Trott was first quoted in a January 19 Detroit News article criticizing President Trump for the then-looming shutdown, saying: “I think it’s the president’s fault. He hasn’t led. No question in my mind about that. He hasn’t led on this or many other issues.” The soon-to-be retiring congressman then waffled away his statement

THE REAL DAVE TROTT?

GAIN ONE, LOSE ONE

After leaving local GOP party faithful dangling for months, in early February, state Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), who is also the state Senate Republican Floor Leader, officially announced he was running for Congress in the 11th District to replace outgoing Rep. David Trott. Kowall has been a small businessman, White Lake supervisor and state representative as well as state senator. In Lansing, Kowall has been supportive of veterans and Michigan businesses, notably of bur

GAIN ONE, LOSE ONE

READY FOR CLOSE UPS

Once Kowall, Epstein, Kesto, Raczkowski and Bonds fight each other, the real battle will begin for the seat in the November general election. Democratic candidate Haley Stevens, who is running against fellow Democrats Suneel Gupta, Rep. Tim Greimel and Dan Haberman in the primary for the 11th District, has received a lot of love from national magazines, beginning in April 2017 from Time Magazine in an article, “Inside the Grassroots Movement to Groom a New Generation of Democ

READY FOR CLOSE UPS

GO, NO GO

Out of the race is Democrat Darlene Dominik of Brighton, who jumped in early to take on Rep. Mike Bishop in Congress’s 8th District, covering Rochester and Rochester Hills to Lansing. Domanik raised just under $15,000 in fundraising in the last quarter, compared to almost $1 million for fellow Democrat Elissa Slotkin of Holly. Word is, once Dominik saw there was a viable – and dynamic – Democrat who could realistically give Bishop a run for his money, she saw the writing in t

WE’LL BE LOYAL CONSERVATIVES

Speaking of 11th District Congressional Republican candidates, Lena Epstein, Klint Kesto and Rocky Raczkowski were recently given an “On the Radar” designation by the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC). The designation serves as a merit badge of sorts to the Committee’s “Young Guns” program, in which candidates earn ranks by fulfilling certain requirements regarding their campaign organization. Weblo (we’ll be loyal) conservatives Epstein, Kesto and Raczkows

#METOO

They say “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” And in the Age of Trump, that is proving truer and truer. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak told Vice Magazine she became a Democratic candidate for Michigan’s state Senate 13th District (Royal Oak, Troy, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Berkley, Rochester Hills, Rochester and Clawson) running against incumbent Marty Knollenberg (R-Troy) – after Trump’s Access Hollywood tape. You know the one. “I remember thinking, ‘How do you tell

GOING 40

The race to fill Rep. Mike McMcready’s (R-Bloomfield Hills) shoes in the state House’s 40th District is getting tighter with the addition of another Republican, Bloomfield Township Trustee Michael Schostak. Schostak, cousin to Bobby Schostak, former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, is a finance lecturer at the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University, and a recent (2016) addition to the township board, where some observers think he’s just gotten his

GOING 40

SHOE-IN-MOUTH

Michael Saari, a candidate for Michigan’s 15th District state Senate seat, currently held by Mike Kowall, has opted to drop out of the race following statements he made about Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. The judge became a highly visible figure in the Larry Nassar MSU case and gained attention for condemning the disgraced doctor during his sentencing. Saari, considered a fringe candidate, was quoted in one media account as calling himself a “shoe-in” for the state

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