As we enter the election year, infighting in the crowded, chaotic GOP gubernatorial primary field has already begun. Last Friday, Garrett Soldano attacked MIGOP-insider favorite James Craig on national television over fleeing a carjacking during his time serving as chief of Detroit Police Department. Excerpt below:
- “Well, if you look at the statistics, Detroit still ranks around number one in violent crime. […] Our cops are not given the support that they need and sometimes sadly, it comes from within their own departments. I have an opponent in this race right now who starts, or says a lot, that he’s cleaned up the streets of Detroit as police chief but in Detroit, it still continues to be violent. Every single year in Detroit continues to rank as one of the most violent cities in the nation and I think even in 2013 he was car, essentially carjacked, or nearly carjacked and he ran away. So obviously what he’s doing is not working.”
Soldano is referring to a previously scrutinized incident in which Craig “fled a suspected carjacker who approached his unmarked police car one night.” Now that Craig is running for governor, he’s changing his story and trying to cover it up.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“Even snake-oil salesman Garrett Soldano is calling out James Craig for trying to pull the wool over Michigan voters’ eyes about his law enforcement record. The more scrutiny Craig faces, the more he dodges questions and tries to cover up the facts. Whether it’s James Craig, Kevin Rinke, Tudor Dixon or Garrett Soldano who emerges from the primary, they won’t be able to run from their failed leadership and extremist record.”
