Will there really be a contest for mayor?
Brian James, recently retired assistant city attorney, apparently intends to challenge incumbent Jim Ellison in the November election. Reactions range from, "I don't think he can collect the 500 signatures needed to be put on the ballot" to speculation that his insider status for several years may have provided him with material for exciting campaign soundbites. VersagiVoice has added James to the campaign page and will report or comment on developments. A mixture of thoughtful and superficial postings on www.royaloaksoundoff.com provides a sampling of first reactions to all this.

One, perhaps unfortunate, result of James's candidacy is that the City Attorney Office itself will become a factor in the campaign, especially as that office's history includes contention simultaneously and separately involving the District Court, the City Commission, the Administration, Department Heads, even residents.  --25 July 07

If the City Attorney Office becomes a campaign issue
Each time the City of Royal Oak gets in financial trouble, two departments quickly come into focus: Parks & Recreation and the City Attorney Office. The extreme positions are always the same: Eliminate Parks & Rec and Privatize legal services.

If retired Assistant City Attorney Brian James gets enough signatures to be eligible to run for mayor against incumbent Jim Ellison, the performance of the City Attorney Office is sure to become a campaign issue. Hence, this review and future follow-up reports and comments as appropriate.

Those with long memories will recall -- accurately or not, partisan or not, and in no particular order -- such matters as the following.

• The Doctor Kevorkian trial
• A sexual harassment incident
• Alleged politically inappropriate letters from the judges to city hall
• Disagreements re the use or not of legal advice about such issues as lot splits, the Easter Seals clubhouse for mentally ill, SOCCRA, the Library
• Specific and generalized complaints from city department heads about less-than-helpful relationships with specific city attorneys and with the office as a whole. The city attorney's office has long been the suspected source of the popular/notorious and brilliantly satirical Royal Oak Zoo website which was online for a few months several years ago.
• The unsuccessful attempt to remove then-City Attorney Chuck Semchena from office -- which some suggest led to the unionization of that office
• The successful behind-the-scenes removal of then-City Manager Larry Doyle
• If, when, and for what purposes to use outside counsel
• Perennial budget arguments between City Hall and the District Court
• Charges of too many "cozy relationships" between and among the District Court, the City Attorney Office, the City Commission, the Administration, Department Heads, even residents.

Unfortunately, to a much greater degree than is true of the conventional contention between CITCOM and the Administration, personality conflicts have played a role in hindering conflict resolution when the City Attorney Office is involved. So, depending to a large degree on whether James uses disciplined or petty tactics, the 2007 campaign, and not just for mayor, may become unseemly -- in which case Ellison will need to adopt a more aggressive demeanor than the gentlemanly one he displays chairing CITCOM meetings.

Whether and to what extent such issues arise during the 2007 campaign remains to be seen. This page and related pages will monitor those developments. -- 25 July 2007