Rep. Brown to Run for Oakland County Clerk

Michigan Rep. Lisa Brown on Tuesday came out swinging against Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard Jr. in announcing she intends to run for his position in the November election.

Brown, 45, a second-term Democrat who lives in West Bloomfield, said she would run on a platform of changing "the county culture of party politics trumping good government."

"It is unacceptable that our county clerk, in his own words, encouraged legislative leaders in Lansing to sidestep public input, while orchestrating one of the most blatantly partisan undertakings we have seen ever seen in Michigan – let alone Oakland County," Brown said in reference to controversial redistricting measures taken by the Republican-controlled county commission.

"It’s clearly a problem that Bill Bullard takes his role as a Republican political operative more seriously than serving the public as clerk."

Bullard, a former county commissioner and state lawmaker, was appointed county clerk after Ruth Johnson, the former clerk, won election as Michigan Secretary of State in 2010.

Bullard fired back Tuesday afternoon, alleging Brown received campaign donations from two Democratic Party officials involved in election fraud in 2010.

"One of the most important jobs of the Oakland County Clerk is to safeguard honest and fair elections. I think Representative Brown should show her commitment to election integrity by first returning the campaign donations she received in the past," Bullard said in a statement.

Clawson-based attorney and former county commissioner Tim Burns announced he would also run on the Democratic ticket earlier this month. Bullard is the only candidate to date who has officially registered as a candidate with the clerk's office. The filing deadline is May 15.