Kristine Bonds of West Bloomfield, who is using her legendary dad's well-known name in hopes of launching her political career, was disqualified Friday from running for Congress because of invalid signatures. She said she is considering a write-in campaign in the Aug. 7 Republican primary. Rep. Dave Trott of Birmingham currently holds the seat for the 11th Congressional district, which includes parts of Oakland and Wayne County. Trott is not running for reelection.
Bonds, whose stepson, Drew Swan, died nearly four years ago from an opioid overdose, has made the drug epidemic a centerpiece of her campaign and plans to fight the problem whether or not she is successful in her bid for elected office.
She said her signatures were rendered invalid because of a technicality, with wrong headers on the signature pages.
Bonds said she's had great success so far pushing the anti-opioid agenda.
She and her husband, Greg Swan, who owns an advertising agency, met in January in Washington with representatives of House Speaker Paul Ryan and persuaded them to help get funding to address the opioid crisis, she said.
"Look - I didn't choose to lead on the #1 National Crisis of ALL TIME - The Opioid Epidemic," Bonds wrote in a statement to Deadline Detroit. "It was put on me quite unwillingly - no one would trade places with a bereaved parent or getting 'the call.'"
Kristine Bonds and her husband Greg Swan in Lansing on Friday.
"But I stood up for future would-be bereaved parents in this fight. And we won - BIG. The $6 billion I sprung when I accurately represented to Paul Ryan's team face to face in early January that the $45B Congress approved in the American Health Care Act for Opioids has killed 30,000 more young Americans because the net net was ZERO. They enthusiastically agreed, worked with President Trump to include it in the State of the Union and he DID as a direct result of my appeal."