Royal Oak's Ellison Considers State Rep Run as Democrat

ROYAL OAK, MI – Dissatisfied with politics in Lansing, longtime Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison says he will make a decision soon on whether to seek election to the 26th District in the Michigan House of Representatives.

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“I’m seriously considering it,” Ellison, who was elected Royal Oak mayor in 2003 and is the city’s longest-serving mayor, told The Daily Tribune. “I’m dissatisfied with what’s going on in Lansing and I think I have the experience I can bring to (solving) the problems I see there.”

The district, which includes Royal Oak and Madison Heights, is currently represented by Royal Oak Democrat Jim Townsend, who is prohibited by term limits from seeking a fourth two-year term.

Snyder has said he will ask the Legislature to clean up language in the bill to address local officials’ concerns. The law isn’t intended to limit officials’ personal speech, but rather “prohibit the use of targeted, advertisement-style mass communications that are reasonably interpreted as an attempt to influence the electorate using tax dollars,” he wrote in a signing letter.

Ellison said the legislation is unnecessary because Michigan Campaign Finance laws already prohibit public bodies from using tax money to advocate for ballot proposals, bonds and millage proposals.

» Patch file photo