Source: Bernero has picked running mate

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero has selected Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence to be his running mate and will make the announcement Saturday, a person close to his campaign told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the campaign has not yet announced her name.

Lawrence, 55, was elected the first black and first woman mayor of Southfield in 2001. She previously served on the Southfield City Council and the Southfield Public Board of Education, according to her website. She earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Central Michigan University and is a graduate of Detroit's Pershing High School. She has won numerous awards for leadership and for reaching across regional boundaries.

Lawrence did not immediately return calls Friday requesting comment.

The Bernero campaign said it plans to introduce its lieutenant governor choice Saturday morning at Detroit's Cobo Center, where Democrats are holding their state convention this weekend. Although spokesman Cullen Schwarz would neither confirm nor deny that Bernero has chosen Lawrence, he said that "this lieutenant governor candidate was the first and only candidate to be offered the job."

Six people were selected for in-depth interviews before Bernero settled on his running mate, although more were approached about being on the ticket, Schwarz said. Bernero acknowledged Thursday that some prospective candidates in the public and private sectors weren't interested in running for lieutenant governor.

"This campaign cast a very wide net at the beginning of the process," Schwarz said. Some potential running mates "were not in a position in their lives to make a career change."

The lieutenant governor candidate Bernero has chosen "very much shares Virg's passion for helping working people" and is someone "Virg feels he can work with very well," Schwarz said.

T.J. Bucholz, who had been the spokesman for Bernero's Democratic rival, House Speaker Andy Dillon, said Lawrence is an excellent choice and one that Dillon had been considering as well.

"She brings a wide range of experience ... (and) resonates with the Democratic base as well," Bucholz said. "She adds the diversity on the ticket that the Democratic Party sorely needs this cycle."

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer has called for having a diverse range of candidates on the ticket. The Democrats now are expected to run Bernero for governor, Lawrence for lieutenant governor, Wayne State University law professor Jocelyn Benson for secretary of state and Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton for attorney general.

The latter three and Supreme Court candidates will be formally nominated at the state party convention Sunday, while candidates for the State Board of Education and the boards of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State will be nominated Saturday.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder announced Wednesday that state Rep. Brian Calley of Portland will be his running mate.

Bernero and Lawrence plan to kick off their "Fighting for Main Street Tour" Monday with stops during the week in Flint, Bay City, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, Royal Oak, Detroit and Lansing. The tour will move to northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula and additional lower Michigan locations in coming weeks.

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Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

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