The author is a political commentator and former journalist, who served as deputy director of Public Information under Mayor Coleman A. Young from 1984-1991. He is the co-host of the podcast, Detroit in Black and White.
By Adolph Mongo
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchirist II
The whispers were getting louder. Closed-door meetings were coming to light. The call for Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II to drop out of the race for governor and instead run for secretary of state was growing stronger.
On Monday, he officially announced on X that he is dropping out of the governor's race and running for secretary of state.
Isn’t former state senator Adam Hollier already running for that seat? Gilchrist apparently listened to these disloyal and insincere Democrats and stepped aside, his departure giving Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson a clearer path to winning the Democratic nomination for governor.
He should have stayed in and made her earn it.
How many times do I have to write that the lieutenant governor is a loyal stalwart of the party? I wish those critics who dismissed Gilchrist’s chances of winning the nomination as a losing battle would have stopped the nonsense. Hasn’t he earned the right to run for any office he chooses to seek? Hasn’t he been a strong supporter of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the party? And yet, it’s still not enough for party leaders.
Dems Needed Gilchrist
It’s funny how the party needed Gilchrist to win Detroit and other Black cities across Michigan—and now those same party members are calling for him to quit. What happened to loyalty?
U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow
If some party members were able to call for Gilchrist to drop out, then I am calling for a neophyte named Mallory McMorrow to drop out of the U.S. Senate race. She is not qualified to be a U.S. senator. I would take Gilchrist over her any day for any critical elected office.
Yet I don’t hear any calls from party bosses asking McMorrow to stop campaigning for the U.S. Senate in order to give a more experienced candidate a clear path to victory.
We wouldn’t have all this drama if party leaders had done the right thing last year. Sen. Debbie Stabenow should have stepped down immediately from her Senate seat so Gov. Whitmer could appoint her loyal lieutenant governor to that seat for the remainder of the term.
Sen. Stabenow must have forgotten that it was African American women voters from Detroit who helped push her over the top in her first Senate election. Those influential Democrats have made it clear: They don't want an African American in that seat.
McMorrow is a name that makes me wonder about the state of the Democratic Party in Michigan. A state senator, McMorrow represents parts of Lathrup Village, Detroit, Royal Oak, Beverly Hills, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak Township.
Flavor of the Month
She became the “flavor of the month” after a fiery response to Republican state Sen. Lana Theis of Brighton, who said colleagues like McMorrow were “outraged” that they couldn’t “groom and sexualize kindergartners.”
McMorrow’s response to Theis thrust her into the national spotlight. National Democrats wrapped their arms around her as the future of the party.
If that’s what it takes for an inexperienced candidate to move up the party food chain, I know over 100 African American women who meet those same criteria. She does not deserve all the accolades being heaped upon her.
Now, I can see why Mike Duggan left the Michigan Democratic Party. It shows no signs of intelligence, transparency or loyalty.
