WDET News
- Detroit Minister Withdraws Form Race To Challenge Conyers
-
May 16, 2008GeneralA prominent Detroit minister says he’s withdrawing his bid to unseat long-time Detroit Democratic Congressman John Conyers.
John Conyers
WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter has more…
Other than some setting like a debate…it’s rare to see two candidates ostensibly opposing each other happily leading the same news conference.
But that was the case with the Reverend Horace Sheffield the Third…who had earlier announced he would challenge long-time Detroit Democrat John Conyers’ seat in the U-S House.
But at the conference…Sheffield said that race had now changed.
“So I’m here to announce today that I’m withdrawing from the race. We’ve come to some joint decision that it’s in the best interests of Detroit and in the best interests of the 14th District for me to withdraw and for me to support him as Congressman.”
Sheffield says he only entered the race because some people indicated there were problems with Conyers gathering the signatures necessary to place him on the ballot.
Conyers has been a bit hampered by an order given by a Republican ethics panel shortly before Democrats took control of the House.The ethics committee and Conyers agreed that only those who are NOT on his Congressional staff would be able to gather petition signatures…after Conyers was chastised for reportedly having staffers babysit his children and help tutor his wife…Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers.