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Brian Calley Launches Campaign For Third Term of Snyder Disaster in Michigan

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Chaotic Republican Primary Continues Racing to the Right

Today, Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley launched his bid for Governor to continue the tenure of his “fabulous partner” Rick Snyder. But Calley carries serious baggage: His previous claim to fame was ignoring the health crisis posed by Flint’s tainted water and criticizing public officials who tried to sound the alarm on the deadly situation.

Realizing a run on his disastrous record alone would surely fail, Calley has been lurching rightward in recent months, desperately attempting to win the support of President Trump’s diehard supporters. With several candidates already attempting to claim the mantle of Trumpism, Calley’s candidacy is sure to make the situation even messier for the whole Republican primary field.

“The DGA welcomes Lt. Gov. Calley to the race for governor and looks forward to seeing the chaotic Republican race to the right,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Lt. Gov. Calley handled the Flint water crisis abysmally, putting Michiganders’ health at risk and disqualifying him from holding public office. After two terms of the disastrous Snyder Administration, Michiganders are ready for change, not a third term of the same with his ‘fabulous partner’ Calley.”

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BACKGROUND

Calley Praised Trump’s Ability to Speak Directly to Blue-Collar Workers. The Detroit Free Press reported on the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference and Brian Calley’s speech during a lunch session. “Calley spoke of the need for Republicans to reach beyond the party to solve problems, noting that ‘our President Donald Trump,’ during the 2016 campaign, spoke directly to blue-collar workers ‘who had been taken for granted for years’ by Democrats.” [Detroit Free Press, 9/23/17]

Gov. Snyder Called Calley a “Fabulous Partner” and Said “I Want to Make Sure People Can Build on This Platform and Keep Going.”According to the Associated Press, “Snyder did not say Saturday if he would like to see Calley run but called him the best lieutenant governor in the country and a ‘fabulous partner.’ With his tenure winding down, the second-term governor used the conference to remind Republicans of gains under his watch…‘I want to make sure people can build on this platform and keep going,’ he said.” [Associated Press, 9/23/17]

April 2016 Detroit News Headline: Calley Email Dismissed Lawmaker’s Flint River Claims. According to the Detroit News, “Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and other top officials in Gov. Rick Snyder’s office were dismissive in early January of a Democratic Flint lawmaker’s claim that state-appointed emergency managers tapped the Flint River as a temporary water source ‘unbeknownst to the city council.’ When state Rep. Sheldon Neeley said Snyder’s emergency managers were responsible for the city’s lead-contaminated water, it set off a series of Jan. 3 emails within the governor’s office that criticized Neeley two days before Snyder declared a state of emergency in Genesee County. ‘Most state reps in the minority party spend 6 years in pure irrelevance, so this is just his way of mattering,’ Calley wrote in an email. ‘He is not productive and he is not going to be productive. The issue is worth more to him in the media than it ever could be as a problem solver.’” [Detroit News, 4/7/16]