Sure, Bob Ficano has faced several scandals. Sure, some of his appointees got caught up in legal troubles. And, yeah, he’s under investigation by the FBI.
But 6 percent?
The Wayne County executive, an incumbent Democrat running in the Democratic primary got just 6 percent of the vote from fellow party loyalists?
Despite all his setbacks, politicians of Ficano’s stature typically retain a decent base of support, the true believers who are convinced their favorite has done nothing wrong.
But Ficano received just 9,223 votes in a heavily Democratic county of nearly 1.8 million people. He finished fifth — last among the five major candidates, including former sheriff Warren Evans, who won the contest.
In fact, he only beat out sixth-place finisher Bettie Cook Scott — whoever that is — by 4,500 votes.
Has any incumbent, a mayor or executive, in a community the size of Wayne County ever lost so badly in a primary while seeking re-election?
Somewhere in Oklahoma, I wonder if we can hear a shout-out from Kwame Kilpatrick in prison: “Six percent? Ha! Six percent? Hell, I could get more than 6 percent in the county exec race if I could run from here, from behind bars.”
For more than a year many people — prominent local Democrats and regular folks alike — advised, even begged Ficano to retire, and not seek reelection. Most of what they said was along the lines of "Go out with some dignity, with your head held high — and you could even have a hand in choosing your successor."
The hubris, the bunker mentality, the clear evidence that Ficano was campaigning in a bubble surrounded by sycophants telling him this race was still winnable if the vote was diluted enough: Whatever reputation he had for competence and political savvy is now gone. This 6% outcome is the end of his career. Full stop.
What does Ficano do now? What CAN he do now? I'd like to say I care, but it's really just clinical interest at this point.