By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: July 12, 2013 2:53 PM

Late Thursday afternoon, an email went out from the Michigan Democratic Party, featuring a statement by chair Lon Johnson praising Macomb County Chair Mark Hackel for his commitment to the party.

Of course, it is always nice when party chairs praise top officials who are their fellow partisans. But this statement may have struck some folks as a bit odd.

The statement came when Mr. Hackel himself raised some questions about his party affiliation. Earlier this week, Mr. Hackel had indicated he did not want the letter “D” designating a party affiliation on the county directory.

Party affiliation should be a part of elections, Mr. Hackel said. Then he added to the intrigue when he said he has “somewhat of an affiliation” with the Democrats when it came to running for office, but doubted he wanted to run for statewide office if he had to run as a true-blue Democrat. Leadership calls for stepping outside the narrower boundaries of partisanship, he said.

That has led to speculation of whether he is giving up the party, the Democratic Party that is. Some observers have wondered if Mr. Hackel was growing cozier with Governor Rick Snyder. His appearance earlier in the year at the announcement that former Macomb Circuit Judge David Viviano was being named to the Supreme Court also raised eyebrows.

Macomb County’s importance to electoral politics is undoubted. The Home of the Reagan Democrats, it has been trending slightly more Republican when Oakland County has start to trend a bit more Democratic, which boosts its value to both parties.

Republicans once before wooed a county executive to switch parties, former Wayne County Executive Bill Lucas in the 1980s (before he was stomped by then Governor James Blanchard in the 1986 election). And they would certainly love to have two of the three metro-county executives in their column.

But Mr. Hackel also played a big role in helping Mr. Johnson win the Democratic chair’s post last February over former Chair Mark Brewer (also from Macomb County).

The statement said: “I’d like to thank Mark Hackel for his commitment and service to the Michigan Democratic Party. His leadership in Macomb County and broad popularity adds tremendous value to the democratic team. His inclusive nature will help us broaden the base and improve our competitive position in the Detroit region and across the state.”

Note the small “d” on the second democratic, which could be, and probably is, a typo, but could also be a concession of philosophic intent. The entire statement seems to say there are many ways to woo a vote, and the party trusts Mr. Hackel to take the gentle approach.

It also, however, does not directly speak to Mr. Hackel’s recent comments. So, discussions and speculation are likely to continue on this topic.