State House candidate Smith shrugs off GOP’s lack of support
A controversial Macomb County candidate for the state House of Representatives on Monday dismissed Republican leaders’ vows not to support him in the upcoming election, saying party officials have yet to offer assistance.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and House Republican Campaign Committee co-chairman Jason Wentworth, R- Clare, issued a statement over the weekend saying the fundraising committee would not support candidate Paul Smith in his bid to unseat Demo-
crat Nate Shannon.
The two said Smith’s questioning of how law enforcement officials handled the kidnapping plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shows he doesn’t represent the party’s values.
“Lee Chatfield never did anything for me,” Smith said. “So that’s totally false. From day one, they are using that phony reason to rationalize them not backing me. I will give them back every penny they’ve givento my campaign so far, which is none.”
Chatfield and Wentworth on Saturday issued a statement on what they termed Smith’s “offensive comments” over the plot to harm the governor.
“Paul Smith’s conspiracy theories and hateful remarks do not represent our values,” the statement read. “That is why the House Republican Campaign Committee is not supporting him and will not spend one dime to get him elected.
“The recent terrorist plot that was foiled at the state Capital is horrifying. First responders, legislators, the governor, and the public were all targeted and we denounce these depraved and illegal actions. This plot was evil and un-American, and anyone running to serve in the state Legislature ought to know it.”
Smith, 74, a former Sterling Heights City Council member and one-time mayoral candidate, reportedly responded on Facebook to a post that shared a New York Times opinion piece headlined: “The plot against Gretchen Whiter shows the danger of private militias.”
Smith called the piece a “bogus sham,” adding the defendants “never did anything illegal. Law enforcement is employed to punish people who COMMIT crimes, not people The Governess simply HATES. You can legally hurt Whitmer by voting out her minions.”
Smith’s post came after the FBI revealed a group of 13 anti-government vigilantes who had plotted to kidnap the governor, stormthe state Capitol, assault law enforcers and try to incite a civil war.
On Monday, Smith said his point was the suspects have not yet stood trial on the charges.
He suspects the timing of the arrests may be politically motivated.
“They arrested 13 backwood, filthy guys who look like they are Viking characters,” he said. “But did they really break the law? Were they just mouthing off? Don’t they get their same day in court that O.J. Simpson and other people we think are bad got?”
Smith said the arrests were announced three weeks before an election, something he compared to a county sheriff who may bust a prostitution ring right before election day to bolster his re- election chances.
“To be accused of defending these guys, how about give them a trial first? That’s what I was saying,” he said.
Smith, who alsomade an unsuccessful bid at running for sheriff in the past, was elected to the City Council in 2011 but quickly found himself polarized from his colleagues. He lost a re-election bid two years later after the council passed a resolution to ask him to resign after he was spotted at a Tea Party rally holding signs with an image of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm with a noose around her neck and former President Barack Obama with a spear through his skull.
In 2015, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor as part of a group of hardliners who wanted to dump the incumbents. Smith engaged in offensive Islamophobic comments online, making derogatory remarks about Mexican immigrants and gays.
A longtime foe of City Hall, he once filed a police report alleging Mayor Michael Taylor “intentionally” had a new amphitheater at Dodge Park configured to have the sound system pointed toward his house house in retaliation for lingering hard feelings from political differences.
In the upcoming battle over state House District 25, he hopes to defeat firstterm incumbent Shannon, a former City Councilmember whowas once a teacher in L’Anse Creuse Public Schools.
Republicans hold a 58-to52 majority in theMichigan House.
In a statement Monday, Shannon said he was glad to see the Republican speaker of the House denounce Smith, “though given Smith’s abhorrent record, I’m surprised it took this long.”
“The residents of Sterling Heights and Warren deserve a state Representativewho doesn’t sympathize with domestic terrorists. These men made plans to kidnap our governor, take legislators hostage, and harm law enforcement officers, yet Paul Smith claims they ‘did nothing illegal,’ and that it’s a ‘totally bogus sham’ — a newlow, even for him,” Shannon said.
Smith unexpectedly defeated Adam Wiley, who he says was the favorite of party leaders, and perennial candidate Jazmine Early in the August primary election.
He gained 36.9% of the vote, followed byWiley with 32.3% and Early, who had 30.8%