FeedsIt’s a game of political musical chairs
Well, another election season is under way and it seems like only a year or so since the last one.
This time around, there is the potential for change in many communities—and the guarantee in at least one, Canton Township.
I’ve had mixed feelings about the concept of term limits since they were implemented and this season highlights many of them. I think the underlying goal of the limits was to get more people involved in government. Prior to that you tended to see the same people running for the same office and interest in elections faded as it became apparent that nobody could beat a bazillion-term incumbent.
Now, with term limits, we see the same people running—for different offices. It hasn’t reduced the number of career politicians soaking up government payrolls and building up fat government pensions. It’s merely moved them around.
Still, there are some interesting races shaping up throughout western Wayne County. Here are some of them.
In Canton Township, there’s an active race for the trustee spots, with two incumbents not running. (Todd LaJoy is seeking election to the House of Representatives and Melissa McLaughlin is seeking election to the township treasurer spot).
I think the more interesting race here will be the treasurer one, where McLaughlin will face off against Joan Noricks, the former head of the Canton Community Foundation. Both are well known; both have done an exemplary job in their previous roles.
To be honest, the fact there was a contested race here surprised me to begin with. I thought officials in Canton Township all got together en masse and decided who was going to run for what, sort of the way Zeus used marble figures in that classic film Clash of the Titans.
The State Representative races will be interesting, too, in the way they reflect the Democratic or Republican leanings of the 20th and 21st districts. Both districts were drawn up by Republicans to ensure a stranglehold on the seats—and therefore, the House—but the demographics of both communities have been slowly changing. Will Marc Corriveau’s (D-Northville) victory of two years ago prove to be a fluke?
Will the Northville Township Board of Trustees, who once vilified him but now welcome him with open arms, endorse him or his challenger, well-known Republican Abe Munfakh? Will they stay out of it, or pick a candidate individually? Interesting questions, those—at least to a part-time political geek like me.
Anyway, with the issues we face here in Michigan—both at the local level and statewide—there will be plenty to talk about. There will be plenty of blame to go around for the state of things, plenty of finger pointing and plenty of empty promises.
Lets all stick to those issues and keep it clean.
