PUTTING ON THE GLOVES
We’re disappointed to see two popular Democratic congresspersons – Haley Stevens and Andy Levin – getting ready to rumble in the August primary for the newly-drawn 11th District, which encompasses most of Oakland County in a contiguous and non-gerrymandered shape – over 40 percent of Stevens’ current district. Levin, in announcing his decision to go for the 11th, rather than the more widely expected – but Republican-leaning – 10th District, which covers a portion of Oakland b


HANG 10
Levin’s decision to bypass the 10th district leaves it currently without a Democrat – but potentially a bunch of Republicans ready to jump…
NO FISTICUFFS
There isn’t any looming battle between local incumbents in the state Senate, where Democratic Senators Mallory McMorrow, Rosemary Bayer and Jeremy Moss have all played nice on their newly reconfigured districts – even though they will all have to potentially represent some new communities. McMorrow, who currently represents Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Rochester and Rochester Hills in the 13th District, in 2022 will go for the new 8th District, covering Birmingham, Claw


SWITCHEROO
Last year, Bloomfield Township resident and attorney Anthony Paesano announced he would be running as a Republican for the state House in 2022, in the 40th District against Democratic incumbent Mari Manoogian, and he had invested $30,000 of his own money into the campaign. Fast forward, and the 40th District is no more, due to redistricting, and early in January he announced he would instead be running in a new district, the 19th, against Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmingto
WHO’S UP?
With all the chatter about the 2022 gubernatorial election, it’s important to remember that the August primaries are still six months away – and the November general election is in a whopping nine months, which is like centuries in politics. The latest poll conducted by The Detroit News and WDIV-Channel 4 by Richard Czuba and Glegariff Group shows Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) currently back on an upswing after a difficult 2021 with fallout of her pandemic handling, with her
TAINTED BUCKS
Mother’s adage to be careful of who you play with can also come in handy when it comes to politics. That is especially true for those who have played in the same financial sandbox as former Michigan state Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield (R- Levering), who was recently accused of sexual abuse by his sister-in-law. Chatfield had been named as an advisor to Republican gubernatorial candidate James Craig, the two were photographed together, and Chatfield was known as a prolifi


THE COUNTY CLUSTER
Even county pols are bewildered when it comes to the exact street boundaries of new county commission districts when trying to determine who may be running in 2022. Here’s what we know at this point for the Birmingham/Bloomfield area. Current county commissioner Marcia Gershenson (D) will be running in the new 11th district, which is one of three that will carve up Bloomfield Township. The new district also would give her Bloomfield Hills and a larger portion of West Bloomfie


HERE COMES THE FEDS
You can dismiss it as street theater gone bad but in the real world it is a violation of state and federal law to submit a false public record (up to 14 years) and attempt to circumvent election law (up to five years). Sobering thoughts for the 16 GOP members who attempted to enter the Michigan Capitol on December 14, 2020, falsely claiming that they represented state voters as the official electors aiming to cast ballots for the former president and vice-president, ignoring
FAMILY TIES
Mea culpa. Last month we erred in an account of a pre-holiday get-together at Oakland Hills Country Club to meet Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, held by Lauren Rakolta, first cousin of Ronna (don’t call me Romney) McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee. Rakolta and McDaniel are related because their mothers are sisters. Rakolta is not related to Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former presidential candidate (who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and we