Second campaign ad pops up in Miller's congressional district

It’s only mid-May 2015 but the second campaign ad has hit Republican voters’ mailboxes in advance of of the 2016 race in the Macomb County-based district that Congresswoman Candice Miller is vacating.
Shelby Township Treasurer Michael Flynn mailed small placards earlier this week in the 10th Congressional District that mirror those he sent last month.

Flynn clearly seeks to get out front in this race and he reportedly has the ample family finances to keep it up.

Once again, the oversized postcards Flynn distributed rely on animation for the front cover. This time, the drawing features a house on fire and the homeowner is deciding whether to call his lawn care service, a house painter or 911.

That fits the theme on the flip side of the card (identical to the first campaign piece) that says Flynn saved Shelby taxpayers $1 million by eliminating guaranteed pensions for new township employees, and that his activities on an economic development team resulted in “hundreds of new high-paying technical and manufacturing jobs for the 10th; revitalized neighborhoods, and new families.”

The other candidates in the GOP contest for Miller’s seat, so far, are  state Sen. Phil Pavlov of St. Clair County and former senator Alan Sanborn of Macomb County’s Richmond Township.

State Sen. Jack Brandenburg of Harrison Township is still mulling a congressional run after he finished atop an Inside Michigan Politics poll in the 10th District in April.

In a well-written analysis of the race by IMP (subscription only), here is how they described the early frontrunner, Brandenburg:

“Brandenburg, who owns an industrial supply company, oozes Macomb blue-collar swagger. Now in his second term in the state Senate, he’s slayed his long-term enemy, the Personal Property Tax on industrial equipment. But if you really want to get him worked up, mention the fact that GOP Gov. Rick Snyder has never gotten behind his plan to roll back the income tax — a promise Brandenburg says needs to be kept from the Gov. Jennifer Granholm era.”
It’s interesting to note that IMP named Brandenburg the most conservative senator of 2014, after he was the runner-up for three years running. Previously, Sanborn was named the most conservative senator several times before he was term-limited in 2010.

As for Flynn, he served four years as a trustee on the Shelby Township board and then was elected township treasurer in 2012.

The candidates will be campaigning in a vast, diverse 10th District that extends from Sterling Heights, through northern Macomb and up to the tip of the Thumb Area. It includes St. Clair, Lapeer, Sanilac, Huron and Tuscola counties.
Macomb County, of course, is the heart of the district and Flynn’s one potential advantage is that Shelby Township is the second-largest community in the district, with a population of about 75,000.