With Slideshow: Alma Wheeler Smith: The governor candidate Michigan won't get to vote for this year

Ten minutes and one standing ovation later, both students were letting Smith slap her campaign stickers over the top of Bernero's stickers, saying they liked her views on education.

"We're going to keep turning this crowd," Smith said with confidence, marching away as if what had transpired was no rare occurrence.

"It happens all the time," whispered Roderick Casey, a campaign volunteer and retired janitor from Ypsilanti who campaigned for Smith that day in Detroit.

That was last month when Smith's grassroots campaign was gaining momentum. Many who heard her message about turning around Michigan were being swayed, and Smith was on her way to getting 15,000 signatures to appear on the Aug. 3 primary ballot.

But the 68-year-old state representative from Washtenaw County's Salem Township announced on Monday her decision to abandon her bid for governor, citing a concern of splitting the progressive vote and ending up with a candidate who doesn't represent core Democratic values.

"Democrats need to unify behind a candidate, and I have come to believe that my continued candidacy would only serve to divide us further,” Smith said.

Smith was the underdog in the race for months. She faced formidable opponents in Bernero and House Speaker Andy Dillon. Her campaign hadn't attracted nearly as much hype or financial support.

Political pundits say Bernero is most likely to benefit from Smith's decision to drop out of the race. Like Smith, he is seen as a progressive, left-leaning candidate. Dillon at times has alienated key Democratic constituencies.

"Alma Wheeler Smith is the kind of fighter we need involved in our effort to shake things up in state government and to get our priorities straight in this time of crisis," Bernero said in a statement released Monday, adding Democrats should be proud of Smith for the gubernatorial campaign she ran.

Looking back on the campaign

"People say Alma Wheeler Smith is the best-qualified candidate for governor but she can't win," Smith told a crowd last month. "I can win. My campaign is the only campaign at this moment that is going up in the polls, and I will continue to climb in the polls because we are doing that grassroots activity that gets us forward."

Smith struggled to generate support for her candidacy, though. She amassed a mere $36,245 by the time she filed campaign finance statements in January — far from the level of money needed to run a successful gubernatorial campaign. And a welcome video on her campaign website up since November still has been viewed by less than 300 people.

Yet Smith remained confident last month at the Democratic Endorsement Convention inside Cobo Hall, convinced her grassroots push for the top seat in state government was going strong enough to continue.

"The polls show that our momentum is growing well — that the others are kind of plateaued —and I intend to keep moving forward," she said. "We are working at raising money, always raising money. Unfortunately, until we do campaign finance reform, it is going to be about who gets the bucks."

Smith, who comes from a politically active family, has been well-known in and around Washtenaw County for many years. The daughter of a former Ann Arbor mayor, she rose up through the ranks. She began her political career in the trenches of Democratic campaigns and honed her skills as a cable commissioner, school board trustee and Washtenaw County commissioner.

"I've been on a school board for eight years, so I understand education and the demands that the teachers and the administrators face to deliver a quality education that makes sure that our kids are ready for college," Smith told a crowd last month.

"I have a program, Michigan Future, that will make certain that we have a preschool program for our 4-year-olds, so that they are ready for a school when they start in kindergarten. And we bookend that program with free tuition at our vocational technical schools, at our community colleges and at our four-year universities — our public universities — so that kids don't leave college with a debt of $30,000 and $40,000. That is no way to begin your next life."

Smith currently serves Michigan's 54th House District, but has 14 years of experience in the Legislature, including her years as a state senator.

"I bring great credentials in terms of issues and where I have stood, and as a member of appropriations, I have stood with you," she told a crowd of veterans last month. "And I will be the first one to tell you that if we are going to address the issues of veterans, if we're going to address education and jobs here in the state of Michigan, we need to be talking about revenue. We are not going to turn this state around unless the state of Michigan has dollars to invest in our people."

Smith took a bold stance during her campaign by openly calling for a massive state tax overhaul to raise $6.5 billion, which she argued could be used to restore funding for public schools, local police and fire protection, and important services such as mental health care.

"We need revenue in Michigan, and you're going to hear that coming out of my mouth," Smith said. "We need to tax the wealth of the state of Michigan, not the poor people of the state of Michigan, because we have a tremendous capacity under the Headlee limit to raise the dollars that will let us create public jobs and opportunities for people to go back to work quickly."

In 2001, Smith became the first black candidate to mount a campaign for governor on Michigan's Democratic ticket. She delayed those plans when she joined former Congressman David Bonior's campaign for governor as his choice for lieutenant governor.

Smith says being black has shaped her views and values. Born in 1941 in the era of Jim Crow segregation in Columbia, South Carolina, Smith said she confronted racial issues early on in her life.

She had a twin sister until she was 2.

"I come to you with a wealth of experience that grew from a family tragedy and that was the death of my identical twin sister when she caught her dress on fire," she told a crowd last month. "And the ambulance that came to take Lucille to the hospital left her to die in my mother's arms because the family was black. At that time, my parents taught their daughters that the color of your skin, the depth of your wallet, and the place where you live must never determine or limit your opportunities for a great quality of life."

Smith moved with her family to Michigan when she was 2. Since 1978, she has lived in Salem Township where her three now-adult children grew up.

Smith graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in journalism and did advanced degree work in political science and business administration. She worked as a senior television producer at U-M prior to running for office.

In Lansing, Smith led the Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, continues to influence the state's budget.

Known for her own brand of straight talk, Smith promised in her short-lived campaign to speak truthfully with the citizens of Michigan.

"We need a governor who will not pander to you and tell you what they think you want to hear, but will tell you what you need to hear," she said. "I will be always honest. My record is high for integrity. It's going to be a tough job for governor and I am prepared."

Smith campaigned on the promise that her policies and budgets would support full access to health care for each resident, equal education access and opportunity from preschool to grad school, a safe and clean environment, vital urban centers and recovery for Detroit, a healthy business sector, and protection for civil rights and liberties.

She criticized a broken Lansing.

"You lost your financial aid because we went for an all-cuts budget," she told a crowd of mostly college students last month. "That's bad leadership. I am changing the leadership in Lansing. As governor of the state of Michigan, we will have a free tuition program for our community colleges, our vocational tech centers, and public universities in the state of Michigan. And we will pay for that program by raising revenue in the state."

Smith called herself "the only candidate who is being honest with the electorate" by talking about raising tax revenue.

"If we hope to turn Michigan around, if we hope to create jobs, if we want to have the public sector be a leader in that job creation — and put our people to work on the grid, on our infrastructure, with our students in front of the classroom — then you need a governor who is going to talk to them honestly about raising revenue," she said.

Smith has authored laws that established genetic privacy rights, regulated personal protection orders between juveniles and their parents or guardians, provided the first state funding for a successful drug court program, shared in the establishment of the first early childhood education programs, and brought state law into conformity with federal disability terminology.

Smith said her long experience in the Legislature has given her the ability to judge when government is off track and how to correct it.

"As governor of the state of Michigan, I am the only candidate with a solid plan that will turn this state around: jobs, education, making sure that we don't just talk about the quality of the health care plan that was passed — the first step toward universal health care — but we talk about how we implement that here at the state," she said. "You need a governor who will be standing up for your rights and for your children's rights, who is going to be strong, tough, knowledgeable and undefeatable. I am that candidate."

Stuart Dowty, a retired attorney and chairman of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, said the local party is sad to see Smith drop out of the race.

"But we respect it and doing it now shows her principles," he said. "I think what Alma said in her statement about looking at the nature of the race, and her candidacy along with Bernero probably splitting the progressive vote is well taken. It speaks well to Alma to make that kind of decision."

Dowty said the county party doesn't support any one candidate in a contested primary, so it hasn't taken a position yet in the race.

"But certainly Alma, because of her roots and ties here in Washtenaw County, was loved and had a lot of support," he said. "She was willing to raise issues about fundamental questions about our tax structure and the economic conditions of the state that other candidates haven't had the courage to raise directly the way she has. And she's certainly — and this has been true her whole career — one of the best politicians or legislators in terms of being willing to speak truth to power. She's willing to speak up and go to the real issues rather than play after what seems to be popular at the moment."

Dowty predicts Michigan hasn't seen the last of Smith politically. In fact, some predict she may end up being Bernero's choice for lieutenant governor.

"Alma is a friend, a colleague, and a fellow crusader in the fight to take Michigan back from the special interests and to stand up for the little guy," Bernero said. "She was a tough competitor in Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. She too has been a strong advocate for working families who are struggling against the banks and insurance companies. Alma has always stood up for what’s right and never backed down from a fight, no matter how long the odds."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.