Caption: Joel FergusonTigers not the only game Ferguson Huntsby Chris ChristoffAs if making money, running a television station, golfing, and trying to buy the Detroit Tigers aren't enough, Joel Ferguson spends what time he has left plotting his place on the political landscape.He has stirred things up as a Michigan State University trustee, and he's still a liberal hero for leading Jesse Jackson to an upset win in the 1988 Michigan Democratic presidential primary. He's considered a possible successor to Secretary of State Richard Austin. Fine, said Ferguson in a recent interview, but why stop there? "I'd love to run for governor," he said. "I would only view secretary of state as an opportunity to move up. "AS a person who's built a number of businesses, who's done more than just talk theory about attracting new jobs, who's successful working with labor, I bring something to the table. I'm very electable when people stop to listen to me. The race issue though, that could be a problem." Owning a major league franchise isn't something most political brokers would want, but Ferguson, who made his fortune in real estate, said life is "a pole with grease all over it that should be climbed because, well, it's there." "People like the marquee-type businesses like television and sports franchises. I've always had a knack for buying them right," he said. He's had a knack, too, for juggling business with pleasure and politics. They are what drive the man who this week moved a step closer to owning the Tigers, a man who'd like..
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