foolmenot

The Daily Telegram in Adrian thinks Governor Granholm might be playing politics with special elections… Why would she do that? Would she be expecting anything in return for such behavior? If so, what would the payback be?

At issue: Special elections to fill vacancies in the state House and Senate.

Our view: Instead of playing politics, Gov. Jennifer Granholm should set elections as soon as possible in all three vacant districts.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm made a curious decision when it came to setting special elections for three vacant seats in the Michigan Legislature.

She decided that the Lansing-area Senate seat vacated by Democrat Virg Bernero should be filled as soon as possible, with a primary Feb. 21 and a general election March 14, while the Pontiac-area House seat vacated by Clarence Phillips and the Monroe-area seat left empty after the death of Rep. Herb Kehrl could wait until November.

Granholm's decision smacks of politics and should be reversed.

The governor and her representatives offered several rationalizations for filling the Senate seat immediately and leaving the House seats vacant for almost a year:

- It's not unprecedented in Michigan for governors to wait a long time to fill vacant House seats, while Senate seats are usually filled sooner.

- Both the Pontiac and Monroe districts will be represented in the Senate, even if they don't have anyone serving them in the House.

- The cost of a special election would be a burden to the Monroe and Pontiac areas.

But we suspect Granholm's motives may not be as pure as she pretends.

In Lansing, Democrats have a Senate candidate lined up and ready to go. State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, has a comfortable head start against the most likely Republican candidate, an attorney named Vince Green. But in Monroe, Republicans have John Manor, who lost last year's House election by less than 900 votes, while Democrats would have to scramble for a candidate.

The argument that Monroe and Pontiac don't need state representatives as long as they have senators is disingenuous to say the least. No matter how you slice it, residents of those districts will have a less powerful voice in Lansing until they have both a representative and a senator.

As for the cost of a special election, that argument might be valid in Pontiac, which faces a $43 million deficit. But in Monroe, there's some disagreement about whether a special election would really be a burden. Democrats on the Monroe County Commission argued that their district couldn't afford a special election, but Republican commission member Dale Zorn said the county has more than enough money in its emergency fund to cover the cost.

In Monroe, Democratic County Clerk Geri Allen argued that the benefit of having a state representative before November wasn't worth the cost of a special election. “The extra financing outweighs the need for a voice,” she told the Monroe Evening News.

Would a Democratic voice be worth more to her?

And as Republican spokesman Matt Resch quipped, Granholm's logic indicates that “representation only comes if you can pay for it.” Is that the message the governor wants to send?

Calling an immediate election in a district where Democrats are well-positioned to win but delaying until November in a district where Democrats have some catching up to do looks suspiciously like political maneuvering. And no matter what precedent has been set by past governors - and bear in mind precedent isn't always correct - the residents of Monroe and Pontiac should not have to go almost an entire year without someone voting on their behalf in the Michigan House.

Granholm should reverse her decision and set elections in all three vacant districts as soon as possible