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Oakland Confidential is a periodic column of political gossip/news, gathered both on and off-the-record by staff members at Downtown Newsmagazine. We welcome possible items for this column which can be emailed to: OaklandConfidential@DowntownPublications.com. All sources are kept strictly confidential. The gossip column can be viewed at OaklandConfidential.com where you can sign up to receive updates via email.

BEEP BEEP BEEP: The clown car of Republican jesters blowing the horn to round up support for Michigan Republican chair continues to crowd out any serious candidates eager to rebuild the state’s conservative party. January 5 was the last day to file and get signatures to appear on the state convention February 17-18 to determine who will lead the party into the next election cycle. Typically, the role is to raise money, first, and to bolster candidates who can win. Considering that the state party is so broke that they’re planning to charge delegates $50 to attend, raising money is not currently their strong suit, especially as cochair Ron Weiser, who put in millions of his own moolah last cycle, is saying adios. His co-chair, Meshawn Maddock, wife of state Rep. Matt (Mad Dog) Maddock (R-Milford), was best buds with former President Donald Trump and encouraged loads of MAGA-leaning candidates last goround to run while failing to raise the goods, is also waving bye-bye. In her wake are her spoils – Kristina Karamo, who despite losing to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, is – we are told – currently leading amongst delegates; former attorney general candidate Matt DePerno; Lena Epstein, who lost to be a U-M regent; and Michael Farage, William Putnam II from Tuscola County and JD Glaser from Kalamazoo. What do they all have in common? None have ever won an election they have run for. “Every one of them are losers,” said one former high ranking Republican, who said his money would be on Scott Greenlee of Advantage Management Consulting, who he said has run campaigns and can raise money. However, some say he may be too vanilla for the folk currently dominating the party. As for those who say the party might have to hit bottom in order to rebuild, the former GOP pooh-bah commented, “How much lower do we have to go – we already lost everything in 2022.”

REAPING WHAT YOU SOW: Speaking of Republican Matt DePerno, despite losing to become state attorney general, remaining under criminal investigation by a special prosecutor in a possible vote tampering scheme and under examination by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission over possible padding of billings, he has a new questionable idea he has proposed to Republican delegates as he seeks their votes for post of GOP chair: ballot harvesting. As in, pay people to collect absentee ballots. Which is absolutely illegal. In fact, as Bridge Michigan notes, “using political operatives to collect and return ballots from multiple voters –remains illegal in Michigan. Existing law generally makes it a felony crime punishable by up to five years in prison.” Michigan voters, in both 2018 and 2022, have overwhelmingly said they want to have the right to vote absentee, and to have the ability to easily return their ballots in their community. Per the 2022 ballot proposal, in future elections, local governments will have to maintain at least one absentee ballot drop box for every 15,000 voters. It does not allow people to run around the state “picking up” absentee ballots from voters – which could be seen as coercion. “It goes along with every other way DePerno’s crossed the line throughout his career,” said one Republican politico.

MADDOCK UPDATE: For those in the party who are toasting the exit of Meshawn Maddock, better put your glasses down. Her son-in-law, Parker Shonts, is seeking the vice-chair position with the state party youth faction at the convention next month. While some are writing the spot off as a mere ceremonial position, one Republican consultant says not so fast. Says he: there are two ways to reach a position of power in the state party – you are either an elected Republican officeholder at some point in time or you work hard on behalf of the party, sort of like tending to the roasting chickens at a party barbecue, to build your bonafides. So along comes Shonts, who seems cut from the same mold as Meshawn. Abrasive, outspoken, MAGA DNA – all the makings of a culture warrior. For what it’s worth, he has the endorsement of My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell and a couple of noted Trump acolytes. His opponent in this contest is Rylee Linting, also an election denier, who has been trading barbs on social media with Shonts.

KARMA’S A BITCH: In what we hope will be one of our last items about the Maddock family, Milford-based state Republican Representative Matt (Mad Dog) Maddock appears to have finally set himself on fire. Last term he was bounced from the Republican caucus for reportedly leaking party secrets to others outside the caucus, breaking a cardinal rule. The caucus ban left him further isolated as he was plotting to be some big-cheese in the House if the GOP retained control – which they failed to do. So now as the Democrats are in control, Maddock was one of three votes against House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit), a vote that generally is unanimous. So when it came time to dole out committee assignments, Tate created a new panel –Housing – and stuck Maddock there only as a member. Ouch!

LINE ‘EM UP: The announcement in early January by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that “Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate,” and not run for reelection in 2024 set off a cavalcade of potential names rushing to the doors to replace her. Stabenow, of Lansing, is the number three Democrat in Senate leadership – so those shoes will be large ones to fill. She has quietly gone about her role in the last five decades (she was first elected in 1974 to the Ingham County Commission, before running for the state legislature), one step at a time, while also raising a mountain of money. While no one, on either side of the aisle, has announced they were throwing their hat in the ring quite yet, this seat is the Democrats to lose –and the Republicans will be going after it fast and furiously, looking to flip a Senatorial seat. The National Republican Senate Committee’s Deputy Communications Director Mike Berg told Punchbowl, “We are going to aggressively target this seat in 2024. This could be the first of many Senate Democrats who decide to retire rather than lose.” Word is that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (DLansing) is taking a serious look at running in this race, as is Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, most of Oakland County). They both know how to raise money nationwide – Slotkin raised $9 million in her 2022 House bid, and is sitting on $181,000; Stevens raised $5.5 million, and has $21,000 cashon-hand. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) is another name that has been tossed around, and is said to be seriously considering it. As wife of the late Rep. John Dingell and former president of General Motors Foundation and head of government relations at GM, she is the definition of clout. Hot-hot-hot state rising star Mallory McMorrow, state Senator for Birmingham, Royal Oak and Detroit, who raised over $2 million this cycle to help other Democrats and worked to flip the state Senate blue, will likely get a look-see, as could Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who not only gained national attention in her role administering Michigan’s 2020 election, but recently was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for that work by President Joe Biden Benson raised $5.3 million for her 2022 re-election and has just under $600,000 cash-on-hand. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, newly of Traverse City, stated they weren’t interested in the position – but in politics, nothing in certain ‘til they determine the final results.

REPUBLICAN POSSIBILITIES: The speculation heats up more each day with a growing list of possible Republican contenders for Stabenow’s Senate seat. Among them, Congressman Bill Huizenga; former Congresswoman Candace Miller, now the public works commissioner in neighboring Macomb County, and a former Michigan Secretary of State; state Sen. RuthJohnson (R-Lake Orion), also a former Michigan Secretary of State; former congressmen Fred Upton and Peter Meijer; former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette; Tudor Dixon, failed gubernatorial 2022 candidate; and John James, who just narrowly won a seat in the U.S. House last November after losing two prior runs for the U.S. Senate. The latest to express interest, multimillionaire Perry Johnson of Bloomfield, who was disqualified in last year’s race for governor for lack of legit signatures on his nominating petitions. The 75-year-old Johnson has been quoted as saying if not that, then he might run for president next year. Right. Watch for his promised 2023 Super Bowl commercial when he could give us his decision for 2024.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The Oakland County Republican Party has a new command roster, beginning with R. (Robert) Vance Patrick as chair, replacing Rocky Raczkowski, who retired from the command post. Vance was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2020 against Brenda Lawrence (D-Southfield) who took 79.3 percent of the vote. Patrick also attempted in 2022 another run for Congress but was disqualified from appearing on the ballot for the August primary. As chair of the county party, Vance Patrick is joined by TerriNallamothu as vice-chair, along with Linda Halloway as treasurer, Jacob Dimick as deputy treasurer, and Jacob Newby as county party secretary, with Erin Pruitt as deputy secretary. Although some insiders credit Patrick for his high energy level, others say he doesn’t necessarily realize the amount of work that some of his new ideas will entail. Still others express concern that the new county party chair is more aligned with the fringe element of the GOP. Party stalwarts would have preferred Anthony Paesano of Bloomfield Township who challenged Democrat Samantha Steckloff for the new 19th District State Representative spot, with the latter taking 67 percent of the 2022 general election vote. One of his supporters described Paesano as a “better fit for the county” party but admits the effort to grab the county chair spot simply started too late before the Oakland GOP Executive Committee made its decision.

ORDER IN THE COURT: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein, a downtown Birmingham resident, complained about a hiring decision made by fellow Justice Kyra BoldenHarris who put on the payroll as her clerk Pete Martel, who had done 14 years in prison for a 1994 convenience store robbery and for shooting at police. Although Bernstein said he supported rehabilitation of those who were incarcerated, his honor objected to anyone who had shot at police from being part of the Supreme Court organization, despite Martel having gotten a law degree, was working on his Ph.D. and time spent working in the State Appellate Defender Office. When Bernstein’s complaint went public, Martel quit his court job. Both supporters of Bernstein and activists in support of prisoner rehab took his honor to task, forcing Bernstein to rethink his position and apologize to both Justice and Martel. But that has not satisfied critics of Bernstein, who had just been reelected to a new eight-year term on the state highest court. No word from Justice Harris of Southfield, who was appointed to the court to fill a vacancy after coming in third in the November election during which she and Bernstein had appeared in campaign commercials together.