(Seems appropriate at this point in the conversation to point out that I’m neither endorsing nor supporting anybody in this primary, I’m just sharing information.)
On the same day that I received a note about Paul Welday’s alleged ties to all things sinister, another e-mail came in from Richard Lerner, who had some questions about a last-minute addition to the Republican primary, one Mike Peters. Mr. Peters’ campaign filing shows that he’s been granted a reporting waiver, which I also qualified for when I ran for city council several years ago. It just means you don’t intend to spend nearly enough money to actually win the election - judging that solely by my own experience, of course.
Does seem a bit odd to file for a waiver in a contested primary, but political idealism takes many forms. It’s possible that Mr. Peters is a man with a mission, who intends to take the promise of a commitment to fiscal repsonsibility more personally than others.
Or…
He could be a kind of straw-man. An associate of Mr. Lerner’s believes that to be true and provides some interesting political insights in the process. While it might seem self-defeating, this politically savvy person says putting up a third candidate is sometimes done by the campaign of someone who sees himself as a front-runner. The idea is to draw support away from the third candidate and to have the straw candidate pull all the negative cards, so the presumptive favorite gets to stay “above the fray.”
How’s THAT for political intrigue?
Now, here’s what I think all this means. I think it means that voters have to work hard to hold candidates responsible for running positive, issues-oriented campaigns. I think it means those candidates who sincerely believe in their ability to provide the kind of leadership so sorely needed in Lansing will have to work hard to stick to those issues.
And I think it’ll be interesting to see what happens next…
Leave a Reply