Posted on 11/23/2004 3:41:37 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Republicans looking for new leader as DeVos prepares to step down
11/23/2004, 5:23 p.m. ET
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The jockeying to replace Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Betsy DeVos has begun.
Former state Rep. Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, who ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Carl Levin in 2002 and served in the Michigan House from 1997-2002, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he wants the job.
"I was an elected official, I was active with the state party at the grass roots, I understand fund-raising ... party organization and planning," he said, listing why he would be a good choice for GOP chairman.
The 35-year-old Raczkowski, a U.S. Army Reserves major from Farmington Hills, recently returned from a year in Africa and elsewhere with Operation Enduring Freedom.
Also considering a run is Myrah Kirkwood, a security manager for McDonald's Corp. who ran unsuccessfully this year against U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint as one of the few black Republican candidates in Michigan. A former Detroit police officer, Kirkwood said Tuesday that she has the organizational skills to manage the party.
"I certainly am used to challenging situations," she said. "I think I have the best credentials to make the jump to state party chair."
Others mentioned as possible replacements for DeVos are Oakland County GOP Chairman Paul Welday; former Detroit TV anchor Tara Wall, who now works for the Republican National Committee; former House Speaker Chuck Perricone of Delton; and Domino's Pizza Inc. Chairman and CEO David Brandon of Ann Arbor.
Party activists want someone who can help them unseat Democrats Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2006 and stave off a Democratic charge to regain majorities in the state Senate and House. Whoever is picked must be able to recruit strong challengers and raise enough money to help buy ads and set up large-scale voter outreach efforts.
"It's a very fluid situation now as far as party chair goes," said Tom Shields, whose Lansing company, Marketing Resource Group, has done work for the state GOP. "No one's really gravitating toward one candidate."
The race could firm up fairly quickly, however, even though about 400 Republican delegates won't meet to elect a new leader until their Feb. 4-5 state convention in Grand Rapids.
GOP National Committeeman Chuck Yob said he plans to endorse a favorite by early next week.
"Rocky seems to be the only one running right now, really," Yob said. "I think if someone doesn't surface soon, he's going to have it locked up. ... I'm still doing some ground work on which way's the best way to go."
Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, who along with Attorney General Mike Cox shares the spotlight as the GOP's top state officeholders, said party activists have a few more steps to take before making a decision.
"We need to define what we're looking for in a party chair," she said, noting that Republicans usually choose either a successful fund-raiser who delegates to an executive director, as DeVos did, or a paid leader more along the lines of former chairmen Rusty Hills, Dave Doyle or Spencer Abraham.
House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy, said he would like to see Wall be the next head of the party, calling her a "hard worker" and "a smart lady."
Johnson said Raczkowski, as a former legislator, could be good fit for the job. But Johnson wonders whether his former colleague has been away too long after his year overseas.
"He's been removed some from the political process," said Johnson, who bested Raczkowski in the 2000 race for House speaker. "But maybe he'll make it."
Shields said whoever's elected needs to unite a party that saw its share of fingerpointing earlier this month between Yob, a former Grand Rapids businessman who now lives in Hesperia, and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson over why Oakland County went to Democrat John Kerry, helping him best President Bush in Michigan 51 percent to 48 percent.
The win gave Kerry Michigan's 17 electoral votes and lengthened a string of Democratic presidential successes last broken by Bush's father in 1988. Democrats also were able to take five seats from the GOP House majority and win most of the state education seats.
"I don't know which candidate out there can do the best job of bringing the party back together and also garner the confidence of the major party donors and mobilize the grass roots for 2006," Shields said. "It's not going to be an easy job for someone to do."
I like Myrah. She's a great speaker, solid conservative, and did the best she could in her run against Kildee. I hope she stays active in the party. I think Rocky is more experienced though.
Nothing against Tara Wall, David Brandon, or Paul Welday. I never met Wall or Brandon, and I only met Welday a couple of times, but I don't believe they have ever run for office.
Chuck Perricone? You got to be kidding me. He's a union boss and his union (MRCC) is buddies with Carl Lenin among others. I'll bite my tongue here on a public board, but I'll just say that IMO, he'd be an absolute disaster for several reasons.
Dan, I nominate YOU! I've read your posts--you know the issues, you're a good conservative, and you're active. Get in there!!!
Did I hear DeVos name mentioned as a possible challenger to Stabenow in '06?
Don't know. However, unlike Levin who could beat anybody, Stabenow is vulnerable. A good candidate will beat her.
Read a similar article in the Detroit Free Press
EYE ON POLITICS: It's time that state Republicans put their house in order
November 22, 2004
http://www.freep.com/news/politics/eyeonpolitics22e_20041122.htm
One glimmer of hope in the article:
After two years of fits and starts, Michigan Republicans have started to develop a coherent message to attack Granholm -- as a do-little leader presiding over a state economy that is being left behind in the national recovery and as someone who is out of the mainstream on issues like gambling, abortion and marriage.
(But goes on to say that they don't have a messenger.) ;-(
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