TRAVERSE CITY — Perry Johnson, a Bloomfield Hills businessman and one of three GOP candidates vying for governor in the August primary, paid a visit to Randy’s Diner Tuesday to tell people why they should elect him.
The campaign plan for an outdoor gathering at tables under an awning outside the restaurant was undone by the baking sun and 95-degree-plus temperatures.
So the event moved indoors where Johnson had to shout to be heard. So he shouted.
“Why have your electric bills gone up?” he asked the audience crammed into one side of the restaurant. “Because (data centers) are using so much electricity.”
Johnson pointed to the Democrats’ frontrunner, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and her husband, who works for a company involved in the Saline data center project.
The utilities and other companies involved in these controversial projects make multimillions, he said, and they donate to the campaigns of candidates like Benson and the GOP frontrunner U.S. Rep. John James.
“I would not accept any donations from any of these groups,” Johnson said. “I don’t allow people to donate because I don’t want to be beholden to them. …If I’m going to clean up Michigan, I can’t be beholden to special-interest groups. It’s not right.”
Three weeks ago, President Donald Trump endorsed James in his candidacy for governor in Michigan, leaving James, Johnson, and former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia remaining in the race.
One of the Republican gubernatorial candidates who didn’t get on the ballot, Pastor Ralph Rebandt, was at Tuesday’s event in Traverse City to endorse Johnson.
“I was removed from the ballot by Jocelyn Benson’s Bureau of Elections, so I’m supporting Perry Johnson — and the reason why is that he’s an outsider, “ Rebandt told the Record-Eagle. “He’s a businessman. He’s not beholden to anyone. He’s funding his own campaign.”
The last businessman who served as governor was Rick Snyder, Rebandt added, “and Rick Snyder did a great job in Michigan.
“I’m just tired of this stuff going on.”
On May 21, the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers determined that Rebandt, of Elmira, hadn’t met the required 15,000-signature threshold based on a sample of 750 of his petitions.
Rebandt challenged the sampling process and his disqualification, losing first in the Court of Appeals. Then, the state’s high court declined to intervene on his behalf.
“… (W)e are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court,” a three-sentence order from the Michigan Supreme Court said.
Rebandt said Tuesday that they’re taking their case to the federal court.