Bouchard to run for MI governor

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Mike Bouchard is focusing on Michigan's economy and changes in state government as he begins his campaign for governor.

The Oakland County sheriff is scheduled to formally announce his candidacy Wednesday with events in Clawson, East Lansing and Grand Rapids. He joins a crowded Republican field that includes Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, state Sen. Tom George and possibly Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder.

Democrats expected in the field for 2010 include Lt. Gov. John Cherry, state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith and possibly former state lawmaker John Freeman.

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm can't run again because of Michigan's term limits law.

Bouchard planed to launch a Web site Wednesday with a video message saying he would push for a part-time Legislature and a faster timeline for business permits. He also calls for a three-year, rolling state budget that would provide a longer-term forecast of tax revenues so the state can budget accordingly.

Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate and has lost population as people leave the state in search of jobs.

"They see the Michigan way of life and the American dream disappearing before their eyes," Bouchard says in his Web video. "That's the troubling news. The good news is we can fix these problems."

Bouchard, 53, is a former state lawmaker who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006. He lost to incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow, who received 57 percent of the vote to Bouchard's 41 percent.

But Bouchard won a statewide Republican primary before the matchup with Stabenow, giving him a base to build from in his quest to become governor. Bouchard's candidacy for governor became more likely when Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced in April that he would not run to replace Granholm.

Bouchard has been sheriff in Michigan's second-largest county since 1999. He helped dig through the rubble of the World Trade Center after the 2001 terrorist attacks and he helped maintain order in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

Bouchard is married and has three children.