Final Words

Virg Bernero, Lansing's mayor and Michigan's Democratic nominee for governor, gave a pep talk at a Democratic Party campaign office in downtown Ypsilanti tonight on the eve of the election. Joined by attorney general candidate David Leyton, Supreme Court Justice Alton Thomas Davis and running mate Brenda Lawrence, Bernero said this is still an election about two different visions. "There are still those that believe if you take care of the people at the top — the folks that got the advantages — that eventually some of the good will trickle down," he said. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being trickled on." Read the story here.

One Week To Go

With one week to go before the Nov. 2 election, Democrat Virg Bernero told a crowd gathered on Eastern Michigan University's campus Monday night that education will be among his top priorities if elected governor. "I'm not here to say, 'Elect me and it'll all be peaches and cream,' but I am here to tell you these are my priorities: education, public safety, economic development — meaning jobs," Bernero told a crowd of about 140 gathered inside EMU's Student Center. Bernero was joined by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, who discussed a fight for education he says the Democrats are leading. Read the story here.

The Great Debate

With three weeks to go before the Nov. 2 election, Virg Bernero and Rick Snyder participated in their first side-by-side interview tonight for the job of Michigan governor. Bernero, the Democratic mayor of Lansing, came out with guns blazing and attacked Snyder for outsourcing jobs at Gateway Computers, painting a picture of the Republican businessman from Ann Arbor as an out-of-touch millionaire who looks out for himself first. This was the scene before and after the debate (no photography was allowed during). Read my story here. My colleague Nathan Bomey from AnnArbor.com covered the business angle. Read his story here.

Playing Chicken

About a dozen protestors — including a duck, a chicken and a cow — took to the streets of downtown Ann Arbor last week to picket outside the campaign office of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder, carrying signs that called Snyder a "chicken" for "ducking" debates with Democratic nominee Virg Bernero. The cow suit was a nod to Snyder's tenure with Gateway Computers, known for its spotted boxes patterned after cow markings. A trio of protestors held signs that read: "Rick Snyder moooves our jobs to China." Read the story here.

Wimpy And Nerdy

Michigan gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero addressed the College Democrats at the University of Michigan on Sunday. He said not only is his Republican opponent, Rick Snyder, a "nerd," but he's also a "wimp" for refusing to debate him in public. The last time Michigan’s two major party candidates for governor did not debate was in 1998, when Republican incumbent Gov. John Engler refused to appear with Democratic candidate Geoffrey Fieger. Fieger aired TV ads showing a chicken running around, and called Engler a "chicken" for ducking debates. Engler still won a third term in a landslide. So far, no Bernero supporters have been spotted in chicken suits. Read the story here.

The Art Of Politics

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs turned into political stumping grounds today as two Michigan gubernatorial campaigns descended upon the art-filled streets of downtown Ann Arbor. At one end of East Liberty Street, Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican contender in the Aug. 3 primary, moved through the crowd of fairgoers, shaking hands and talking about his plan to cut taxes and reduce the size of state government. Further down Liberty Street, Kelly Bernero passed out campaign literature for her father, Democrat Virg Bernero, describing him to fairgoers as the fighter for working families that Michigan needs. Despite obvious political differences, Cox and Kelly Bernero share some common ground: They're both University of Michigan graduates, and they both love Ann Arbor.

Main Street Agenda

Virg Bernero said on Monday that state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem Township, is on his "short list" as choice for lieutenant governor of Michigan. Smith and Jeff Irwin, a Washtenaw County commissioner who is running for 53rd District state representative, endorsed Bernero's campaign during an event in Ann Arbor.

Meet The Press

Michigan governor hopeful and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero is interviewed by a reporter in Ann Arbor after announcing support for his campaign from local elected officials Monday at the Kerrytown Concert House.

Virg Bernero

Michigan gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero was thrust into the national media spotlight last year when he became the leading spokesman for Michigan's struggling automotive companies. The Lansing mayor's scathing criticisms of Wall Street and Washington led CNN to call him America's angriest mayor. "I may be," he told me in an interview on Friday just after this picture was taken. "But there's a lot to be angry about and my anger is nothing like the anger that's out there in the streets in Michigan. People are angry and they're expressing it in a variety of ways. You see this Tea Party movement. People want to get involved. You see people spending the night at the capitol, putting up tents trying to get the message through to the Legislature to do something. For gosh sakes, we're in a crisis here and these people are dawdling. These folks don't seem to understand the urgency."