Craig Covey D-Ferndale Files for Oakland County Sheriff Primary

For Immediate Release Tuesday April 19, 2016    More info:  Craig Covey 248.721.6434 cscovey@aol.com

Craig Covey to Run for Oakland County Sheriff

Popular Former Mayor and Commissioner will run as Democrat

“We Need a New Sheriff in Town!”

(Pontiac) Former Oakland County Commissioner Craig Covey, D-Ferndale, is announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Oakland County Sheriff.  He filed today at the Clerk’s office in Pontiac.  Covey was a Ferndale City Councilman for eight years, was elected mayor of Ferndale twice, and was elected to the Oakland County Commission in 2010 serving Hazel Park, Ferndale and parts of Royal Oak.  He lost that seat in 2012 after county and state Republicans redistricted the county, reduced the number of seats and gerrymandered districts in order to force out three Democrats.

He currently works for the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner as his Community Liaison. He worked for two decades with the Michigan Department of Community Health as an educator, and is currently the Board Chair of Ferndale Youth Assistance.

Said Covey today: “Oakland County needs a new sheriff.  We need someone who understands the changing realities on the ground in Oakland County, and the current desires and needs of the people who live, work and play here.  Republicans have held a stranglehold on this county for decades, and it is time for our evolving and diverse communities to disentangle themselves from the party of Snyder, Trump, Patterson and Cruz.  I may be David to his Goliath, but I’m going to give the people of Oakland County a choice in the race for sheriff.”

“We have an epidemic of opioid abuse and addiction along with rising deaths from heroin overdoses in our region.  Yet our county law enforcement community is locked in last century’s drug strategy.  Sheriff Bouchard continues to operate under a Nixonian “war on drugs” mentality developed in the 1970’s.  Instead of a strong focus on education and treatment around abuse of prescription drugs, our criminal justice system continues to prosecute and jail thousands for simple possession of marijuana costing taxpayers millions. The number one drug problem in Oakland County is the abuse of prescription pain killers which cause addiction and can lead to overdose and death.   There needs to be a call to arms for a major education campaign and a vast increase of programs for treatment and recovery,” said Covey.

“Our Sheriff could show leadership in the state by changing the focus of his huge resources to support a more robust fight against serious criminal activities that impact negatively the lives of residents such as auto theft and home invasions.  Instead he wastes resources on persecuting medical marijuana patients, caregivers, and similar generally law abiding residents,” Covey added. 

“Sheriff Bouchard spends vast sums fighting the losing war on marijuana prohibition.  He sends agents to hunt down and jail medical patients and their caregivers who use a plant that Michigan has deemed legal for such persons. In spite of numerous landslide elections where Oakland County residents overwhelmingly voted to decriminalize marijuana, our sheriff continues to use heavily armed narcotics agents, court officials, undercover agents, swat teams, dogs and helicopters to arrest grandmothers and caregivers who try to follow the law and are rewarded with arrest, anguish and prison”, said Covey.

Covey, 59, lives in Ferndale Michigan and has resided there for thirty years.  He was the first openly gay person elected by Michigan voters to a position of Mayor in 2007.  He has championed equal rights, diversity, and inclusion his entire career.  The past four years he has helped lead environmental efforts with the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner helping protect our streams, rivers, and lakes. 

An expert in community organizing, he has created and hosted events and fundraisers in the county that have raised more than $2 million for a host of local charities during the past two decades.

His positions on dozens of issues available at www.coveys-corner.blogspot.com