Updates (Hamburg, MI-12)

First - Hamburg - From the Argus

Hamburg Township residents in November would be asked to fund a 15-year, roughly $19.4 million road tax under a plan proposed by a committee of residents.
Hamburg’s Road Focus Group was formed in July to consider a millage to address crumbling county roads in the township after inaction in Lansing.
The proposal would levy 2 mills in the millage’s first five years, then 1 mill in years six through 15. The Board of Trustees would need to approve the proposal before it is put before voters.
The millage would be “pay as you go,” meaning it wouldn’t be levied if the Legislature or county officials approve plans to fix the roads, Township Supervisor Pat Hohl said.
“This is a lot of work, and if we go out to the voters, we want to go out with the best product the voters have a familiarity with, or have an education on, and they can make their mind up in November,” he said.

I was at one of the meetings. If Cunningham Lake and Bauer Road (Both which have portions in Hamburg Township) are not on the road list, then Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods is going to stay out.

I respect how Pat Hohl and company are working the process here compared to Gary McCririe and Genoa Township. Genoa's push was "all or nothing" and "this is how it's going to be." It was soundly defeated and I know our postcard was much "loved" by the powers that be there.  Hamburg Township has focus groups of citizens that have their input into the decision which is still in the workds. It's an open process and I haven't seen any games being played here. I also respect how this is going to be a November 2014 ballot issue instead of an off year sneak job.

We'll see what happens. The issue here will be determined by its merits and demerits, not gamesmanship.


As for MI-12, as expected a Dingell has announced. It's John's wife Debbie who is a long time democrat party activists and former GM executive. There may be others that run for the dems as well out of Ann Arbor. Rebekah Warren, former NARAL boss and current State Senator in Ann Arbor is seriously considering a run.

Terry Bowman, head of Union Conservatives is likely a candidate for the Republicans. Terry's a good guy and the type of candidate here who can make inroads for our party, helping in our statewide campaigns.

A tale of two road millage proposals

Hamburg Township is strongly considering putting a road millage on the ballot. That got my attention because half of Cunningham Lake road is in Hamburg Township. Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods will be keeping an eye out to see what the plans are regarding the road list.

I am cautiously optimistic however that we won't see the same mistakes made by Hamburg Township as we had in Genoa. Smart officials learn from the past. Hamburg has had its share of drama over the years, but things have been much quieter there the past couple of years. That's a very good thing. They also saw what happened in Genoa Township just recently. I don't think they want a "Protect Hamburg Township Neighborhoods" committee to be formed there.

I'm not going to argue here whether Townships should jump in and fix county roads here in their area. That's up to the voters. Whether taxes in Hamburg should be increased for roads in Hamburg to be fixed is also up to the voters there. Whether about 1/2 of the people in Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods gets involved with a highly organized campaign will be based on the road list. What I am going to do here is compare the process that I've seen so far.

Three differences I've seen are timing, community involvement, and road list.

Timing - This is being discussed now in different focus groups. If Hamburg is going to go through with the millage, it will be in November 2014 according to their Supervisor Pat Hohl. This isn't a rush job, or something pushed under the radar by Gary McCririe. There's been three meetings already, and there's more meetings scheduled. This is one year before the election, and it's not going to be in a (usually) low turnout off year. Hamburg's so far doing this right.

Community Involvement. -  In Genoa, all involvement I saw was after the road list was picked. There were three meetings after the fact, with at least one (probably two)  of them well after the absentee voters were out. The attitude from Genoa Township was "all or nothing" regarding the road list. They got their wish. Nothing. I attended the last meeting (3rd) in Hamburg. Hamburg is prepared for a Genoa situation (as something to avoid). County Road Commissioner Mike Craine was there. That got my attention as he wasn't at any of the Genoa meetings I attended. Craine gave his presentation and it was informative. He didn't try and steer anyone in a direction, although his presentation focused on repairing paved roads instead of new projects on gravel roads. There was also a packet to inform the attendees with estimated costs of repairs of each segment and traffic counts on most roads. There were ideas for a road list that varied but all were fixing currently paved roads. There was a little talk about gravel roads, but only maintenance and not paving.

Road List - The three most important factors in a road millage are in reverse order, how long, how much, and the road list (where is the money going). In the Genoa Township plan, there were several questions to the manager in how the road list was picked. The manager said he picked the list. We can't unelect a manager, but his boss can be fired. Most thought that list didn't make any sense and the results showed election time. Hamburg doesn't have a road list yet. That will be largely picked by people at the meetings. The preliminary ideas there tend to be towards main roads you would expect. While Genoa strongly implied that Hamburg would pave Bauer road if Genoa paved their side, that turned out to be wishful thinking at best, and lying at worst. The road list in Genoa sealed the fate of the millage proposal. Hamburg is being careful in the road list, and it's a smart move learning from the bad decisions from the powers that be in Genoa.

I don't know whether a Hamburg millage will pass, but based on the process I'm seeing, it has a better chance than Genoa's did. There's certainly plenty of arguments on tax issues length of the millage, but I haven't seen the gamesmanship there so far that I saw with Genoa. Granted, I've been at one meeting there (compared to 3 with Genoa) but the process seems much better in Hamburg.

RINO alert (Allen Carlson) and Deadline for candidates and precinct delegate filing - May 15, 2012

May 15th - Tuesday. 4PM. Save that date. It's a big one for the August primary. All candidates who wish to run in the August primary must be ready to file on that day. The petitions must be turned in, or the payment received, depending on the office. For precinct delegates, all that is needed is a notarized affidavit turned in. I've turned mine in a long time ago, and there's notaries at the county clerk's office.

You can take a look and see who has filed for most offices on the Secretary of State's page. Here's the listing of filed congressmen, state reps, and judicial offices.  The deadline has passed already for judicial offices. Most congressional candidates have not files because they take more petition signatures. State reps can get petitions or pay $100.

In Livingston County, the clerk's office posted online those who have filed so far for County and Township races. Some people who will likely run are sandbagging to the last minute. Many have filed already. Most are republicans, although a couple of those republicans I've found are RINOS in the truest sense. Republican in Name Only. Allen Carlson in Hamburg Township, running for treasurer there as a Republican, is a gigantic RINO. Allen Carlson donated to the House Democrats fund, and is running as a republican. He also voted democrat in the 08 primary when there was a contest on both sides. He also currently has no opponent. The other RINO's I've seen so far at least have contested races in primaries. I have no respect at all for that. If you're a democrat, run as one. Annette Koeble is running as a democrat for trustee. She also voted dem in the 08 primary, as you would expect. Be who you are.

Receiving Committee Name Committee ID-Type	Sched Type	Received From Address Occupation-Employer	City State Zip	Date	Amount	Cumul

---

MI HOUSE DEMOCRATIC FUND MHDA 502755-IND

DIRECT

PATRICIA CARLSON (Address Removed)

WHITMORE LAKE MI 48189-0000

09/13/10

$30.00

$30.00

---

MI HOUSE DEMOCRATIC FUND MHDA 502755-IND

DIRECT

ALLEN CARLSON (Address Removed)

WHITMORE LAKE MI 48189-0000

02/08/06

$25.00

$25.00

---

MI HOUSE DEMOCRATIC FUND MHDA 502755-IND

DIRECT

ALLEN CARLSON (Address removed)

WHITMORE LAKE MI 48189-0000

04/12/06

$15.00

$40.00

Now if that's not good enough,Newsmeat has one more. Now Patricia Carlson isn't Allen, but since Allen donated to dems as well, this can give a clue of the type of democrat who is supported there.

Contributor	Candidate or PAC	Amount	Date	FEC Filing
CARLSON, PATRICIA M WHITMORE LAKE, MI 48189 MADONNA UNIVERSITY	STABENOW, DEBBIE (D) Senate - MI STABENOW FOR US SENATE	$300 primary	06/24/99

The dangerously incompetent one herself, Debbie Stabenow. So if you're in Hamburg and reading this, and don't like what you see - please find someone good with accounting or tax law background, and get them to run. I'd consider it, but I don't live in Hamburg.

I don't use the term RINO for liberal Republicans like Rudy Giuliani or Olympia Snowe or even glory hounds like John McCain or Lindsay Graham. When I use the term RINO, I save it for those who back democrats or are sore losers in primaries and run as "independents" or switch parties. Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter, Larry Pressler (Obama supporter), Chuck Hagel (Obama), Lisa Murkowski (primary loser), Joe Schwarz, John Steward (former state rep) and people like that. Those are the RINOs.

Oftentimes grass roots call those in the establishment RINOs. Usually they aren't RINOs, but they are very pragmatic, sometimes correctly, and sometimes to a fault. The job of establishment republicans is to elect republicans. Period. Where I have problems with establishment is when the NRSC idiots announce that they are not contesting a race when their primary pick loses. It's a stupid move that allows democrats to stop spending there. I also have a problem when NRSC endorses in primaries. There's not much that can be done about caucus committee establishments.

However, RNC, MIGOP, District GOP, and County GOP leadership is picked from precinct delegates. Either precinct delegates choose directly, as in the case of county party, or they send delegates to state. The delegates sent to state convention caucus in district and pick their district party. They then vote on state party leadership - as well as some partisan offices at different conventions. At the next convention, we pick our RNC committeeman.

So if you are a grass roots republican and want to have some control in party politics, there's your chance. Run for precinct delegate in the August primary. If you win, you then get to vote on who goes to state conventions, as well as directly vote for county party executive committees. If you want my support however, you'd have to do more than just show up at conventions. Show up at the county meetings as minimum. I tend to reward those who do work and not just complain.

This Tuesday, we'll know officially who is in and who is out. Stay tuned.

Local updates. Green Oak has millage. Hamburg Twp Settles.

Two local updates. First off, Green Oak Township will be having a millage August 2nd over police and fire coverage.

Also, Hamburg's antics from a couple of years back just cost them $50,000 in a settlement.

From the Argus

Ex-Hamburg Township Deputy Clerk Mike Zeglevski's lawsuit in U.S. District Court against his former employer is over.

Parties agreed to a $50,000 out-of-court settlement awarded to Zeglevski, which will be paid by the township's insurance carrier, the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority.

In the settlement, there was not an admission of guilt by either party.

"I'm very, very happy with the settlement and feel completely vindicated," Zeglevski said.

Dennis Gabrian, Zeglevski's attorney, said he was "satisfied with the settlement."

This whole thing was stupid. No, not the settlement itself, since I think that Mike Z would have won rather easily (and rightly so) from what I have heard about it. What was stupid is the board antics in the first place causing this and wasting taxpayer money. Everybody knew that there was little love lost between the board, Mike Z, and his boss Matt Skiba. Skiba was elected and appointed Mike Z as his deputy. The board didn't like that and wanted to drive both of them out, with salary games and other things. Their mouths and gamesmenship got them in trouble.

Skiba was run out 79%-21% in a recall election and replaced by Jim Neilson. Since the board wanted to get rid of both Skiba and Mike Z so badly, all that was needed to do from their standpoint is recall Skiba. Deputy clerks work for the clerk. If Skiba went, so did Mike Z unless Neilson was going to keep him on, which likely would not happen. If they kept their mouths shut about Mike Z, paid him a normal amount, and recalled Skiba like they were going to do anyway, this would not have happened.

Instead, these games are going to cost $50K of liability insurance, increased insurance rates, and as a result, more tax money. The only good thing about all of this right now from a county resident standpoint is that the hornet's nest in Hamburg right now is quiet. Hopefully it will stay quiet. We'll see.

County Conventions, Inside baseball, tea parties, Hamburg, power politics, and future warnings

I don't usually post much inside baseball here, especially local related. It usually isn't constructive. It puts me in the line of fire in areas where I'd rather not be.

Last Thursday, August 12th, was the Republican Party County Conventions. The convention is the same day in all counties. The purpose of THIS convention is to choose the delegates for State Convention. The real power though isn't decided at this convention. This one does matter for Lt Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Supreme Court, and university races, but ideologywise, it's not that big of a deal (depending on Snyder's LT pick). This time. The big one is AFTER November. We have two conventions there. One to pick county party leadership, and one to pick the leadership for state committee and district committee.

The process is different for each county. Most are "at-large" while I believe Oakland is "caucus."

A conservative teacher - Oakland County

Mason County

Jason Gillman - Grand Traverse County

Here in Livingston, our chair Mike Murphy and the election committee here did a very good job of a potentially terrible situation. The committee worked to make sure the what would otherwise be competing interests from getting into a major fight. There was a combination of old guard, somewhat newer conservative activists who are involved, and tea party participants. Previous conventions in Livingston were easy. Who wanted to go to state went. This one had about 2-3 times the normal turnout.

The one group left out was the Hamburg clique which wants to take control of the party. They were the filibustering ones there. Here's a newsflash for the Hamburg gang and their takeover attempt. You're not that important. We don't care that you are elected officials. We don't care that one of you are related to the Romneys. We don't care about your personal vendettas against a couple of activists due to local Hamburg politics. We do care however, that we don't want the soap opera embarrassment coming to County Party. We got on track internally in the last four years and do not need your clique to screw it all up. One of the clique members was running his mouth at about how bad the county party is for not doing enough to back recalls etc in Hamburg. This was about the umpteenth rant and fillibuster from the clique, and the rest of the 125 people there in the packed house was tired of it. I had enough myself and admit, somewhat rudely interrupted the individual with a five word comment. "Because you don't show up."

Despite not being on County Executive Committee in four years (I'm on district instead), I go to most of the meetings. I'm on a strategy committee. I do behind the scenes work for them. I don't see that Hamburg clique at any of those events. They then come here, and run our mouth about us at an event for state convention delegates, after not doing anything except put us in the papers? The rest of the crowd wasn't impressed with most of that clique either, as they finished way back in the pack in voting for convention delegate, barely making alternate. My choices were made quite easily in voting. Humble the clique.

We need to be prepared though when the county party leadership is going to be picked. We can not allow Livingston to turn into Hamburg Township Government. We need to make sure that the next committee takes what is best from the past four years, and improves on it, and represents the county well and does not become a soap opera. I think the county did that well with the tea party groups in the area for this meeting and hope that continues to be the case. I don't expect that from the Hamburg clique based on the behavior I saw Thursday.

Leave the soap opera politics back in township. I don't like it there, but I don't live there. It's not really my business outside of periphery. Pushing this on county makes it my business and county doesn't have time for that BS.

Hamburg update and Open Carry clash in Lansing

I've been tied up in a bunch of stuff, so I haven't updated this.

First, Hamburg had an election. It was surprisingly fairly uneventful, and that's a good thing. Jim Neilson won in a low turnout 1700 to 1000 to 650. Jim's done a good job staying out of the news, so that probably made things much easier than I expected. Hopefully things stay quiet in Hamburg. It's in Livingston County, not the democrat run city of Detroit. We expect better in Livingston County.

The other issue comes from earlier this month. I know I'm going to get some flack from both sides for this, so let me get this out of the way. I'm not speaking for SAFR-PAC. I'm speaking for only myself. I also support the current legality of open carry in Michigan, even though I personally do not open carry. I support the right to own AR-15s, also known as "evil black rifles" in some books.  Laws and bills outlawing this need to be fought until they are destroyed for good. Open carry isn't my thing personally, because I don't want you, or more importantly, the bad guys, to know if I am carrying or not. It's nobody's business. Sometimes I carry. Sometimes I don't. There are two things important for everybody who supports freedom and the 2nd Amendment. First, we either all hang together or we lose it all. Secondly, fight smart.

I've been active in the 2nd Amendment movement for 12 years and have followed this issue for 18 years. I remember when it wasn't cool to be pro-gun. Now politicians try to tell us they are. Some are pro-gun. Some are pro-gun when it is convenient. Some are anti and want to hide it. Some are anti. Some don't care about the issue at all, outside of votes. That last group is probably the largest in Lansing. It's not personal for most politicians, but they want the votes.  I remember when it was us against the whole establishment. I remember how close we were to losing our rights in the mid 90's, and once again after Columbine. That gives me a different perspective than much of the new generation and new areas of fight on firearms issues. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt.

Open Carry is a relatively new matter in Michigan. People, including cops, are being educated on this issue. It's a work in progress. Many people, otherwise pro-gun are uncomfortable with open carry. This was shown in Lansing. There was a planned open carry meeting at the Lansing Ponderosa. It's being heavily discussed on MGO and other websites. Apparently, it was not controversial...until someone walked in with an AR-15, an "evil black rifle." While I give this an A for enthusiasm, I give it an F- for tactics. It was really f'ing stupid, and hope this does not cost us big. I know for a fact this isn't going over well in the legislature with even friendly staffers and reps giving a "What the hell's going on?" type of phone calls. I haven't talked to our county reps on this yet, but I will soon. I can't speak for them, but I think I know them well enough where I doubt they were impressed by this (at least tactically), and they aren't anti-gun individuals. I wouldn't be shocked if there is fallout for this. There is discussion on some gun bills at least behind the scenes and I think our odds of getting them passed is lower today than it was then.That's from two different sources which I trust. No, I'm not revealing them.  

Right now, I'd say if there was a straight up national vote in the house or senate on outlawing AR's and other "evil black rifles" (EBR's) altogether, it would be real close. As recently as 2003-2004, a ban passed the senate as an amendment to the reduction of frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufacturers. People forget that. I don't. That's just for EBR's in the home, let alone someone carrying one on the streets. I'm Irish by blood, and inherited their long memories. Six months is an eternity in politics, let alone six or seven years, let alone 12.

As far as open carry, if I decide to carry my pistol openly in Brighton, I may get a couple of looks, or may get no reaction whatsoever.With my hair and look, I could also probably pass for a cop outside of uniform depending on what I wear. I do know if I carry my shotgun, let alone an EBR, I'll bet money that I'm going to be having a run in from Brighton PD, make the front page of the Argus, and not be painted in a favorable light, and this is in a generally pro-gun county. Some things are for the home. Lansing is a very anti-2a area. If I was at this Lansing Ponderosa, was unaware of the open carry meeting, and saw the EBR, I'd be nervous, have my guard up in a major way, keeping a close eye on that entire room, and would be making my way to the exit (Pistol no, Shotgun, rifle outside of hunting season - yeah). If it was the firing range, I wouldn't have my guard up. If I was at the owner's home, same deal. If it was hunting season and in the area, I wouldn't blink an eye depending on what was being hunted (.223 good for varmints, too weak for deer).This got a WTF reaction from me followed by "oh shit". I'm not anti-gun by any stretch of the imagination, and don't think that this should be banned, strictly on what I call "lawcreep" grounds. We have too many laws in this state and country, and giving this up will open the door for giving up more in laws later. That's unacceptable. Period, and I opposes ANY new anti rights legislation for that reason. That aside, it's not me you are trying to convince.


Yes, Open Carry is legal, but is that going to be still the case with more events like this? I highly doubt it. In fact it would not surprise me to see something like that as a cost for new otherwise pro-gun legislation. SAFR's been steadfast at opposing rights for some, not for all legislation, but other groups are much more quicker to support a bargaining chip, the same ones who would endorse a Joe Schwarz if you get my drift.

Don't give them the opening.

Independent files in Hamburg

This is going to be interesting. There's now a 3-way race. Normally, I think that would favor a democrat, but I think it favored the Republicans in 2008 in Hamburg.

From WHMI

11/30/09 - A new candidate has emerged in the Hamburg Township Clerk race. The seat is up for grabs following the successful recall of Clerk Matt Skiba from office and last week was the filing deadline for all candidates to appear on the February ballot in a special election. 28 year old Geoff Boltach has filed as an independent candidate and will join Annette Koeble and current interim Clerk Jim Neilson on the ballot. The Livingston County Democratic Party is supporting Koeble, an office manager who has lived in Hamburg for more than 25 years while the Livingston County Republican Party is backing Neilson. Boltach is a married father of two who owns a small business in the township. The lifelong Hamburg resident tells WHMI the recall of the previous clerk that inspired him to get involved and residents deserve better of their elected representatives. Boltach says he wants to unite the community and restore trust in the clerk's office while recognizing that financial hardships lie ahead for the municipality. The three candidates will appear on the February 23rd ballot. (JM)

I don't know anything about Boltach, but considering all that's happened in Hamburg, along with the fact that February is not a traditional election time, anything could happen. Some may discount his age, but Joe Hune won a state rep seat at 21, and Chris Ward won his first race at 18.

Will the independent pull off the upset? I think the chances will directly correlate with the job done by the Hamburg board and Jim Neilson in the next three months. How will they get along. If things run well, he'll win. If not, he'll probably lose. The question would be to who.

Ball's in the board's court.

Jim Neilson picked as Republican nominee for Hamburg Township Clerk

This is interesting to see and somewhat surprising to me. I did not expect the township committee to select the same candidate who was hired as interim clerk by the board.

I don't know much about Neilson or the other nominee, so I don't have any strong opinions about this outside of elections related issues. I hope it is the right decision. We'll find that out over the next three months.

I consider the Hamburg clerk position a swing race. Hamburg was always a bit less republican leaning than most of the county. It is the fifth or sixth most democrat area in the county behind Brighton City (not the township which is among the most republican), Howell City (both of which have nonpartisan city governments), Putnam township, Unadilla Township, and maybe Green Oak. Matt Skiba won with less than 50% in 2008, and was just recalled in a landslide election.

It is imperative that the board wakes up and gives Neilson the freedom and leeway to do his job. With the Republicans picking Neilson, they are betting on that happening. Now there are still two days to see if the other individual considered would run as an independent. That could happen. If the other person was picked, Neilson might have run as an independent with a 3 month incumbency (which in Hamburg could be good or bad). Any decision by the committee is a big risk.

Now Neilson has three months to prove himself. I'm more concerned with the board members than I am Neilson. Will they do their job, or be drama kings? We'll see.

Hamburg Clerk Replacement Race

This February, there will be a new elected Hamburg Township Clerk to replace Matt Skiba, who was recalled.

The township committee decides the candidates. They are members of the executive committee who live in the township. They must be a minimum of two and no more than five. Most of the county executive committee is not on the committee and do not decide this.

There will be an election between the candidate picked by the township committees of the Republicans and Democrats, as well as independents who wish to file. The democrats have their candidate. Annette Greve-Koeble (or sometimes listed as Annette Koeble). I've heard the name, but I don't know her. She's the county democrats treasurer. She and her husband donated to the county democrats, Mary Andersson's campaign, and Granholm's campaign. That's the limit of my knowledge Nothing really sticks out, although I wonder about someone who thinks Granholm is a good governor.

The Republicans township committee had a meeting last night. I was not there, as I'm not on that committee living in Greek Oak. There are five people on the committee. The rumor is that they trimmed their list to three people for interviews.

On a similar note, the Hamburg Township board of trustees hired Jim Neilson today to take the spot of Skiba. He will be clerk till February when there is an election. Right now it is up to the township committee to decided if Neilson is their person, or somebody else is their person. It's going to be an interesting decision. The deadline is 4PM Monday.

A lot of ramifications will happen depending on the decision. I just hope whichever decision it is will be the right one.

Livingston Results (UPDATED) - Skiba was destroyed, Anderson and Vieau projected winners in Brighton Schools

Hamburg Township sent a message with an exclaimation point. I predicted Skiba would be gone by a 60-40 percentage. I was way off.

Hamburg's precincts are in, and the result is clear. With all precincts in, the numbers are this.

Skiba Recall:
Yes - 4227 - 79.21%
No - 1104 - 20.71%

I don't think this changes much of what goes on with that board. I think several people need the heave ho, and getting rid of one person isn't going to do it. It does send a message, and while I think Pat Hohl and Phil Semprevino love the result, they need to watch it themselves, as I think they too would have been recalled if they were all. ANYONE would have been recalled in Hamburg if they were on the ballot. The best thing the board can do now is man up, keep their traps shut, work together and do their jobs.

The next step if things go like I think they will, is for the Livingston County Republican and Democrat parties to pick candidates to run in a special election. I am not on the county executive committee (I'm on district instead), so I have no official say in the decision. I will make my calls and use the limited influence that I have to hopefully persuade the committee to not take this race for granted, and pick someone who will do a good job and do his or her part to make the township no longer the embarassment of the state. I'll also add that right now, I'd pick the democrat to at least cover the spread in Hamburg, because the board has left a big opening.

In other races, the Brighton School Board race is very close. Barring recounts, Bill Anderson and Miles Vieau win. Joe Carney has been defeated as an incumbent.

So Far:
1. Bill Anderson - 1650
2. Miles Vieau - 1173
3. Randy Swain - 1115
4. Joe Carney - 923
5. Muriel Kaier - 776
6. Keith Van Hentenryk - 480
7. Frank Lucas - 190


Pinckney Bond outside of Hamburg
Yes - 676
No - 796

In Hamburg
Yes - 2286
No - 2315

Total:
Yes - 2962
No - 3111

Pinckney Millage outside Hamburg
Yes - 948
No - 526

In Hamburg
Yes - 3060
No = 1553

Hamburg Police Millage
Yes - 3217
No - 2278

Hamburg Parks Millage
Yes - 3528
No - 1955

Brighton Schools is too close to call. I think a possible recount may happen for the bonds. Other than that, it's fairly clear who wins/loses today in Livingston County.

Election 09

Tuesday is the first semi-major election day since Mr. Obama and his people took over Washington. There are no federal races outside of the special election in New York's 23rd district, however, so other dynamics besides the federal issues do matter.

The biggest ones to watch are Virginia and New Jersey. Their state elections are Tuesday. Virginia usually shifts opposite of the white house in its state government. Doug Wilder was governor when GHW Bush was president. George Allen and Jim Gilmore were governors during the Clinton years. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine during the GW Bush years. In New Jersey, Jon Corzine, gazillionaire leftist democrat and Goldman Sachs crony is in big trouble. It IS New Jersey, so I suspect he will survive and win at the last minute because it is so democrat leaning of a state, but we'll see what happens there.

In Michigan, we have the special election for the 19th district. It's a good national bellwether district, so it is watched closely. It went for Gore, Granholm twice, Bush once, and Obama. Mark Schauer won it first with the original borders. The second winner will be either Mike Nofs or Marty Griffin. Nofs isn't as fiscally conservative as I am, but he's a lot better than tax raising Griffin, and Schauer.

Most of the state has school board and city municipal elections. There are tax measures in several areas that need to be voted on.

Here in Livingston County, we have the following:

Brighton Schools - The budget situation here is crisis, and one of the biggest problems in Joe Carney. He things the district needs to spend, spend, and spend, and then have the state pay for it. It doesn't work that way. My support goes to Miles Vieau for one of the spots. That's easy. The second spot I'm not sure about. The Argus endorsed Bill Anderson. I have a LOT of hesitation there, because he supported that big enhancement millage, which in fact contributed to his defeat four years ago. He's better on fiscal matters than Carney, but that's not good enough. Some of my local republican friends and acquaintances (Anderson's probably their favorite) probably don't care for that, but what will happen when there is big pressure? Will Anderson back another millage? Miles Vieau did not do so.

I'm actually leaning towards Keith Van Hentenryck. He wasn't quite good enough to get the Concerned Taxpayer's Group endorsement when he last ran (I was on the panel for his interview. I'm no longer with the organization, although I still trust their judgment), but he wasn't bad either. He seems like a true independent who won't follow any side or clique.

Howell and Brighton City have their own elections. I haven't followed things enough there to have an informed opinion to say yea or nay.

Hamburg - There's a millage on the ballot there. Also, the big recall election of Matt Skiba. I have mixed views on this except to say that I'm glad I live in Green Oak instead. If Pat Hohl and Phil Semprevino were also being recalled, I'd probably support sending them all home. Skiba could be doing a better job, but he never had a chance in the first place. He is a friend of Cindy Pine, and that automatically with that board made him Persona Non Grata. At the first chance, they wanted him gone, and they were going to make his job as difficult as possible and then recall them. Even a Big Ten video replay judge could see it....well, maybe not them. Because of this, I'd probably reluctantly vote no as the least worse choice. That aside, I predict this passes with at least 60%. Skiba has not defended himself well enough. I am quite curious though about the recall campaign being able to stay under $1000 with the number of bigger signs.......

Other important elections are in our major cities like Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Grand Rapids.

There are other special elections that are below the radar of Virginia, New Jersey, New York 23 Congress, and Michigan 19 State Senate. On November 3rd, we have:

Alabama - House District 65
Georgia - Senate District 1, House Districts 75, 129, 141, 159
Missouri - House District 73
New Hampshire - House District 11
South Carolina - House District 48
Washington State - House Districts 9, 15, 16


I don't know much or anything about those districts, but they were mentioned by the Republican State Leadership Committee. In special elections, throw out the normal rules anyway on elections, because it is about turnout. Anyone can win a special election, even Democrats in Livingston County. (and I think they have a damn good shot in Hamburg, gift wrapped by people with R's by their name - although I never see them at the GOP meetings....)

It will be an interesting day. We need to make sure the good guys vote.

Part 2 - November 3rd Elections - 2009 - Local Elections

While the big elections in Michigan this November is the State Senate's 19th District, along with Detroit's mayoral and city council elections, Livingston County has its share of elections as well.

First off  - Hamburg:

Hamburg has a recall election on the ballot. It's a simple yes or no question. "Should Matthew Skiba be recalled from the office of Hamburg Township Clerk?" Much has been written about Hamburg in the papers.What happened if there is a recall, which I think will happen as things stand now?

I wrote about this September 3rd:

What will happen? I think Skiba is in a tough go right now, and needs to start defending himself more than he has been. If the election was tomorrow, game over, he's out. This is going to be a real nasty campaign.

So what happens if Skiba is recalled? I have to check to see if things have changed, but I don't believe they have been. The county political parties executive committees choose the nominees for replacement. That means the Livingston GOP and the Dems pick a candidate for Skiba's replacement. I am not on the County Executive Committee, but a different committee, so I have no vote on the replacement. I can give my two cents one way or the other in who to support/oppose, and go with that. I can say that I don't think that works to Hardesty or Hohl's advantage, since they aren't exactly active in the county party. Who's fault is that????? To use one of my favorite sayings, you don't win when you don't show up.

The nominated candidates will then run for the rest of Skiba's term, and face a major battle in August/November 2012.

Fair warning to Hohl, Semprevino, and company. You might not like the replacement candidates if Skiba is recalled. Even though I'm now on a different committee than the Livingston County GOP Executive Committee, I go to many Livingston GOP meetings, and I don't see you people there. I don't think you'll like who the democrats will pick either. I'm going to recommend a real independent voice if there's a replacement candidate after a recall.

Also in Hamburg, is a police millage. 1.5 mills.

Next - Schools.

Brighton and Pinckney have School Board Elections. Pinckney also has a $59,465,000 bond proposal on the ballot. The estimated millage to retire the bond is 2.45 mills. Pinckney also has a millage renewal on the ballot as well.

Pinckney has two candidates running for two positions. This one's over already. Margaret Eibler and George Rogers will win.

Brighton Schools have seven candidates for two positions. I'll have more details on this race later.
Bill Anderson
Joe Carney
Muriel Kaier
Frank Lucas
Randy Swain
Keith Van Hentenryck
Miles Vieau

Some school districts not based in the county, have spillover effect into the county. South Lyon has part of Green Oak. Whitmore Lake also has parts of Green Oak and Hamburg. Dexter I believe has part of Putnam Township. Lansing Community College has areas as well. I suspect Webberville and Stockbridge, but I can  not say for certain.

South Lyon has five people running for two spots. I know next to nothing about their schools outside of South Lyon High being a rival of Brighton in football, at least before the school splitting into two high schools. Don't look for me to make an endorsement here. I don't know enough about the candidates, which are:

Steven Brummer
Frank Domonico
Greg C Downey
George Ehlert
Carl Towne

LCC has seven running for three spots. I don't know enough here for any recommendation either.:
Deborah Canja
Brandon D Currin
Lawrence Hidalgo Jr
Larry Meyer
Thomas Patrick Morgan
Robert E Proctor
Deo Wells Jr.

Lastly, all Washtenaw County based districts (Dexter and Whitmore Lake in Livingston) have an enhancement millage of two mills which is on the November ballot.

Lastly - City races:

Howell:
The mayor (Geri Moen) and Board of Review positions (Dee Cole, David Teggerdine) are unopposed. There is a contest for City Council. Four candidates for three positions. I'll try and get more on this race later.
Michael Bartkowiak
Dawn Cooper
Scott Niblock
Paul Rogers

Brighton:
Six people are running for four positions. I'll have more on this later as well.
Ricci Bandkau
Mary Ellen Hundley
James Muzzin
Shawn Pipoly
Larry Schillinger
Susan Walters-Steinaker

In the case of the City of Brighton, there is a city council candidate forum on October 26. It will be held at the Masonic Lodge, 315, West North Street. I believe that's by the former post office building. Old timers in Brighton will get that reference.

Skiba faces recall election, November 3

The Argus confirms what is expected. Matt Skiba, Hamburg Township Clerk, is facing a recall election.

Hamburg Township voters will decide whether or not Hamburg Township Clerk Matt Skiba retains his position during the Nov. 3 election.
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The Livingston County Clerk’s Office reviewed 10 pages of challenges issued by Skiba to the 3,042 signatures submitted by recall efforts.

In total, the clerk’s office determined the validity of 3009 signatures, well above the minimum 2,455 valid signatures required to officially put recall language on the ballot.
Skiba will be allowed up to a 200 word rebuttal statement on the ballot, which he said he intends to fully take advantage of. He has until Tuesday to present that language to the Livingston County Clerk’s Office.

What will happen? I think Skiba is in a tough go right now, and needs to start defending himself more than he has been. If the election was tomorrow, game over, he's out. This is going to be a real nasty campaign.

So what happens if Skiba is recalled? I have to check to see if things have changed, but I don't believe they have been. The county political parties executive committees choose the nominees for replacement. That means the Livingston GOP and the Dems pick a candidate for Skiba's replacement. I am not on the County Executive Committee, but a different committee, so I have no vote on the replacement. I can give my two cents one way or the other in who to support/oppose, and go with that. I can say that I don't think that works to Hardesty or Hohl's advantage, since they aren't exactly active in the county party. Who's fault is that????? To use one of my favorite sayings, you don't win when you don't show up.

The nominated candidates will then run for the rest of Skiba's term, and face a major battle in August/November 2012.

That is unless Skiba frankly surprises me and wins. He just might, but he better start defending himself to voters and say what he's been doing in office.

Hamburg - Deputy Clerk files compaint over his $0 salary

I think Hamburg Township is going to have to open its pocketbook. From the Argus.

Hamburg Township Deputy Clerk Mike Zeglevski has filed a complaint against Hamburg Township through the Wage and Hour division of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.
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The complaint alleges Zeglevski is owed wages from Dec. 17 through Aug. 2 in the amount of $23,066.58.

Hamburg Township Trustee Phil Semprevivo said the township received notice of the complaint Wednesday, though it was postmarked Aug. 20.

The Hamburg Township Board of Trustees has 10 days from the sending date to respond.

On Dec. 16, the board of trustees voted to make Zeglevski's salary zero, effectively making him a volunteer.

Zeglevski was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but Clerk Matt Skiba — who appointed Zeglevski after taking office on Nov. 20 — said Zeglevski deserved to be paid.

"My opinion is I made an appointment, and my deputy should be paid," Skiba said. "I think anybody would expect to be paid for it."

According to Hamburg Township Supervisor Pat Hohl, the statutes are very clear regarding this matter. The clerk can hire whomever he or she wishes without board approval, but the board will determine that appointment's salary.

"The statute is very clear that the board sets the pay," Hohl said. "We've stated this several times publicly."

Mike's salary was first set at $50K, then $30K, then $0 when the board was all in a snit over a famous video. I'm pretty sure that townships are not exempt from minimum wage laws. I'm sure they can set it at minimum wage, but setting it at $0 encroaches on statutory duties of the clerk to appoint his deputies, and also is less than minimum wage. An attorney I know who understands local government very well also thinks that is illegal, and said that when the decision was made. He's doesn't have a dog in Hamburg's fight either. The statutes I read awhile back also coincide with that attorney's. John Drury, Hamburg's attorney, thinks otherwise.

This is out of county hands now, so this will be interesting to see. If I was a betting man, my money is on Mike and it is rather clear.

August Update

Let's get back rolling here.

Several things in the news.

1. We will have a special election this November for a key state senate seat, the 19th. The primary was yesterday. Mike Nofs, a former state rep from Battle Creek won for the GOP and Marty Griffin, a state rep from Jackson city, won for the dems. They face off in November. This is an interest race, as two seats are in play here. The Griffin seat is winnable by either party, as is the state senate district.

2. Lansing Mayor race. I haven't followed this at all, but Virg Bernero, the incumbent, won with less than 50% in the primary against Carol Wood and two others. Wood and Bernero will be facing each other in November. If Wood wins, watch for Virg to take a possible run against Rogers. He's very ambitious as he was a State Rep and a State Senator before taking the Mayor gig.

3. Detroit. Dave Bing faces Tom Barrow, who lost twice to Coleman Young in the 80's. Most of the incumbents are back. TV anchor Charlie Pugh is the leader for the city council, and is a newcomer. Monica Conyers got sent home. Results there

4. Closer to home, the Howell School Board recall won't be on the November ballot. It does not look like this would pass. I have mixed views on this as there are a few shades of gray. I would not have voted for the firing after a year, but if contracts were in danger of being breached due to executive policies, then that's a major issue and something that needs to be considered. I do not often agree with union leadership outside of trade issues, but I am no fan at all of breaching existing contracts. Contracts are legal promises, and promises ought to be kept. Those that break a lot of promises are not trustworthy. To be fair to Gardella, the scores have improved in his tenure. I think a case can be made either way for the firing decision, and that is why I would not support a recall for that particular decision. If I still lived in the district, I would not vote for Literski or Pratt, but I'd wait till election time to do that. Recall elections cost money, and they should be saved for complete clusterbleeps.....like Granholm (and Stabenow, Levin, and Obama if the feds were not immune).

5. Hamburg Recalls - What a clusterbleep. That's all I have to say about that. My feelings are known. If the democrats take over there, which I expect WILL happen sooner than later, there are only a few individuals to blame, and that is the Hamburg Board and their cliques. It makes the entire county, township, and party look bad though.

One interesting sidenote. If the Hamburg Recalls for Skiba or Evon are successful, there's a different way of picking replacements. There will be a special election, but the COUNTY POLITICAL PARTIES will select the nominees in that special election. That means that the Livingston County Republicans and Democrats choose the nominees for the election. There is no primary. On a side note, those reading should not try and influence me on this. I'm not on this executive committee. I'm on the district committee instead. We aren't involved here.

It's past time for Hamburg Township's government to start acting like men

One thing Livingston County is known for is Republican government. While I'm not a big fan of government in general, for the most part it is run well. We don't have the taxes of our neighboring counties. The quality of life here is better than our neighboring counties. The government is less intrusive than our neighboring counties. We also seem to tend to have less clusterbleeps than our neighboring counties. All of those neighboring counties are dominated by democrats outside of Somewhat Republican leaning Jackson County (which we barely border), Competitive Shiawassee County, or slightly democrat leaning Oakland County. Ingham, Washtenaw, and Genesee County are all democrat.

The main exception to the rule, outside of school boards which have more democrats on them, is Hamburg Township. Hamburg Township's government is an embarassment to my county, and my party. Right now as of today, I would not vote for the incumbents on that board, in any of the cliques. I would be voting for non-incumbent related primary challengers, 3rd party candidates, or as a last resort, write in Mark Dantonio. I don't know his politics, but he conducts himself with a lot more class and professionalism than the individuals collectively running Hamburg Township. Lucky for them, I'm in Green Oak Township next door, so I don't have to make that decision.

The Argus has the lastest in this clusterbleep. It was another bitchfest at the the township meeting.

The Hamburg Township Board of Trustees asked Clerk Matt Skiba to resign during Tuesday night's meeting in response to the clerk taking over control of township building alarm codes against board orders.

The board also approved a vote of no confidence in Skiba as clerk, after Trustee Bill Hahn told Skiba he had lost all faith in him.

"I, personally, don't believe or trust anything you do or say," Hahn said. "You're just not capable of working with this board."

Skiba did not resign and gave no comment on the issue other than a "no" vote on the request.

The resignation request came after Skiba.....

What's this, a no-confidence vote? That's not for the board to give. Matt Skiba, love him, hate him, or in-between, does not work for the board. Why should he resign because a half-dozen people don't like him. He does not answer to the board and is not an employee of the board. He answers, as does the board, to the taxpayers of Hamburg Township. THEY are the boss. This isn't Canada where the no-confidence vote leads to a new election. Now it is no secret that several on the board and influential powers there have been trying to kick out Skiba since he won the primary in August 08 defeating an incumbent, so this is taken with a grain of salt and with the respect it deserves.

Township Supervisor Pat Hohl said the board appointed Rand-azzo to take back security of its buildings because there were 15 active, unnamed codes that would allow entrance into the buildings under Skiba's control.

Tuesday, the board also voted to have Skiba turn over control of all duplicate keys to township buildings. Hohl made an address to the public to "apologize for the embarrassment."

Sorry Pat, you're contributing to the embarassment as much as Skiba, or the entire board is for that matter. I know some are worse than others there, but right now frankly - who cares. The average citizen in Hamburg knows about as much on the board as I do. Some, but not everything. We all DO know that it's collectively an embarassment to the township, the county, the state, and my political party. I'm tired of it making the news. I've seen comparisons of this to Monica Conyers and the Detroit City Council. That is not a compliment. I'm tired of seeing that. I'm tired of the county and my political party being embarrassed. I don't give a rat's arse who is to blame anymore.

Meanwhile, Skiba took more heat from the board for a letter he wrote concerning a recall petition against him and then posted on the township Web site.

On the other side of things, that ain't smart. Recall campaigns, both for and against, are considered political campaigns and are just like election campaigns for all intents and purposes. This shouldn't be discussed either way during township meetings.

This damn bickering has been going on in some form for over two years. It did not change with the primary election where the incumbents were tossed out. It should have. As a political party, we almost lost some spots in Hamburg to the democrats. Hamburg isn't all that Republican to begin with compared to the other townships in the county like Genoa. It's time for them to man up, stop bitching at each other and games playing, and do their jobs. I've had to work with people I didn't like. I've worked with people with different philosophies. We manned up and got the job done. I did what I had to do and left when things outside of my control made it no longer a place to which I wanted to be associated. If I was able to do that at 22 and 23 years old back in the day, these individuals in their 40's, 50's, and 60's should be able to do the same thing.

Now if these individuals are unable to man up and work with each other to get the job done, then there is an easy way to settle this like men, and make it a fundraiser at the same time. Get an octogon from the UFC, set it up at legendary Zukey Lake Tavern, and have township mixed marshall arts to determine the winner. Let's get it on! At least that would be entertaining. Winner stays on the board. Loser goes home and no longer runs for any township office. I'll volunteer to be the ref. Yes, I'm joking....maybe... It wouldn't be any more of a joke than the current situation happens to be at this time.

So Hamburg Township government, stop giving us all in Livingston County a bad name.

The Cluster-you-know-what in Hamburg Township

If one of you all back in August right after the primary was having a bet on the over/under for recalls being filed before May, I would have taken that bet on double or nothing. I saw this a long time ago.

Former Hamburg Township Trustee Mike Bitondo has filed a recall petition for township Clerk Matt Skiba.

Bitondo filed his petition Thursday afternoon, and a clarity hearing on the petition language was scheduled for 8:15 a.m. April 24 at the historic Livingston County Courthouse in downtown Howell

One politician from one clique recalling another. We haven't even gotten one year into Skiba's term yet.

This BS is really embarassing my party and my county. I'm fully supportive of the recall system, but it should be used for poor policy decisions (tax increases) and illegal misconduct in office, not for pissing contests and turf wars due to a clique losing the primary election. The good news on this is that it required 2500 valid signatures and will be no easy task.

We as a party just should have had a good scare looking at the last two election results in our county. Yeah, we won it by a decent margin by most standards, but not by ours. 56% is not solid for us. Our largest municipality by population is Hamburg. One thing that keeps our party strong in the county is relatively few screwups compared to some areas dominated by democrats, like Wayne County. We don't have 62 mills on our property taxes, like Detroit. Taxes are lower here, and the bond rate is strong due to the general fiscal responsibility here. I think it can be better, but it still could be much worse. In general, it isn't that hard for the most part defending this county......outside of the cluster###k going on in Hamburg. That's another story.

I can't defend Hamburg, which unless things change soon, is being handed over to the Democrats quickly. Our worst showing in 08 was a three way race in Hamburg where Skiba won with 41.63%. It was a win, because it was a three-way race. Debby Buckland received 38.89% and Hardesty's write-in as an independent got 19.56% Who knows what it would be in a two-way race. In the Hamburg based County Commissioner race, Dennis Dolan won 53-46% over Dave Buckland, Debby's husband, and Dolan generally did not have controversy on the county board. McCain was held to 51% there. I don't know who dragged the ticket down there, but at the very least, the local government controversies in Hamburg are not helping matters. It's not even an ideological fight between "RINOS" and "Conservatives" either.

It's high time for the Republican office holders in Hamburg Township to wake the #@%@ up and smell the maple nut crunch as Denis Leary would say, or we are going to create a nice solid "blue zone" in this county.

Outside of this recall, you all (the GOP office holders in Hamburg) have about three years to man up and turn this township around, or a lot of people are going to be sent home. Matt Skiba, Phil Semprevino, Pat Hohl, Pat Evon, Bill Hahn, Chuck Menzies, and Mike Dolan. They have to step it up and spend their time on township business and not clique business. Skiba's the clerk. Get over it. Semprevino is a trustee. Get over it. The elections are over. Man up and get the job done folks, or someone else will.

2008 Election Results and analysis - Livingston County

It was a mixed bag in Livingston County. We lost on Prop 2 which sucked and will really suck when you see the courts interpret what the definition of "discourage" means. Cliff Taylor also lost the county. Jay Drick didn't unseat Brennan.

Partisan races were big wins, if not by the margins I prefer. We unseated a democrat incumbent and did not lose any seats. We were McCain's 3rd best county (Allan, you forgot Missaukee County up North) by percentage. McCain pulled out, so our counties and state were on our own without any other support. Jack Hoogendyk was thrown to the wolves completely, and still at least won my county.

No democrats took any open seats in the county, nor did they defeat any incumbents, although one republican incumbent lost to another republican in Unadilla township. The Republicans successfully defended all their seats.The democrats only hold two positions of a partisan nature. They were both incumbents. Kevin Dobis and Lori Cowan in Putnam and Unadilla Townships. Putnam's local politics isn't really as partisan as much as it is between "Keeping Putnam Rural" or a more developmental approach.

The bad news is top the ticket is much closer. Overall it was 55.79% for McCain and 42.51% for Obama. That's a lot lower than the 62%+ win for Bush in 2004. This was a statewide problem for many reasons, not the least of which was McCain staffer announcing that he pulled out. This is usually the 3rd, 4th, or 5th most GOP county in the state (The other being Hillsdale or Allegan). This year, it was third.

The silver lining is that Mike Rogers, and newcomers Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby ran ahead of the ticket. Mike Rogers got 66.50% which was better than his 2006 numbers. Dave Domas soundly defeated Michael Moore's friend. I am surprised that Scott Lucas had a higher percentage than Donna Anderson did in their races. Lucas ran an anemic campaign, and Anderson worked for what she had. Over in Handy Township, there were enough partisans for Frazier to win the trustee spot held by Robert Redinger. Redinger had a lot of support among people in both parties, and he had an independent streak backing Denby for State Rep.

In Hamburg, we dodged a bullet. I thought the democrats would have taken the clerk's spot. The results there:
Matt Skiba (R) - 4766 - 41.63%
Debby Buckland (D) - 4444 - 38.82%
Write-ins (Hardesty) - 2239 - 19.56%

The question is this. Would Hardesty's votes go to Skiba otherwise, or Buckland? I don't know. Pat Evon for treasurer got 54.47% over Linda Taylor's 44.68%. That was ahead of the top of the ticket as McCain was held to 51% in Hamburg. The Hamburg County Commissioner seat was also close. Dave Buckland got 46% against Dennis Dolan's 53%. The new team in Hamburg of Hohl (unopposed), Skiba, and Evon, along with trustees have to show the population there that the local GOP does a good job, or there could be more troubles.

Putnam Township Supervisor was close, as always. The independent there took 18%, and Ron Rau won reelection with 44.32%. Green Oak was about as close as the top of the ticket. McCain got 54.68%, and Mark St Charles got 53.78% against Matt Evans who got a respectable 45.34%.

I can go down the list with the rest of them, but I'll say this. Countywide, I consider a 55.79% win a big loss. Period. Same thing I said about the 2006% election. In order for a Republican to win statewide, 64-65% is minimum. Anything less at the top of the ticket is most likely a loss.

Now what should the Livingston County Republican Party do at home? I think we need to build on the advertising campaign. We don't brag enough. The county runs well. We take that for granted here. We shouldn't. We need to let people who moved here recently that it is our officials, republican, who built this and maintained it properly. This county has a high bond rating, lowest millage rate, lower taxes, and lets us keep more money in our pockets and not in the hands of big government. We need to combat those who move from democrat areas and bring partisanship with them. This is how to do it. Let them know that they moved to a well run county. This is how it is done, and why republicans run it better than the democrat areas they came from and it will be gone if the same people that win there win here.

If you want to look at democrat run societies, look at Detroit and it's 62 mills in property taxes, or better yet, look at who started turning Detroit government into what it is today. It wasn't the blacks that started it either. It was white "progressive" democrats in the 1960's. The riots happened under white democrat rule. High taxes, more bureaucracy, less efficiency, and more problems.

We need to go back to less government and more freedom. For the most part, Livingston County does that. That's one of the things that makes this county work.

No money for Train to Nowhere, Hamburg election developments (EDITED and UPDATED 9/13)

The latest from the Argus shows that there is no money for the train.

The chairman of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners says the county will neither fund a proposed commuter rail line nor be a part of any taxing authority.


Bill Rogers said county officials have told Washtenaw Livingston Line (WALLY) coalition members that the board cannot afford to finance the project, which would connect Howell to Ann Arbor. Officials have previously estimated annual funding from each county ranging from $75,000-$150,000.

“Not that we’re not in favor of mass transit or participating, but I just don’t think it’s economically feasible today,” said Rogers, who anticipates the county still being involved in WALLY talks. “We’re just not going to have the cash.”

Anticipated startup costs for the proposed 27-mile route came in at $32.4 million in a recent feasibility study. Meanwhile, Rogers and other commissioners were busy trimming 1.7 percent from all departments financed by general fund monies and are currently trying to deal with additional anticipated cuts in coming years.

Good move guys.

Also from the Argus,
Joanna Hardesty is running as a write-in for the Hamburg Township Clerks position. In a rather bitter primary election battle, Matt Skiba defeated her in the primary. There's some hard feeling there, and not just because of the election results.

Her comments followed Skiba's accusations that she and her supporters stole or tampered with his campaign signs; attempted to flatten one of his tires in the township municipal campus parking lot; and abused authority in overseeing the Hamburg Family Fun Fest.

Skiba also lobbed barbs at Hardesty for a lawsuit filed by her husband and son against the township Police Department alleging illegal entry to the family's home.

Hardesty said Skiba, who won the primary with less than 20 percent of registered township voters casting ballots, ran a "malicious campaign" that distracted voters from his lack of experience and own personal issues, including a bankruptcy filing.

"Mr. Skiba, you were not held accountable for your false allegations," Hardesty said, eyeing Skiba, who sat in the back row of the board room.

"I will be running a very vigorous campaign in the November election. Write in Hardesty, please," she added.

I can't say I'm surprised here. From a partisan standpoint, it hurts the Republicans in a bad way seeing two of them battle in a general election. I think the winner here is Debby Buckland.

EDIT/UPDATE (After Michael's comment)

I hesitate to take sides with these Hamburg contests, but it's time for me to do so. In this race with the information I had, I would have voted for Hardesty in the primary. Most of that was based on the debate between her and Skiba. I don't know either of them very well and don't have any personal dogs in that fight. I also would have voted for Michael Zelegelski and Bill Hahn. I know and like both Pat Evon and Bobbi Vaughan and I'm glad I did not have to make a decision there. Pat Evon will do a good job, I'm not worried about that. I don't vote based on slates, and I hope those who read this know that about me. I've always gone my own way with endorsements, voting decisions, and issues. I don't get into the grudge matches and personal contests out here. I've been there and done that with a different organization. It's not fun, and I avoid that stuff unless I have one hell of a dog in the fight.

That said, it's time for the Livingston County GOP to get behind Matt Skiba. The primary is over and the voters who showed up clearly made the decision. I trust the voters of Hamburg as they know their township better than I do. They made the decision to pick the candidates who run under my banner in that township.

Back on August 15, I posted this:

The question is whether with the house cleaning in Hamburg, is the infighting over. If the winner was all three incumbents, all winning by 50 votes, then I would have bet on the democrats. That was not the case, and all incumbents are gone. The primary I think made things tougher for the dems. However, do Pat Hohl (unopposed), Matt Skiba, and Pat Evon realize what happened and work to put this behind them? Do the outgoing incumbents provide a smooth transition? If the answer is yes, then I think we hold these seats. If not, then the papers will have a big story about an "upset" in November. Nobody wants to read about their township in the paper every day. Two of the newcomers I think are real strong candidates in Pat Evon and Bill Hahn. I'm not worried about them. One other candidate however concerns me. I won't say who it is in public, but I wasn't that impressed with that individual in the candidate forum. With the current situation, none of these are gimmes, but one of these actually scares me a bit.

We don't have a smooth transition, and commenter Michael's comment here was right on.
"It is time for an intervention, perhaps from a county and state level." I agree. County level. I missed the last meeting, and I know something is in the works. I hope this race is covered and covered well. It is now our most difficult race in the county, and while the McCain/Palin race is important, the Livingston County Republican Party can not forget the first two words in its name either. I had an eye on this race anyway, but now Skiba will need a lot of help. The Bucklands (both Dave and Debby) are experienced campaigners and need to be taken seriously. I have no doubt that Debby will run ahead of Obama (who I expect to get John Kerry percentages around here) to begin with due to the township politics. Skiba also now has an independent challenger as well who will take some GOP votes. John Kerry got 41% and Gore 42%. With a third party, that's enough to sometimes win.

There's an old saying used about rough language and profanity and I think it applies to politics as well. Time, place, and manner. This I do not believe is the proper time, place, and manner for the challenge. I think the best way for a defeated candidate who is unhappy with the campaign is to be a team player for a contested general election, and then run again four years later in the next primary. That is the proper time, place and manner.

We have some more November contests

The Argus reports that six write-in candidates received enough votes in the primary to get on the ballot.

Dave Buckland is probably their strongest candidate based on candidate experience and previous showings. He got the nomination for the County Commission district and had a respectable showing in 2006. It was a 55-45 district and 800 vote margin in 2006. This district is Hamburg township minus Hamburg 3. Dolan has seemed to avoid the controversies in Hamburg (as his son won a trustee position there.) However, the dems want this bad as they haven't held a seat since Jake Donohue did it in I believe the early 1990's. My money is on Dolan, but I do not expect the race to be a gimme.

For Hamburg Township Clerk - Debby Buckland will be facing Matt Skiba
For Hamburg Township Treasurer - Linda Taylor will face Pat Evon.
For Hamburg Tristee - Shannon Piper will face Michael Dolan, Bill Hahn, Chuck Menzies and Philip Semprevivo.

The question is whether with the house cleaning in Hamburg, is the infighting over. If the winner was all three incumbents, all winning by 50 votes, then I would have bet on the democrats. That was not the case, and all incumbents are gone. The primary I think made things tougher for the dems. However, do Pat Hohl (unopposed), Matt Skiba, and Pat Evon realize what happened and work to put this behind them? Do the outgoing incumbents provide a smooth transition? If the answer is yes, then I think we hold these seats. If not, then the papers will have a big story about an "upset" in November. Nobody wants to read about their township in the paper every day. Two of the newcomers I think are real strong candidates in Pat Evon and Bill Hahn. I'm not worried about them. One other candidate however concerns me. I won't say who it is in public, but I wasn't that impressed with that individual in the candidate forum. With the current situation, none of these are gimmes, but one of these actually scares me a bit.

Matt Evans got on the ballot the hard way and will face Mark St Charles. The question here is which Matt Evans will show up? The guy who got disqualified on petitions, or the guy that held a legend in Jack LaBelle to under 60% in 2006? Green Oak has a lot of local issues, and that will decide this contest. The Dems keep knocking on the door in Green Oak, but it's been a while since then won here. Green Oak is never an area to take for granted however.

Michael Porath faces Ron Rau for Putnam Supervisor. Putnam always votes on their local politics, and it doesn't matter who is at the top of the ticket. Local Democrats sometimes survive Republican top of the ticket landslides there. I expect the battle there be rural v development. This will probably be the toughest contest for the GOP, as dems do win sometimes in Putnam Township, and they held the super's position as recently as 2004, despite Bush winning big there.

Many will talk about coattails. I'm not a big believer in coattails unless you get 60% at the top of the ticket in your locality, extreme cases. Even then the 1998 massacure of Geoff Fieger didn't caust that many races to flip. In 1990, John Engler won big here in Livingston County, but Richard Austin and Frank Kelley also won - the last two democrats to win here countywide.

In short, we shouldn't panic but we do need to be prepared at home, and make sure our local candidates are supported without depending on John McCain to carry them or Barack Obama to sink the opposition. The Livingston County Republican Party needs to remember the first two works in their name. I think this year, unlike some years, this will happen.