DOWN AND DIRTY

We now know that in the battle for the Democratic nod for Oakland County exec, current exec Dave Coulter beat former buddy and county treasurer Andy Meisner, 53 percent to 47 percent. But Meisner, who seemingly began running for the position as soon as he became treasurer in 2008, wasn’t going down without a fight. A dirty fight. Meisner, apparently feeling desperate in the final few weeks, reached for the mud and kept slinging, airing an ad falsely asserting that Coulter took a pay raise during the COVID-19 crisis while he, Meisner, cut his pay; that Coulter cut county workers’ pay, which the board of commissioners determined, and other falsehoods. It got so bad, Meisner’s first boss, former Congressman Sandy Levin (D) put out a statement on July 17, which said in part, “It is disappointing that Andy Meisner, who worked in my office many years ago, is stooping so low to carry out his ambition.” Meisner significantly outraised Coulter for the job – raising $420,009 this quarter, and $1 million this election cycle. He finished with $184,093 cash on hand. Coulter raised $228,941 this quarter, for a total of $445,512 so far this election cycle. He has $70,773 going forward to November.