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Susan J. Demas gets why nationally honored Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha "told the media she’s not going to run for office," the politics writer says in her latest column.
But she sees an urgent need for the crusading Flint pediatrician and political outsiders like her to consider government service:
Think about it. Why wouldn’t we want people making positive change in Flint or anywhere else to talk publicly about political problems or make the leap to being a candidate for office? That’s how this is supposed to work.
I understand why Hanna-Attisha may not want to run for anything. She would lose plenty of friends and discover she has enemies she never imagined. Her personal life would be put under a microscope and judged. And some of the same folks who fell over themselves praising her unselfish work in Flint would now finger-wag that she’s just a typical politician.
But we desperately need people like Hanna-Attisha in public service, now more than ever. And if our political culture drives people like her away, it’s hard not to wonder if it’s irrevocably broken.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is "stubborn and loud," she says. (Michigan State University photo)
A plea in Demas' headline -- Run, Dr. Mona, Run -- is more than an abstract notion. A realistic U.S. House opportunity is possible in 2018.
Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democrat whose district includes Flint, is expected to run next year for the open governor's seat rather than seeking a fourth term.
If she reconsiders, Hanna-Attisha would start with high name recognition, a successful grass-roots crusader's image, and admiring potential donors statewide and beyond.
The 40-year-old Iraqi immigrant, director of the pediatric residency program at Hurley Medical Center, last April was on Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people globally. Two months later, Crain's Detroit Business included her among Michigan's 100 Most Influential Women and said:
Her work, well above the call of duty, helped the 100,000 people who live in Flint and exposed the truth that 8,000 to 10,000 kids under the age of 6 in Flint — "all of whom deserve the best from us" — had been exposed to lead.
The local business publication added that she "describes herself as 'stubborn and loud,'" which sounds like a campaign slogan waiting to be used.
Her reluctance to enter politics "underscores a destructive, self-sabotaging force in politics today," writes Demas, who's in her 12th year of covering state politics and is editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics newsletter.
Most people — even those who work in and around government — agree that politics is a filthy, filthy business. And so therefore, anyone who sullies their hands by speaking out or running for office is viewed as being somewhat tainted.
