FOUR’S A CROWD

When Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter was appointed the first Democrat to ever hold the office, it was supposed to be as a temporary one-year stop gap until the 2020 election. But word is Coulter, Ferndale’s mayor until the executive gig, has suspended his campaign to run for state representative for the 27th District, to replace term-limited Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D) (now running for county treasurer). Coulter had planned to run for state rep prior to being tapped for the county job, and as one county employee said, “He behaving like he’s campaigning for it.” By all accounts from Democrats and Republicans, he’s doing a stellar job of stepping into late executive L. Brooks Patterson’s extra large shoes – which might not be good news for Oakland Board of Commissioners Chair Dave Woodward (D-Royal Oak) or Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner (D), who have already begun to duke it out for the exec spot. We hear Julie Secontine of Milford, who was with the county for 22 years as an attorney and risk manager, and is now state Fire Marshal, is looking to make it a foursome. “She’s making a lot of noise that she is going to run, likely as a Democrat, although she always worked in Republican administrations,” a county source said. “I don’t know about her fundraising capabilities.” Keep an eye on the ball.