Nolan Finley

Patterson explores run for governor

Frustrated fifth-term Oakland exec wants to take tested ideas to state level

L. Brooks Patterson believes the secret to reviving Michigan is bringing no-nonsense Oakland County-style government to Lansing.

And he says he's found just the right guy to take it there: L. Brooks Patterson.

The Oakland County executive will announce at his annual birthday bash Saturday night that he's exploring a run for governor in 2010.

"I know I can turn this state around," Patterson says. "I've been tested in all the areas where the state is wanting and done better -- job creation, innovation, budgeting. The challenge is there, and I'd like to try it."

That Patterson, 70, would seriously contemplate a gubernatorial run will surprise some people in Michigan. Having just handily won a fifth term as Oakland executive, he's set for life in one of those rare elected positions where the rewards outnumber the headaches.

But the Republican says he's frustrated by how far the state has fallen under the leadership of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and believes the principles and policies that have allowed Oakland County to maintain a balanced budget and triple-A bond rating despite a collapsing regional economy could work at the state level, too. With the right people to implement them.

"This isn't Brooks Patterson -- it's Team Patterson," he says, adding that if elected, he'll take with him the staffers responsible for Oakland's success -- numbers ace Bob Daddow, development guru Gerald Poisson and others.

Patterson has hired a pollster and will begin meeting with the party's wallets to gauge his support. Fans already have started a Brooks for Governor Facebook page, and he says he's been flooded with encouraging calls since the possibility of a Patterson candidacy was raised on WDIV-TV's "Flashpoint" program a couple of weeks ago.

Patterson is hands-down the most successful political CEO in Michigan. And that's not just because Oakland is a wealthy county.

His team has aggressively used technology to cut the cost of government, committed the county to two-year budget plans that anticipate and adjust for shortfalls well before they become crises, dealt with legacy costs head-on by issuing bonds to cover future health care and pension obligations, and successfully attracted New Economy jobs to Oakland County.

He'll be joining a Republican primary field that is filled with big names and is still growing. Attorney General Mike Cox is in, as is Congressman Pete Hoekstra. Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is considering. Congresswoman Candice Miller is often mentioned as a potential candidate, as is Congressman Mike Rogers and Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard. Domino's Chairman Dave Brandon is being urged to run by many of the state's business leaders. And a movement is under way to draft former state treasurer and now Meijer Inc. Chairman Mark Murray.

Patterson, however, enjoys some advantages. He has a very loyal base of support in Oakland County -- in November's election, when Oakland voters went decisively for Democrat Barack Obama for president, they gave Patterson 58 percent of their vote. And he draws the media spotlight like a magnet.

That might also be his biggest disadvantage. Patterson is often a little too quotable and has picked up a reputation for being divisive and inflammatory. His opposition to the Cobo Center expansion and other regional projects -- justifiably rooted in cost concerns -- has won him an obstructionist label and irritated more than a few Metro Detroit business and political leaders.

Patterson also is no darling of the Republican Party base. He's an outspoken critic of the religious right and has urged the GOP to take more moderate positions on social issues such as abortion and gay rights.

"I don't know that any forward-thinking moderate who is most concerned with the real world issues of the economy and bringing Michigan back could do well in a Republican primary," says former GOP Congressman Joe Schwarz of Battle Creek. "Brooks is a reality guy, and the Republican base in this state isn't interested in reality."

Patterson has tried for statewide office before and failed. He lost a Republican gubernatorial primary bid in 1982 and was defeated in the attorney general's race that same year. And he lost in the GOP U.S. Senate primary in 1978.

But Patterson may be right in betting that the only issue that will matter in Michigan in 2010 is the economy, and that his economic track record in Oakland County will give him an edge.

"I think Oakland County is a good example of how government can be," Patterson says. "It can be cost effective and managed in a respectable way. I'm hoping people will say, 'If he can do for Michigan what he did for Oakland County, we want him.' "

Patterson is a cut-up, an agitator and a prankster. He once said Detroit City Council members belong in the zoo, and wore a giant flashing earring to the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac policy conference to mock former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's diamond stud. Some may write off his announcement Saturday as another stunt.

But talking to Patterson, I got the feeling he's in this thing for real, that he's looking to leave a bigger mark.

"I'd like to go out able to say that we fixed this state," he says. "I'd like to prove our ideas can work on a bigger field."

Nolan Finley is editorial page editor of The News. Reach him at nfinley@detnews.com or (313) 222-2064. Watch him at 8:30 p.m. Fridays on "Am I Right?" on Detroit Public TV, Channel 56.