MichMash: Why Mike Duggan dropped out, plus court ruling could affect funding
MichMash breaks down Mike Duggan’s decision to end his independent gubernatorial campaign and examines a Michigan Court of Claims ruling that could change how lawmakers use earmarks.
MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss Duggan dropping out the governor's race.
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With less than six months until the midterm elections, independent candidate Mike Duggan has dropped out of the race.
This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the factors that led the former Detroit mayor to make his decision and the reactions from both Democrats and Republicans.
Even though Duggan faced an uphill battle running as an independent, the general consensus was that if anyone could win in that position, it would be him. Kasben said the current political climate did not allow for that possibility.
Later in the episode, we discuss earmarks, a way to secure funding for local government projects. Following a decision from the Michigan Court of Claims, what lawmakers consider an earmark could change. Gorchow and Kasben also discuss how the evolution of this type of funding led to current criticisms. Patrick Wright, vice president for legal affairs at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, joins the conversation to help explain the decision.
Wright said the Mackinac Center felt it was the right time to file the lawsuit that led to the Court of Claims decision.
“We thought the grant process was being abused because the voting threshold wasn’t being met,” Wright said. “We looked at the constitutional history and we tried to put a stop to it.”
The Mackinac Center’s challenge focused on two specific grants: one for a minor league baseball stadium in Lansing and another for a baseball stadium in Utica.
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