GTB Chairman Bailey to Run for Congress

Here.

An excerpt:

Peshawbestown, Mich.— The campaign to represent northern Michigan’s 1st Congressional District is expected to gain a new candidate this weekend.

Derek Bailey, tribal chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, will announce his intention Saturday to run for Congress. He would face ex-state Rep. Gary McDowell of Rudyard in the Democratic August primary. McDowell lost in November to Republican Dr. Dan Benishek of Crystal Falls in a heated race for the seat held by longtime U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee.

The 1st District is shaping up to be Michigan’s most hotly contested election and one with national implications. Democrats are targeting it as one of 25 they can win back in 2012 to retake the House.

Bailey, 38, was elected in 2008 as the youngest chairman of the tribe, a sovereign nation that was federally recognized in 1980.

In 1984, the tribe of more than 4,000 citizens became one of the first in the state to open a casino, the Leelanau Sands Casino. The Turtle Creek Casino and the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa followed.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110930/POLITICS02/109300374/Tribal-chairman-Bailey-to-run-for-Congress#ixzz1ZSVcE0EL