COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN II
Honigman's Surgery
Shouldn't Affect Race
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITERDETROIT
A
s a politician, David
Honigman is more than
used to dealing with ru-
mors and half-truths.
But he's running out of pa-
tience with those reports that
have him too sick to be in the
Legislature.
"I don't have a degenerative
disease," said the senator, who
underwent surgery in February
to remove all but three feet of his
small intestine because of the ex-
traordinary number of adhesions
or scarring found in his abdomen.
The adhesions were twisting
around and blocking his in-
testines.
Rumors surrounding state
Sen. Honigman have ranged
from colitis to cancer. One local
paper reported the 37-year-old
senator had kidney problems.
"What's left of my intestines is
healthy," he said. "Can I have a
bout again? No one knows. I've
had three occurrences in a row
but before that, my last surgery
was 13 years ago."
During his February surgery,
which lasted 10 hours, the West
Bloomfield Republican's lung
partially collapsed, and he had
his gallbladder removed.
"My doctor told me most peo-
ple would have died in the
surgery I just went through,"
Sen. Honigman said. "I survived
because of my good attitude and
physical shape."
Sen. Honigman seems to be re-
covering well, but the process has
been slow. With his seat up for
reelection, his health could be-
come an issue. But the senator is
confident he will be "back to nor-
mal" by fall.
"He is not sick and he is not
ill," said Dr. Yvan Silva, who has
been Sen. Honigman's doctor
since the senator's childhood.
Dr. Silva also said it is unlike-
ly that Sen. Honigman will have
future obstructions, but it is a
possibility. He said he has not ad-
vised Sen. Honigman to leave
public office.
"He can lead a normal life," Dr.
Silva said. "I have always advised
him to do what he wants as long
as he is able. It would be wrong
for a doctor to get involved as long
as a person's activity is not a
threat to his (the patient's) life."
Sen. Honigman's surgeries
and slow recovery process have
kept him from attending legisla-
tive sessions in Lansing. Between
January and May, Sen. Honig-
man attended 11 out of 51 leg-
islative sessions. Last year, his
attendance record was 96.4 per-
cent.
Reflecting on what he has
been through in the past months,
Sen. Honigman said he believes
hardships are helpful in devel-
oping character and compassion
for others.
"When I was in the hospital, I
thought seriously about not run-
ning. At that time I did not know
I would recover this well. If I ever
found I was too sick to do my job,
I would resign," he said.
If the senator were to drop out
of the race before the Aug. 2 pri-
mary, a write-in candidate could
appear on the November ballot
by receiving .15 percent of the
votes in the primary.
If Sen. Honigman withdraws
after the August primacy, the Re-
publican county committee mem-
bers from his senatorial district
would meet and choose a re-
placement candidate.
In a third scenario, if the sen-
ator is reelected in November
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Sen. Honigman:
Expects to maintain a full schedule In the
fall.
and then resigns, the governor
would call a special election for
the open seat.
"I do not want David's health
to be an issue," said Vicki Bar-
nett, a Democrat from Farming-
ton Hills who is running
unopposed in the August prima-
ry. "I did not get into this race be-
cause I thought I could win by
default. I am running against
Dave because he is not repre-
senting his voters. Health is a
personal matter unless you are
too sick to do the job. You have to
assume he knows his health bet-
ter than anyone else."
The senator, who plans to run
a "low-budget, low-key" cam-
paign, said he is not overly con-
cerned about his chances for
reelection because his district is
primarily Republican.
"A few years ago I went door-
to-door but I don't think I will be
able to do that this time," he
said. ❑
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