A collection of gossip, scuttlebutt, and odds and ends from our reporters' notebooks.

SHORTEST. LIVED. RUMOR. EVER: It’s not like Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson hasn’t had it rough the past few weeks. First a car accident seriously injured the county poobah five weeks ago, and now rumors within the last two days are spreading in some circles that if he wins re-election in November against Democrat Kevin Howley of Huntington Woods, he would “retire” and have someone else appointed to that position after the election. Es la verdad? Absolutely not, said Bill Mullan, Patterson’s right-hand homeboy when it comes to press relations, within four hours of OakCon poking around. And county Commissioner John Scott (R-Waterford, West Bloomfield) was shocked when he heard the rumor; he immediately doubted its voracity. Some say the rumor mill was started as a political ploy by Dems (Yes, we heard it from a Democrat) looking to get people questioning their November votes for LBP — who, by the by, was released from the hospital last week, and Oakland Confidential wishes our compatriot in one-liners a speedy recovery. (Note to OakCon/SCN haters: That’s not an editorial endorsement of Patterson; we’re merely saying that Brooks is a funny dude and we hope his mending process goes smoothly. Sheesh.) “I’ve made great progress under the outstanding care of the staff at McLaren Oakland Hospital,” Patterson said in a statement issued last week. “I look forward to continuing the healing process so that I can return to the Executive Office Building soon.” Long story short? Brooks’ peeps say the resignation/retirement rumor is pure bullpuckey, plain and simple. Vote for Patterson or vote for Howley. Either way, the fella who wins is the one who will serve out the full term, we’re told.

LESS WILLY-NILLY APPROACH: In addition to other things like, you know, being a state senator, Mike Kowall has been hitting the campaign trail for Mitt Romney (whose family Kowall and his wife, state Rep. Eileen Kowall, know well) and advocating a, shall we say, less reactionary approach to the six statewide ballot proposals that some are urging people to just vote “no” on, willy-nilly, without doing the proper research on them (Disclaimer: Oakland Confidential does not advocate such an approach to democracy). “A lot of people are just saying vote no on everything and forget about it,” Kowall said while noting that he’s working to get voters educated about the various proposals before them in November. “I can understand with voting no on a variety of them, but the EFM (emergency financial manager) law is something that really needs to stay in place.” Residents in Kowall’s state Senate district (which is to say, basically all of you if you live in the western part of the OC) can expect a mailer from the first-term Republican’s office with information about the proposals in the coming days, he said.

‘A SHOT IN THE ARM’: State lawmakers are gearing up for the lame duck session and one thing that local pols agree on is that a key priority will be bringing the ax, once and for all, to the personal property tax (PPT). It’s been an issue kicked around for years, but state Sen. David Robertson (R-Waterford) — who said the repeal would be a real “shot in the arm” to the economy — and Sen. Kowall both expected the GOP majorities in both the state House and Senate to be putting their noses to the grindstone to get the repeal squared away before the end of the year. If they don’t, lawmakers will have to start anew when the 97th state Legislature convenes in January — and with the upcoming Nov. 6 general election, who knows what those bodies will look like politically, and what their priorities will be. Stay tuned.

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