Patterson: I won't run for governor
Oakland Co. executive says campaign would take too much time
Saying he can’t justify leaving his job as Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks Patterson said this morning that he won’t run for governor.
“I can not justify leaving my position as Oakland County Executive unattended for the next year and a half while I engage in a statewide campaign for Governor,” he said in statement from his vacation home in Florida.
Rumors had been swirling for weeks that Patterson had been telling people that he was leaning against a run for the state’s top job, but he only confirmed the rumor this morning.
“I know what it takes to mount a statewide campaign,” Patterson said. “It takes both money and time. Friends and supporters are ready to handle the money challenges of a statewide race, but the time challenges are looking insurmountable.”
Patterson was Oakland County Prosecutor from 1973 until 1988. He was elected county executive in 1992 and has been reelected to that post four more times. The Independence Township resident has made runs for statewide office in the past, including U.S. Senator, state Attorney General and Governor.
He was in a growing field of potential Republican candidates for governor in 2010, including Attorney General Mike Cox,
Secretary of Statehttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif Terri Lynn Land, U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, state Sen. Tom George of Texas Township, Ann Arbor businessmen David Brandon and Rick Snyder and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
Potential Democrats in the race include: Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Wayne County Executive Andy Dillon, Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel, former MSU football coach George Perles and former Flint Mayor Don Williamson.
