In May, Rep, Candice Miller (R-MI 10th) joined with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI 1st) to co-author Stupak’s bill, H.R. 2176, to provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian Community. Michael Malik and members of Detroit’s Ilitch Family (Little Caesars Pizza, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, MotorCity Casino, Fox Theater, etc.) have been backing various plans for a Bay Mills off-reservation casino for more than 15 years.
On June 28th & 30th, members of Detroit’s Ilitch Family and their associate Michael Malik contributed another $13,800 to the political committee of Rep. Candice Miller. Through Miller’s 2006 re-election campaign they had personally contributed more than $75,000 to Miller’s political committees and helped raised thousands more from their friends, business colleagues, vendors and suppliers.
On June 28th & 30th, members of Detroit’s Ilitch Family and their associate Michael Malik contributed another $13,800 to the political committee of Rep. Candice Miller. Through Miller’s 2006 re-election campaign they had personally contributed more than $75,000 to Miller’s political committees and helped raised thousands more from their friends, business colleagues, vendors and suppliers.
That brings the total of their personal contributions for Rep. Miller to more than $88,000.00 since 2003 -- when Miller introduced her first bill in Congress to approve their Port Huron Casino scheme.
The Ilitches and Malik became major benefactors of Rep. Miller only after she introduced the bill to push their Casino scheme; they’d not backed her longtime political career previously.
On August 27th when their Detroit Tigers play the New York Yankees, the Ilitches and Malik will host a fundraiser for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. Rep. Miller is the Chairman of Giuliani’s Michigan presidential campaign. Marian Ilitch and Malik have been bankrolling plans by a New York tribe to build casino on Long Island in the posh Hamptons resort area – plans that face tough opposition and cans use additional influential friends in New York. And recently the Shinnecock tribe has tried to get New York Governor Elliot Spitzer to cut them into lucrative video gaming operations under consideration for some of the state’s racetracks.
Neither the Ilitches nor Malik live nor have their primary offices in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District; but the Port Huron casino and Malik’s proposed $170 million, 380-acre Harsens Island housing development and man-made lagoon are in Rep. Miller’s 10th District.
Early in the 2006 election cycle, President Bush asked Rep. Miller to consider running against Michigan’s Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow who was considered by most people to be extremely vulnerable. The Ilitches, Malik and their spokesman/political operative Tom Shields certainly must have influenced Miller’s decision to reject the President’s suggestion:
- The Ilitches and Malik contributed more than $115,000 to Sen. Stabenow’s re-election efforts;
- The Ilitches and Malik contributed more than $75,000 to Rep. Miller’s committees;
- The Ilitches and Malik raised thousands more for both Sen. Stabenow and Rep. Miller;
- Tom Shields was loaned out for the first time to serve as a senior strategist/campaign consultant to Rep. Miller’s re-election campaign.
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