Perry, we hardly knew ye (File photo)
Entrepreneur Perry L. Johnson, a management consultant whose company is based in Troy, is planning to enter the crowded GOP field challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley writes today.
Perry L. Johnson (Photo: PJI.com)
And he doesn't sound too impressed:
When I met him last fall at the Republican Party conference on Mackinac Island, his mannerisms and appearance called to mind the comedian Martin Short. He's a talker, and voters may find his intense sales pitch off-putting.
Johnson, Finley says, is trying to "capture the same magic former Gov. Rick Snyder conjured in 2010 when he successfully ran as a non-politician with an impressive corporate resume, and spent his own money to do so." However, the current Republican field is chock-full of non-politicians; in fact, there's not a politician among them:
In this year's GOP primary, it's outsider vs. outsider vs. outsider vs. outsider. There's a radio host, a chiropractor, a pastor, a car salesman, a couple of cops, a poet and a Capitol riot cheerleader, and now a CEO, among others.
Johnson has what all party organizations value in a candidate, however -- a great deal of his own money, which he's willing to spend to rise to the top of this field. Kevin Rinke (the car salesman Finley references) has pledged $10 million of his own cash to his campaign, and Johnson is expected to do the same.
Johnson made his money as "one of the world’s top experts on ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and AS9100 consulting and training, and a leading educator on the theories and practices of Total Quality Management (TQM)," according to his company website.
One other asset Johnson possesses: a full head of suspiciously golden hair, reminiscent of the 45th president's.
