Grot, an experienced political operative, is also a state House candidate

By Chad Selweski
The Macomb Daily
An eclectic coalition pieced together from the Macomb County
electorate has blazed the path for the tea party to retake control of
the county Republican Party later this year, when a fierce battle for
control of the local GOP is sure to play out.

The support that has lined up behind Shelby Township Clerk Stan
Grot, a former Macomb GOP chairman, seems to indicate that Grot’s tea
party forces will have more than enough precinct delegates to oust the
Republican establishment.

That trend contrasts markedly with the fortunes of the tea party
on the national landscape, with most of the rebel groups’ candidates
falling short in recent GOP primaries for Senate or governor in key
states.

Macomb County political observers have known for months that
another battle was brewing for control of the GOP, and intense
recruiting efforts by the ruling establishment factions and the tea
party mavericks resulted in 865 candidates lining up for precinct
delegate seats.

Montilla

Grot, a former county commissioner and Sterling Heights city
councilman, has declared that he has 435 delegates on his side, while
party chairman Rob Montilla has just 285. The loyalties of some longtime
delegates are less clear. Montilla could not be reached for comment,
but his supporters are still analyzing the long list of names on the
delegate list.

Meanwhile, Grot, a Polish immigrant, has taken an ethnic approach toward recruiting his 435 delegates.

“It’s a coalition of different nationalities – Chaldeans, Macedonians are in there, (former) Yugoslavians. And, of course, a lot
of Poles,” said Grot, whose political career began with a 1986 run for
Congress while he was a Hamtramck restaurant owner.

“We have business people and a lot of tea party people. We were
trying to put together a mix – a lot of new people – and I think we
succeeded.”

To read more, click here.

Recent Posts: