April 24, 1998

Legislative & Political Week in Review

• Three weeks from the May 12 candidate filing deadline, the capitol is abuzz with speculation about the nature and number of political contests spawned by term limits. Reviewing the math, Gongwer New Service comments: "In what will be one of the most demanding elections for party strategists in the history of Michigan politics, Republicans and Democrats are faced with the daunting task of filling 64 seats with a seemingly unlimited number of unknowns on the horizon. Democrats appear to have the edge at the starting gate. They have a 58-52 majority with 29 incumbents holding down their seats. Republicans have only 16 incumbents returning."
• A new face with an old name announced this week that he is in the running to be the GOP candidate for attorney general. George Scott Romney—he is using his full name on his campaign letterhead—is the son of a former state governor, and he has garnered the support of the current governor, John Engler, for his bid for the GOP nomination, despite the fact that two other primary candidates have been campaigning far longer than he. Former federal judge John Smietanka and current state Rep. Frank Fitzgerald both vow to continue their fight for the GOP nomination. Romney is a corporate attorney.
• In other contests, two congressional incumbents tossed their hat in the ring this week. U.S. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Midland) announced plans for his fourth run for the 4th District seat he holds. Camp’s GOP colleague, U.S. Rep. Nick Smith (Addison), announced plans to seek a third term representing the 7th District. Democrats are targeting the latter as a key contest, and Congressman Smith is facing an expensive challenge from retiring state Sen. Jim Berryman (D-Adrian); the two candidates already have raised a combined total of nearly a half-million dollars–more than the total spent in the entire campaign during the last election.
• State Rep. David Anthony (D-Escanaba), a victim of term limits, has his eye on a state Senate seat. To win the 38th Senate District seat, Anthony, who is chair of the house Forestry and Mineral Rights Committee, will have to beat fellow Democrat Donald Koivisto of Ironwood, a three-term Senate incumbent.
• Despite a 20 percent reduction in the work force from early retirements, the state Civil Rights Department promises greater efficiency in processing a daunting backlog of complaints. Director Nanette Reynolds told Capital News Service that the agency’s 4,300-case backlog will be eliminated by next October through the use of streamlined procedures. Under the former system, it took an average of 12 months for department specialists to review discrimination complaints. A new approach aims to trim review time to three months.
• Thirty-eighth U.S. President Gerald Ford visited East Lansing this week to help dedicate the 180,000 square foot edifice representing the Detroit College of Law (DCL) at Michigan State University. The partnership between the nation’s oldest independent law school and the pioneer land-grant university was praised by the native son ex-president, who holds an honorary degree from DCL.
• Two bills bringing Michigan closer to compliance with federal requirements enforcing child support collections were signed into law this week by the governor. Under the terms of Public Acts 63 and 64, the Friend of the Court is given broader subpoena power and may force employers to divulge employee information relevant to child support orders, and the secretary of state is compelled to provide vehicle registration information to state and federal authorities for child support enforcement purposes.
• Electors in former state senator Henry Stallings’s district will be seeing double in this election cycle. Stallings resigned, and the special elections to fill his vacant seat for the rest of this term (ending on December 31, 1998) will coincide with the regular elections to fill that seat for next term (beginning on January 1, 1999). Thus, on August 4 (primary) and November 3 (general election), voters in the 3d Senate District will vote both for his short- and longer-term replacement(s). The same person may run for both slots.