Formal announcement from Bernero on Monday

by: Eric B.

Sat Feb 06, 2010 at 11:01:27 AM EST

Lansing mayor Virg Bernero has been saying since John Cherry dropped out of the race that he'd soon make a formal announcement about his own candidacy, with the implied conclusion that he'd get into the race.  Everyone reporting on this, however (except Todd Heywood at Michigan Messenger) has been hedging their bets, pretending that he's exploring a run. A formal announcement to come Monday.

Asked Friday when he'll decide if he's going to run, Bernero said the announcement will come Monday, and political watchers expect him to jump into the race. He formed an exploratory committee last month after Lt. Gov. John Cherry dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination, and has made public statements indicating he's leaning toward running.

Dear media ... in Michigan, there is really no such thing as an exploratory committee.  It's a phantom created by campaigns. Virg Bernero has been running for governor since December, and Monday he is expected to either announce that he thinks he's got a plausible chance of winning or that his campaign sputtered before getting off the flight deck.  Please, in the future, report on the reality of things and not the spin offered by candidates.

Same with Andy Dillon.

Organized labor is considered a soft spot for Dillon, who supports merging health care for all public employees into one health care plan, an idea opposed by unions representing teachers and state workers. Asked by Detroit News Opinion Editor Nolan Finley on "Am I Right" how he thinks he can win the Democratic primary without union backing, Dillon said that's not a problem.

Dillon's been telling his supporters since December that he was going to get into the race, and that he had the support of people in the business community ... specifically Roger Penske and Tony Earley. (No wonder he said he's raised $1 million in 30 days.)

Still, I admire the hell out of his confidence.  He doesn't think he needs the support of unions to win the nomination, he's got a track record in the Legislature that in better times would get him tarred and feathered, and he's enraged every major Democratic constituency over the last four years. Plus, people who see him speak say he comes across with all the personal magnitism of a limp noodle. This is all on top of his postively Bret Favre-like "will he or won't he" approach to running for governor ... which has been going on since last summer.  But, apparently he just kind of waves all of these considerable drawbacks away as if they are annoying insects.  In fact, it's the same kind of cool confidence he showed last summer when he said he could get the budget balanced and public employee health benefits reformed by the end of September.