Wayne
County Clerk Cathy Garret has ruled that current U.S. Representative John
Conyers does not have sufficient petition signatures and therefore will not qualify
for the August Primary ballot. The clerk confirmed last week’s findings by
County election staff that Congressman Conyers had 592 valid petition
signatures, needing 1,000 to qualify.
An
appeal to Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is expected, as well as a
court challenge of the decision, and even Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson is
predicting Mr. Conyers will ultimately end-up on the ballot for the 13th
U.S. House District.
If
that is not the case, Horace Sheffield III is arguably the favorite to win the
seat.
Mr.
Conyers could also run a write-in campaign; however, in the absence of that or
a successful challenge, Mr. Conyers would become the fifth member of Michigan’s
Congressional delegation to step down in one year – joining U.S. Senator Carl
Levin (D-Detroit), and U.S. Representatives Dave Camp (R-Midland), John Dingell
(D-Dearborn), and Mike Rogers (R-Brighton).