STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

As those of us who follow civic meetings know, often community gadflies stick together. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that political outsider – now Macomb County clerk/register of deeds Karen Spranger has hired George Brikho of Troy as a deputy clerk. If Brikho’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he ran, unsuccessfully, as the Republican challenger to longtime Congressman (D-Royal Oak, Bloomfield Township) in 2014. While he ran under the Republican banner, he considers himself part of the Liberty movement, according to a posting on his political Facebook page. Brikho wrote in 2016, “I am willing to use my resources to promote the Liberty agenda and help Liberty-oriented candidates who run for public office as Republicans.” Besides his new career as Macomb County deputy clerk, Brikho owns a medical marijuana dispensary in Madison Heights that he said he hopes will advance his political, humanitarian and entrepreneurial goals. Spranger, who recently settled lawsuits with the the Macomb County executive offices over moving the clerk/register of deeds office, appointed another noted gadfly as an aide, Jackie Ryan of Sterling Heights. Brikho wrote on Facebook he may run again for political office in 2018. As they say on TV, stay tuned.