Clawson

Oakland Co. sheriff announces gubernatorial bid

By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

CLAWSON — Saying he would leave a job he loves for one that he might have for only one term because of the difficult choices ahead, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard announced his candidacy for governor June 3 in front of a home in Clawson.

Bouchard said he and his wife had a conversation about whether he could sit back and watch a train wreck happen without doing something just because their life is good.

“The answer is no. That’s not in my DNA,” he said.

Bouchard, a Republican from Birmingham, started his campaign by meeting the Maconochie family in Clawson and discussing the hard times typical Michigan residents are facing. He was also expected to meet with college students in East Lansing and another family in Grand Rapids as part of the campaign kickoff.

“The stories these families tell, it’s very stark,” Bouchard said. “It’s heart wrenching. Michigan won’t go to work until Lansing is fixed.”

Bouchard was appointed to the county’s sheriff position in 1999, and was re-elected to the post in 2000, 2004 and 2008. He spent a year in the Michigan House of Representatives and eight years in the Michigan Senate in the 1990s. Bouchard received the Republican nomination for U.S. senator in 2006, but lost the election to Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Bouchard, 53, said he decided to jump into the race after Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson declined to seek the position.

“I know I can fix these issues,” he said of Michigan’s troubles. “The next governor does have to realize they have to do what is necessary and they might not get re-elected.”

He said he would immediately freeze non-essential spending and would not live in Lansing as governor, instead staying at his Birmingham home.

“I want to live amongst my neighbors and hear their concerns, so I’m more in touch with their reality,” Bouchard said.

He said the state has to be bold to address the issues it faces, including developing a multi-year budget and making cuts before they are too late.

Mary Maconochie said she appreciated Bouchard coming to their home to listen to their story. Her husband Martin was recently laid off by Beaumont Hospitals after 16 years there in facilities management, and she runs a day care out of their home. The couple has five children.

“(The day care has) always been like our second income, and now it is what is keeping us afloat,” she said.

The oldest of their five children, Scott Maconochie, said he would like to go into architecture after college, but is concerned a job won’t even be there for him.

“I’m worried about getting out of college and not being able to find a job and being forced to leave this wonderful state that I was born in,” the 15-year-old Clawson High School sophomore said.

After the announcement, the Oakland County Democratic Party criticized Bouchard for entering the race, saying he is eager to leave the county in a lurch.

“When Mike Bouchard isn’t busy hustling on the campaign trail, which is a rare occasion, he spends his time eliminating critical services important to Oakland County,” said Oakland County Democratic Chairman Mike McGuinness.

He pointed to the closure of the Oakland County Boot Camp and the South Oakland Jail as examples of items that have been dropped on Bouchard’s watch.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1110.