Is Mark Hackel the Chris Christie of Michigan?

When explaining his decision not to be identified as a Democrat in the 96-page Macomb County directory, Hackel typically went on a long rant about how he is bipartisan and pragmatic as the  county executive and does not take kindly to partisan labels.

Then, he compared his role as an independent county executive to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s extensive efforts to  convince GOP state senators  to  pass the Medicaid expansion, though the program is a piece of Democratic President Barack Obama’s health care reforms.

Hackel went on to indirectly compare himself to GOP New Jersey  Gov. Chris Christie,  who was lambasted by conservative Republicans when he  cozied up to Obama at  a time when the governor  was looking for federal assistance for  the battered Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy.

The Macomb County executive may take a similar maverick, bipartisan approach to politics as does Christie, but the slim and toned Hackel, who spends a lot of time in the gym, has one big edge over the big man from New Jersey.

From the standpoint of political perspective, Hackel has about a 150-pound advantage over Christie.

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