Carl Marlinga has a dirty little Democratic secret.
Marlinga, who has always run as a staunchly pro-labor Democrat and will likely
receive many union endorsements in his current run for county Probate Court,
has had petition circulators working the crowd at Wal-Mart.
One of our reporters here at The Macomb Daily spotted people collecting
signatures to put the former prosecutor on the ballot outside the Wal-Mart in
Roseville.
Of course, Wal-Mart is a four-letter word in union circles because they’re
perceived as anti-labor and have been accused repeatedly of mistreating
workers. It may be interesting to hear how Marlinga explains this one.
Meanwhile, Marlinga’s decision to run for Probate Court surely must mean
that he is determined to run for every public office available in Michigan.
Maybe his ultimate goal is not to win any particular political office but to
make his way into the Guiness Book of World Records.
In case you’ve lost track – and unless you’re a Macomb County politics
junkie, you surely have – Marlinga has now sought 10 different offices. Ten.
In the 1970s, he ran for county commissioner and state Senate (twice). In
the ‘80s he hailed as the county prosecutor. While holding that position he ran
unsuccessfully in the ‘90s for U.S. Senate and put his name out there for
governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
In 2000, he was briefly a Democratic candidate for state Supreme Court. In
2002, he ran for the U.S. House. In 2010, he made a third run for state Senate.
Now, he suddenly emerged as a candidate for the open seat in probate. That
was a surprise. 
Of course, that’s if anyone still thinks that Marlinga’s name
on a ballot could possibly be a surprise.