Republican Candice Miller has held numerous elective offices in her long political career – Harrison Township trustee, Harrison Township supervisor, Michigan secretary of state, U.S. House member and, now, Macomb County public works commissioner.
So, she can be forgiven for forgetting some details about her past political actions. But when she was interviewed on Michigan Public Television, she seemed to have completely forgotten one of the offices she once held — Macomb County treasurer.
In an interview that aired Friday night on “Off the Record,” Miller referred to two November election upsets in Macomb that led to the surprise defeat of Democrats for county treasurer and county clerk. The outcome was such a surprise, she said, because “Macomb has never had a Republican in those two seats.”
Oops. The county has never had a Republican treasurer since Miller served from 1993-94 in that position.
At the time, Miller’s win in the 1992 election was hailed by the Macomb GOP as the start of something big for county Republicans. But Miller used the treasurer’s post as a stepping stone to defeat veteran secretary of state Richard Austin in 1994 and Macomb Democrats continued their dominance.
In the interview with host Tim Skubick and a panel of reporters/analysts, Miller took a playful shot at her longtime political nemesis in Macomb and Michigan politics, Mark Brewer. In his time as county and state party chairman, Brewer often targeted Miller for criticism.
In recent months, Brewer successfully argued in court for striking down a new state law that would have eliminated straight-ticket voting. Democrats thought the law would benefit the GOP but it’s now believed that it helped some Republicans survive close races in November, including the obscure candidates for Macomb County clerk and treasurer.
“I wanted,” Miller quipped, “to thank Mark Brewer personally.”
