Our last installment was about the trials and tribulations of
having a duel career of being in one elective office while running for
another. It focused on governor candidates Pete Hokestra, Virg Bernero
and Andy Dillon all of whom have day jobs as they seek to replace Gov.
Jennifer Granholm.
Left out of the first missive were the following: The two Mikes,
Cox and Bourchard, State Senator Tom George and Rick Snyder.
Of the seven in the field, since he is a non-career politician, Mr.
Snyder has the luxury of making his new job the moderator at Town Hall
meetings. Seems like any little berg where there is a microphone and
more than twenty gathered in his name, the Ann Arbor business guy is
ready to discuss his Ten-Point Plan for reinventing Michigan.
Since part of his team are former John McCain operatives, Snyder
has adopted this Town Hall retail approach to the campaign. Only
difference is former Presidential candidate John McCain drew thousands
to his shindigs, while Snyder is happy to see a hundred or so in front
of him.
Tom George is the senator from Kalamazoo and far as we can tell he
has not missed many, if any, state senate sessions. He's done his job
of voting and conducting hearings and has apparently left the
campaigning to his off hours although lawmakers lecture us that they
are on twenty-four seven so they are never really off.
Mr. Cox, the state's top law enforcement official and Mr. Bourchard
the top cop in Oakland County are often seen on the campaign stump
during normal business hours.
To be sure the Attorney General has lots of underlings tending the
shop while he rounds up money and support. They are use to it since Cox
ran for reelection four years ago and was A.G. at the same time. And
likewise for Sheriff Bouchard who is no stranger to running for office
while keeping an eye on the crime scene in his own backyard. Recall he
did this before when he run for the U.S. Senate and nobody complained.
Or if they did, maybe they ended up in the slammer?
At any rate, so far in this primary, nobody has raised much of a
stink about public officials campaigning while on the public clock and
the public dime. Maybe you could care less, which is your
constitutional right and lots of folk are exercising it.