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Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley Signals 2018 Gubernatorial Bid

LANSING (WWJ/AP) — Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signaled his candidacy to be Michigan's next governor Monday, launching an online ad campaign and touting Republican-passed right-to-work and tax laws to business leaders.

He hinted at a May 30 announcement, which would coincide with the start of the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual policy conference on Mackinac Island for influential business, political and civic leaders.

"First of all, we've got the Detroit Regional Chamber, people will be back after the holiday weekend, but that is so focused on the future and what's going to happen next," Calley said about the timing of his future announcement.

Gov. Rick Snyder cannot run for a third term in 2018 because of term limits. Calley, 40, is a former banker and state lawmaker who as lieutenant governor has advocated for disability, mental health and prescription drug abuse reforms.

"I believe we just need to stay on the gas," Snyder said. "When you have good things going you don't slow down, you figure out how to accelerate."

In the 1-minute ad — and in similar remarks to the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce on Monday — he said he has used his 10-year-old daughter Reagan's experience with autism "to help everyone in Michigan live a better life. I don't shout it from the rooftop. That's not my style. It's not the grandstanding that matters. It's winning for you."

To date, no high-profile Republican has entered the race, though Attorney General Bill Schuette is expected to run and state Sen. Patrick Colbeck is considering it. Calley cited as accomplishments the 2012 laws that made union support voluntary in private and most public workplaces and "scrapping the old tax code" — a reference to a major 2011 overhaul in which business taxes were slashed while tax exemptions and credits were scaled back for pensioners, homeowners, low-income earners and taxpayers with children.

He cast the tie-breaking vote after the GOP-led Senate deadlocked 19-19. He also was involved in phasing out what was seen as an onerous tax on manufacturing machinery and other business equipment.

"I never raised my voice, but we got the right things done," Calley says in the ad, before a narrator adds "and will again."

Calley, of Portland, and Snyder addressed the Macomb Chamber at a luncheon. The suburban area north of Detroit is an important political base for Republican candidates seeking statewide office.

"Stay tuned. We need to continue to win for Michigan," Calley said after touting the state's economic recovery and saying a continued rebound cannot occur without an improved education system, infrastructure and skilled trades training.

Snyder said Calley is no "figurehead" lieutenant governor and "is a guy that's been working hard."

"He's putting some good information to people and I expect a positive response to it," Snyder said.

Calley's political consultant John Yob said the online ads will cost $500,000 over five weeks.

The ad is paid for by MIPAC, an independent political action committee formed for Calley in 2015. It raised $23,500 through 2016. Calley had nearly $610,000 in his lieutenant governor candidate committee as of Dec. 31 — money that could be used in a gubernatorial bid.

The news of Calley's intentions led the state AFL-CIO to note Calley's support for the tax rewrite and to accuse him of being "terrible for Michigan's working families. ... The last thing Michigan needs is a third term for Rick Snyder, and that's exactly what Calley and Schuette represent."

On the Democratic side, former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer of East Lansing is the most prominent candidate to have announced, in January. Others running are: former Detroit Health Department Executive Director Abdul El-Sayed, who is touring the state; former Xerox Corp. executive Bill Cobbs of Farmington Hills; emergency medical services driver Kentiel White of Southgate; and Justin Giroux of Westland. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee of Flint Township is mulling whether to jump in, and Ann Arbor entrepreneur Shri Thanedar formed a gubernatorial committee this month.

Lesser-known Republican candidates include Saginaw doctor Jim Hines — who loaned his campaign $166,000 in 2016 — Joseph Derose of Williamston, Evan Space of Grand Rapids and Mark McFarlin of Pinconning.

 

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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