Council candidate snags Blanchard backing

Judging by city council standards, Doug Skrzyniarz, a council candidate in Sterling Heights, has scored quite a campaign coup by securing an appearance by former governor Jim Blanchard at a fundraising event this Friday.

Blanchard and his wife, Janet, will host the $50-per-plate event at the Century Banquet Center in Sterling Heights. Skrzyniarz snagged the de facto endorsement after serving as Blanchard’s campaign finance director during the former governor’s attempted comeback in the 2002 gubernatorial election.

Skrzyniarz, one of eight candidates for six council seats in the Nov. 5 Sterling Heights election, is also well-connected in the world of Democratic politics.
Since launching his campaign early, in February, he has received the backing of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, and the United Auto Workers Region 1, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, Sterling Heights Fire Fighters Union, Sterling Heights Police Officers Association. 

An associate vice president of government affairs and adjunct instructor for the Wayne State University School of Medicine and Physician Group, Skrzyniarz said he was pleased to have Blanchard, who once represented Sterling Heights in Congress, attend the fundraiser as a special guest.

One more thing: The candidate, obviously, is not superstitious – choosing to hold the biggest event of his political life on Friday the 13th.