For Dems in Macomb County's 10th District Carl Marlinga is best choice | Endorsement

Sincerity and clarity can be difficult to find in political campaigns.  

Unless you’re a retired judge with clear policy ideas and a genuine devotion to protecting democracy. 

His probity and pragmatism are just two of the reasons the Free Press Editorial Board is endorsing CARL MARLINGA in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary.  

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Marlinga, a longtime Macomb County Prosecutor, is running for his party’s nomination in Michigan's 10th Congressional District, which includes most of Macomb County, plus Oakland County’s Rochester and Rochester Hills. 

In 2022, Marlinga lost to U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, by roughly 1,600 votes, or about half a percentage point. Marlinga says the national party simply did not believe the 10th District was competitive in 2022, and steered clear of the contest. He believes that James' slender margin of victory that year, and his undistinguished record of service since, will convince the party that the 10th District can be a pick-up for the Democrats in 2024. At the end of the last campaign finance reporting period, Marlinga had raised $468,000; James reported $4.3 million.

But with open seats in the 8th District, where longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee is retiring, and the 7th District — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin is running for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat — drawing Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee resources, that political calculus in the 10th may be elusive.

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In an hour-long interview with the Free Press Editorial Board, Marlinga, 77, of Mount Clemens, demonstrated impressive command of what it will take to win in a district that leans Republican, and was full of specific and refreshing plans. 

His top priorities include protecting democracy, fighting climate change, the advancement of equality and stewardship of the Great Lakes. In fact, that’s one of the stark lines Marlinga articulates between himself and U.S. Rep John James, the 10th District incumbent. James is running unopposed in the GOP primary. 

“No person who really understood Macomb County would vote to allow drilling at Lake St. Clair,” Marlinga said, referencing a 2023 vote by James against a measure that sought to protect the Great Lakes from oil and gas drilling. (Lake St. Clair is part of the Great Lakes water system and the Lake Erie Basin. The amendment, which failed, proposed excluding the Great Lakes system from a proposal to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production that passed the House.) 

A respectable set of candidates 

Marlinga has a robust strategy with targeted doorknocking plans in very specific areas of the district where he may be able to win over some conservatives in this fall's general election.

But first, he’ll need to get past a strong group of fellow Democrats running in the primary: Emily Busch, Tiffany Tilley and Diane Young. (Anil Kumar, a member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors, and Rhonda Powell, a leader of the progressive nonprofit We the People Mi, did not qualify for the ballot.)

Tilley has an impressive background and idea on education, immigration and health care. A state school board member elected in 2018 with 1.7 million votes, Tilley has standout ideas on improving education for foster youth and monitoring conditions at immigrant detention centers. She lost a brother and a cousin to gun violence, and is passionate about making Michigan cities safer.  

Busch, an Oxford resident with a master’s degree in business management, is campaigning for gun safety laws after her son was forced to flee from a school shooter in 2021. Young, of Warren, owns a financial planning firm and campaigns for protecting Social Security and Medicare, tax reforms and protecting women's rights.  

But in this race, Marlinga is the most well-rounded candidate and the best-prepared to win, not just in August, but in November.

Ready to fight

Marlinga has specific plans at the ready for delivering clean water, universal day care and subsidized home repair loans. 

Marlinga served as Macomb County Prosecutor from 1985 to 2004, and he understands the importance of representation in our legal system. In 1985, he appointed Macomb County's first Black assistant prosecutor. During his tenure as prosecutor, he also increased the proportion of women assistant prosecutors from 4% — yes, just 4% — to 54%, and he appointed the first openly gay chief of the prosecutor's homicide unit.

He has a deep understanding of the intersections of infrastructure, the environment and the economy. 

“We shouldn’t cede to the Chinese the ability to be making wind turbines,” he said. “... It is a false choice to say that you can either have a booming economy or a clean environment.” 

He has a clear-eyed view of the war in Gaza, seeking balance in the U.S. approach to the conflict and questioning Israel’s stated goal of eradicating Hamas: "Collateral damage is too weak a word, too antiseptic a word for the deaths of civilians. There are just too many people who are dying. I recognize that Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself, but there has to be some proportionality and some looking to the future of what this war will do."

He speaks clearly on his position with regard to abortion: “I am pro-choice. I believe that this is a matter that is just a private decision between a woman and her doctor ... Don’t impose your religious beliefs on anyone else.” 

And then there’s Marlinga's biggest motivation for seeking office, the thing that drives his sense of urgency and obsessive preparation for winning tough races in both August and in November. 

“Jan. 6 of 2021 happened,” he said. “I want to be in the House of Representatives on Jan. 6, 2025 ... I don’t want Donald Trump and his forces to hijack the election. Or if the election is thrown into the House, I don’t want there to be one more Republican vote, because I need to save democracy.” 

Marlinga walked away from a comfortable judicial seat because he felt a calling to protect and serve his country. He radiates integrity, courage and know-how, and he deserves a rematch against James. 

How to vote  

Local clerks will mail absentee ballots for the Aug. 6 primary to Michigan voters on June 27. Registered voters may cast ballots early, in person, from July 27 to Aug. 4 — check with your local clerk for the location of early voting sites and dropboxes for absentee ballots. And, of course, you can vote — and register to vote — in person on Election Day. 

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