Sorry for the late posting of the blog this week. As you know, though, there was an election on Tuesday and life has been very busy. I am happy to announce that I won another term! Thanks to my wife and family, my honorable opponent Chris Christensen, and all of my supporters for all the help and support! All commissioners were re-elected, and the Democrats were able to hold a 12-4 majority. The one empty seat went from a Democrat to a Republican. While I was happy to win, several of my friends will be out of a job due to the Republican victories and they will be in my thoughts. If you know of any jobs, please let me know and I will pass them on to those who are looking!
Now on to the County News for the week…
The Finance Committee this week passed a new Pollution Prevention Regulation. The Ingham County Health Department currently does a variety of inspection and reporting on businesses that store, process, use, and manufacture polluting materials. We do this both as a requirement of federal law, and also as an issue of public safety.
Up until now, this has been done administratively and using general fund dollars (taxpayer dollars). The Health Department and the Human Services Committee have spend the last few months crafting an ordinance to officially address this, and to have the businesses who handle these materials pay the fees for pollution prevention instead of the taxpayers. They crafted language on what will be required by the businesses, and they settled on a fee of 75% to start (so that businesses are not hit with 100% of the fee in the first year). The Health Department is working through what businesses will need to pay the fee, and will be notifying businesses after the ordinance passes. Those who believe they should not be responsible for the fee can work with the Health Department. Commissioner Don Vickers has already worked with the Health Department to eliminate some who should not be on the list.
In addition to committee meetings on the ordinance, the Human Services committee conducted a public hearing and heard no opposition to the proposed ordinance. I am not on the committee so I learned much of this at the Finance Committee. When this was considered in Finance, I raised questions about having appeals go to the Board of Health instead of the elected Board of Commissioners. I was told that all health ordinance appeals go to the Board of Health, and I was satisfied with this answer after the Health Department accepted that they need to report the number and status of appeals to the Board of Commissioners. The resolution passed Finance 4-1 and will be considered by the full Board on Tuesday.
The Finance committee this week also took up the resolution to fund community agencies, as passed by the Human Services committee. For 2011, 35 agencies submitted applications totaling $248,084.50. The 2011 budget contains $187,261 available for community agencies. The Human Services committee funded the requests of the 19 agencies that “meet basic needs.” The remaining agencies were funded at 50% of their 2010 allocation or 50% of their 2011 request, whichever was lower. This resulted in 33 total agencies receiving funding. The Finance Committee did not change this allocation.
After a lengthy discussion last meeting, the Finance Committee passed a resolution amending the County Local Preference policy regarding contracts. We increased the preference threshold from the current 5% to a 10% local purchasing preference. As such, local registered vendors will have a greater opportunity to be awarded County contracts by being able to match other non-local bidders if within 10% of the lowest bid. Hopefully, this will help to keep county tax dollars in the county and help our local unemployment rates.
Finally, the committee began discussions of providing transition dollars for the one township that passed the police assessment. As you recall, the County Board of Commissioners eliminated funding for Road Patrol in the townships. I won’t go into the reasoning…you can look up previous versions of this blog for that! But we committed that any township that passed the special millage would receive dollars from us as they transition into their own funded police. Williamstown Township was the only township of the 13 to pass this millage (although several townships that defeated the millage actually voted for the zoo, which was a surprise to me). Commissioner Grebner introduced a resolution to give them $100,000 for any purpose (create their own police department, contract with another municipality, contract with the county) as long as any laid off sheriff deputies are hired first. The resolution was then referred to the Law Enforcement Committee to discuss. We also encouraged the Law Enforcement Committee to hold a committee meeting earlier than it is currently scheduled, but that will be up to the Chair of that committee. Time is definitely of the essence, and there are many things to do (contracts, details, etc) before January 1.
So, that’s it for this week. I hope everyone is over the election and glad that all the commercials are done!
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
2010 General Election Blog Post
As promised, here is my elections blog. This is for Ingham County. I will do my best to provide information about the races that you may not know about. This blog is really long...sorry about that! If you want to see the official candidate and proposal list, you can click here.
The top of the ticket is Mayor Virg Bernero (D) vs. businessman Rick Snyder (R). I assume you know all you want to know about this race, so I will move on.
For Attorney General, the race is between Prosecutor David Leyton (D) and Bill Schuette (R). Layton is the Prosecutor in Genesee County and is a former county commissioner. Mr. Schuette is a former Appeals Court Judge, former State Senator, former Department of Agriculture Director, former Congressman. I believe he is in private practice now, because he had to be off the bench for a year before he could run for office. This race has gotten nasty, as Schuette has attacked Layton for not prosecuting a murderer and using the victim’s mother in ads. The victims’ mother has accused the coverage of being slanted because the Jewish owner of the Flint Journal wants to help a fellow Jew (Leyton). Leyton refutes this and points out his over-90% prosecution record. He says that Schuette is abusing a disgruntled victim in order to politicize a complicated situation. I have endorsed Leyton, as he contacted me a while ago and I have been very impressed with his time as a prosecutor. I believe we need a prosecutor as Attorney General.
In the Secretary of State race, Jocelyn Benson (D) is facing off against Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson (R). Benson is a professor at Wayne State, and Johnson is a former State Representative and the former Lieutenant Governor candidate for Dick DeVos. This race is also getting nasty, as the Democrats really want to turn the tide of Republican control of this office while the Republicans are sinking a lot of money into keeping it. Johnson has accused Benson of being run by out-of-state interests and of carpetbagging to Michigan. Benson countered saying she has contributions from a majority of the counties in Michigan as well as from friends out-of-state, and said that she chose to live in Michigan because she lived in other states and Michigan is the best place to settle. Benson has said Johnson of putting millions of her own money into the race, and has accused Johnson of disenfranchising voters by saying that those with foreclosures can’t vote. Johnson refutes that by saying she was part of the group alerting people with foreclosures that they can vote. Benson is married to a friend from college and I have met her many times. I am very impressed with her dedication and drive, and I support Benson.
For Congress, there are two races. Republican Congressman Mike Rogers is being challenged by Democrat Lance Enderle. This race has flown under the radar. Rogers has millions in the bank, and is campaigning on lessening the debt. Enderle has vowed not to take PAC money and has much less in the bank. He is campaigning on the fact that Rogers is much too conservative for the district, that Rogers was part of creating the debt when he was in the majority, and is campaigning on eliminating unfair trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.
On the west side of the county, Democratic Congressman Mark Schauer is being challenged by Republican former Congressman Tim Walberg. Anyone watching TV knows that this race is very nasty. I can’t even go into the myriad of claims that each is making against the other. Suffice it to say…if you live in this district, you have received mail, calls, tv, knocks on your door, etc.
For the State Senate, Democratic Senator Gretchen Whitmer is being challenged by Republican Kyle Haubrich. Sen. Whitmer is expected to win this race, and I don’t know much about Haubrich. Whitmer is also one of two front-runners for Democratic leader for the next session.
In the biggest chunk of Lansing, Democrat Joan Bauer is the State Representative. She is challenged by former firefighter Tim Moede. Again, I don’t know much about his campaign and it is expected that Bauer will be returned to the House. If you don’t know, Joan has been doing a great job and works often with local officials. She has met with county commissioners several times, and reached out to us on several appropriations bills that could negatively affect services that the county can provide.
In East Lansing and Meridian and Williamston, Democrat Mark Meadows is being challenged by Republican Susan McGillicuddy. McGillicuddy is getting more attention that normal challengers to this seat because the year is expected to be more Republican, and because she is the township Supervisor in Meridian Township. There is an outside chance of an upset here, but capitol insiders seem to think that Meadows (who is assistant leader of the House) will prevail.
The real heated State House race in our areas is democratic Rep. Barb Byrum who is being challenged by Republican Jeff Oesterle. Byrum has been a moderate Democrat and is running for her third and final term. Oesterle is a farmer and seems to be running on smaller government. The Republican party is running the most ridiculous commercials against Byrum, blaming her for just about all the ills of state government. Byrum has chaired the Insurance Committee for the last two years and has tried to hold their feet to the fire, so the insurance industry is also coming after her with intense TV and radio ads. I have not seen anything from Oesterle at this point, and expect that he is trying to ride the tide of voter discontent through the GOP and insurance ads.
All 16 county commission seats are up for grabs. Two of them are unopposed – Commissioner Randy Schafer (R-Williamston) and Commissioner Don Vickers (R-Mason). The rest of us face competition. Here is a quick glimpse from my perspective, in district order from 1-16:
Lansing Twp, West Lasing – Vic Celentino (D) has done a great job on the Board and is very popular. I don’t know anything about his opponent.
North Lansing – Deb De Leon has been Board Chair for 2 years and has led us through tough times. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Groesbeck and eastside Lansing – Brian McGrain really distinguished himself in his first term as a leader in the caucus and on the Board. I don’t know anything about his opponent.
Westside and mid-town Lansing – Rebecca Bahar-Cook has become a Board expert on zoo and judiciary issues that the rest of us count on. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Southeast Lansing – this is my district. I am opposed by a gentleman named Chris Christensen. I have met him and he is very nice. We are both running respectful campaigns, and I am hoping to be returned to the Board by my constituents.
Southwest Lansing – Dale Copedge is very active in the community and has asked the questions that really need to be asked as a member of the Board. His opponent seems to be active with some signs, but that is all I know.
South Lansing – Todd Tennis has been an expert on Human Services issues and really understands how to balance the needs of the workers with the budget realities of the county. His opponent is someone who has challenged him before and has some signs up, but I don’t know much else about him.
East Lansing – Penelope Tsernoglou is serving the balance of a vacated seat and is running for her first full term. She has hit the ground running and has a good mix of experience and questions. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
East Lansing – Carol Koenig has been a real leader on the Board. She has been very active with Law Enforcement and Human Services issues, and has tremendous experience. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
East Lansing - Mark Grebner is, well, Mark Grebner. He has served for 30 years and is truly the voice of experience on our Board. I don't know anything about his opponent.
Meridian Twp - Dianne Holman is one of our leaders in terms of law enforcement issues and has a good understanding of economic development. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Meridian Twp – Deb Nolan has lead efforts on juvenile justice issues, and in dealing with the Road Commission and roads. Her opponent seems to be active and the Republicans are trying to win back a seat that was once theirs. Deb is a tremendous commissioner, though, and I believe that her constituents appreciate her hard work on their behalf.
Holt and several out-county townships – Steve Dougan has represented this area for 6 years. We don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot because he opposes things on the Board floor without commenting or trying to work on them and make them better (usually for political reasons). He also has done things like assisting my opponent in the Democratic primary, which I find simply wrong (I have never gotten involved in a Republican primary). His opponent is Liz Kranz, who is campaigning on supporting the out-county as a leader on the Board instead of just voting no on everything. This should be an interesting race as both candidates are working hard.
Holt and several out-county townships – Commissioner Laura Davis is not seeking re-election due to health reasons. Republican Vince Dragonetti is facing off against Democrat Karen Dravenstatt-Moceri. I have seen lawn signs for both of them, but don’t really know the issues that they are campaigning on. This seat has flipped back and forth from Republican to Demcoratic hands, and this should be an interesting race.
There are several judge races on the ballot in the non-partisan races. PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE IN THESE ALSO!
For Michigan Supreme Court, there are two incumbents running who will run with the designation “Justice of the Supreme Court” on the ballot. The first is long-time Justice Robert Young. He is one of the so-called “Gang of Four” Republican-nominated justices who have very conservative philosophies and tend to rule in favor of business and insurance companies instead of citizens. When he was elected the first time, the Supreme Court took an arch-conservative philosophy and really started changing case-law in Michigan by overturning several long-established decisions. This ended two years ago when Justice Taylor was defeated, but Young is still very conservative. The other incumbent justice is newly-appointed Justice Alton Thomas Davis. From what I know, he has been a very reasonable judge on the Appeals Court (neither liberal nor conservative), and was appointed to the Supreme Court when Justice Elizabeth Weaver retired. I am hopeful that he will be retained and will provide a voice of reason on the Supreme Court, which has been very politically charged recently.
The other two Supreme Court candidates are Republican-nominated Wayne Circuit Judge Mary Beth Kelly and Democrat-nominated Oakland Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris. I really don’t know much about either of them.
Locally, we have a circuit court judge race that is being contested. Lansing assistant attorney Billie Jo O’Berry is facing attorney Clinton Canady. I have seen them both at several candidate forums and they are both working very hard. There is also a District judgeship that is contested. Judge Donald Allen is being opposed by attorney Paul Joseph. They have also both been at candidate forums and knocking on doors. I have worked with Judge Allen, and I am very impressed with all that he has done in the courtroom.
There are also several judges that are on the ballot unopposed - District Judges Amy Krause, Louise Alderson and Richard Ball; Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk; and Court of Appeals Judges Owens and Whitbeck.
The education boards are all up, but I don’t know much about any of the candidates so I can’t help there. But you will be voting for State School Board candidates, University of Michigan Regents, MSU Trustees, and Wayne State Governors.
Finally, there are several ballot initiatives on the ballot. On statewide ballot measures, you will decide if you want a constitutional convention or not, and if felons should be able to hold elected office.
Countywide, voters will decide if they want to continue to support the Potter Park Zoo. The economic benefits to Ingham County have been huge and I hope that county voters will continue to support the zoo. If this fails, the zoo will go back to being funded at a much lower level by the City of Lansing.
City of Lansing voters will decide if they want to support a Sinking Fund for infrastructure improvements for the schools. As a parent with a child in Lansing Schools, I know first hand of the unbelievable need of the schools. I think it is time for Lansing residents to adopt this so we can fix boilers and roofs and update to energy efficient power and solve other pressing needs. That is needed to keep kids in the district.
Voters in the general law townships and villages you will decide if they want to pay to support Road Patrols from the Sheriff through either assessments or millages (depending on the jurisdiction). If these do not pass, then these residents will no longer receive road patrol services from the county and will only receive emergency response from the county as well as whatever is provided by State Police.
There are also several other local council races, millage requests and other things on the ballot. Click here to see the entire candidate and proposal list.
The top of the ticket is Mayor Virg Bernero (D) vs. businessman Rick Snyder (R). I assume you know all you want to know about this race, so I will move on.
For Attorney General, the race is between Prosecutor David Leyton (D) and Bill Schuette (R). Layton is the Prosecutor in Genesee County and is a former county commissioner. Mr. Schuette is a former Appeals Court Judge, former State Senator, former Department of Agriculture Director, former Congressman. I believe he is in private practice now, because he had to be off the bench for a year before he could run for office. This race has gotten nasty, as Schuette has attacked Layton for not prosecuting a murderer and using the victim’s mother in ads. The victims’ mother has accused the coverage of being slanted because the Jewish owner of the Flint Journal wants to help a fellow Jew (Leyton). Leyton refutes this and points out his over-90% prosecution record. He says that Schuette is abusing a disgruntled victim in order to politicize a complicated situation. I have endorsed Leyton, as he contacted me a while ago and I have been very impressed with his time as a prosecutor. I believe we need a prosecutor as Attorney General.
In the Secretary of State race, Jocelyn Benson (D) is facing off against Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson (R). Benson is a professor at Wayne State, and Johnson is a former State Representative and the former Lieutenant Governor candidate for Dick DeVos. This race is also getting nasty, as the Democrats really want to turn the tide of Republican control of this office while the Republicans are sinking a lot of money into keeping it. Johnson has accused Benson of being run by out-of-state interests and of carpetbagging to Michigan. Benson countered saying she has contributions from a majority of the counties in Michigan as well as from friends out-of-state, and said that she chose to live in Michigan because she lived in other states and Michigan is the best place to settle. Benson has said Johnson of putting millions of her own money into the race, and has accused Johnson of disenfranchising voters by saying that those with foreclosures can’t vote. Johnson refutes that by saying she was part of the group alerting people with foreclosures that they can vote. Benson is married to a friend from college and I have met her many times. I am very impressed with her dedication and drive, and I support Benson.
For Congress, there are two races. Republican Congressman Mike Rogers is being challenged by Democrat Lance Enderle. This race has flown under the radar. Rogers has millions in the bank, and is campaigning on lessening the debt. Enderle has vowed not to take PAC money and has much less in the bank. He is campaigning on the fact that Rogers is much too conservative for the district, that Rogers was part of creating the debt when he was in the majority, and is campaigning on eliminating unfair trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.
On the west side of the county, Democratic Congressman Mark Schauer is being challenged by Republican former Congressman Tim Walberg. Anyone watching TV knows that this race is very nasty. I can’t even go into the myriad of claims that each is making against the other. Suffice it to say…if you live in this district, you have received mail, calls, tv, knocks on your door, etc.
For the State Senate, Democratic Senator Gretchen Whitmer is being challenged by Republican Kyle Haubrich. Sen. Whitmer is expected to win this race, and I don’t know much about Haubrich. Whitmer is also one of two front-runners for Democratic leader for the next session.
In the biggest chunk of Lansing, Democrat Joan Bauer is the State Representative. She is challenged by former firefighter Tim Moede. Again, I don’t know much about his campaign and it is expected that Bauer will be returned to the House. If you don’t know, Joan has been doing a great job and works often with local officials. She has met with county commissioners several times, and reached out to us on several appropriations bills that could negatively affect services that the county can provide.
In East Lansing and Meridian and Williamston, Democrat Mark Meadows is being challenged by Republican Susan McGillicuddy. McGillicuddy is getting more attention that normal challengers to this seat because the year is expected to be more Republican, and because she is the township Supervisor in Meridian Township. There is an outside chance of an upset here, but capitol insiders seem to think that Meadows (who is assistant leader of the House) will prevail.
The real heated State House race in our areas is democratic Rep. Barb Byrum who is being challenged by Republican Jeff Oesterle. Byrum has been a moderate Democrat and is running for her third and final term. Oesterle is a farmer and seems to be running on smaller government. The Republican party is running the most ridiculous commercials against Byrum, blaming her for just about all the ills of state government. Byrum has chaired the Insurance Committee for the last two years and has tried to hold their feet to the fire, so the insurance industry is also coming after her with intense TV and radio ads. I have not seen anything from Oesterle at this point, and expect that he is trying to ride the tide of voter discontent through the GOP and insurance ads.
All 16 county commission seats are up for grabs. Two of them are unopposed – Commissioner Randy Schafer (R-Williamston) and Commissioner Don Vickers (R-Mason). The rest of us face competition. Here is a quick glimpse from my perspective, in district order from 1-16:
Lansing Twp, West Lasing – Vic Celentino (D) has done a great job on the Board and is very popular. I don’t know anything about his opponent.
North Lansing – Deb De Leon has been Board Chair for 2 years and has led us through tough times. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Groesbeck and eastside Lansing – Brian McGrain really distinguished himself in his first term as a leader in the caucus and on the Board. I don’t know anything about his opponent.
Westside and mid-town Lansing – Rebecca Bahar-Cook has become a Board expert on zoo and judiciary issues that the rest of us count on. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Southeast Lansing – this is my district. I am opposed by a gentleman named Chris Christensen. I have met him and he is very nice. We are both running respectful campaigns, and I am hoping to be returned to the Board by my constituents.
Southwest Lansing – Dale Copedge is very active in the community and has asked the questions that really need to be asked as a member of the Board. His opponent seems to be active with some signs, but that is all I know.
South Lansing – Todd Tennis has been an expert on Human Services issues and really understands how to balance the needs of the workers with the budget realities of the county. His opponent is someone who has challenged him before and has some signs up, but I don’t know much else about him.
East Lansing – Penelope Tsernoglou is serving the balance of a vacated seat and is running for her first full term. She has hit the ground running and has a good mix of experience and questions. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
East Lansing – Carol Koenig has been a real leader on the Board. She has been very active with Law Enforcement and Human Services issues, and has tremendous experience. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
East Lansing - Mark Grebner is, well, Mark Grebner. He has served for 30 years and is truly the voice of experience on our Board. I don't know anything about his opponent.
Meridian Twp - Dianne Holman is one of our leaders in terms of law enforcement issues and has a good understanding of economic development. I don’t know anything about her opponent.
Meridian Twp – Deb Nolan has lead efforts on juvenile justice issues, and in dealing with the Road Commission and roads. Her opponent seems to be active and the Republicans are trying to win back a seat that was once theirs. Deb is a tremendous commissioner, though, and I believe that her constituents appreciate her hard work on their behalf.
Holt and several out-county townships – Steve Dougan has represented this area for 6 years. We don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot because he opposes things on the Board floor without commenting or trying to work on them and make them better (usually for political reasons). He also has done things like assisting my opponent in the Democratic primary, which I find simply wrong (I have never gotten involved in a Republican primary). His opponent is Liz Kranz, who is campaigning on supporting the out-county as a leader on the Board instead of just voting no on everything. This should be an interesting race as both candidates are working hard.
Holt and several out-county townships – Commissioner Laura Davis is not seeking re-election due to health reasons. Republican Vince Dragonetti is facing off against Democrat Karen Dravenstatt-Moceri. I have seen lawn signs for both of them, but don’t really know the issues that they are campaigning on. This seat has flipped back and forth from Republican to Demcoratic hands, and this should be an interesting race.
There are several judge races on the ballot in the non-partisan races. PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE IN THESE ALSO!
For Michigan Supreme Court, there are two incumbents running who will run with the designation “Justice of the Supreme Court” on the ballot. The first is long-time Justice Robert Young. He is one of the so-called “Gang of Four” Republican-nominated justices who have very conservative philosophies and tend to rule in favor of business and insurance companies instead of citizens. When he was elected the first time, the Supreme Court took an arch-conservative philosophy and really started changing case-law in Michigan by overturning several long-established decisions. This ended two years ago when Justice Taylor was defeated, but Young is still very conservative. The other incumbent justice is newly-appointed Justice Alton Thomas Davis. From what I know, he has been a very reasonable judge on the Appeals Court (neither liberal nor conservative), and was appointed to the Supreme Court when Justice Elizabeth Weaver retired. I am hopeful that he will be retained and will provide a voice of reason on the Supreme Court, which has been very politically charged recently.
The other two Supreme Court candidates are Republican-nominated Wayne Circuit Judge Mary Beth Kelly and Democrat-nominated Oakland Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris. I really don’t know much about either of them.
Locally, we have a circuit court judge race that is being contested. Lansing assistant attorney Billie Jo O’Berry is facing attorney Clinton Canady. I have seen them both at several candidate forums and they are both working very hard. There is also a District judgeship that is contested. Judge Donald Allen is being opposed by attorney Paul Joseph. They have also both been at candidate forums and knocking on doors. I have worked with Judge Allen, and I am very impressed with all that he has done in the courtroom.
There are also several judges that are on the ballot unopposed - District Judges Amy Krause, Louise Alderson and Richard Ball; Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk; and Court of Appeals Judges Owens and Whitbeck.
The education boards are all up, but I don’t know much about any of the candidates so I can’t help there. But you will be voting for State School Board candidates, University of Michigan Regents, MSU Trustees, and Wayne State Governors.
Finally, there are several ballot initiatives on the ballot. On statewide ballot measures, you will decide if you want a constitutional convention or not, and if felons should be able to hold elected office.
Countywide, voters will decide if they want to continue to support the Potter Park Zoo. The economic benefits to Ingham County have been huge and I hope that county voters will continue to support the zoo. If this fails, the zoo will go back to being funded at a much lower level by the City of Lansing.
City of Lansing voters will decide if they want to support a Sinking Fund for infrastructure improvements for the schools. As a parent with a child in Lansing Schools, I know first hand of the unbelievable need of the schools. I think it is time for Lansing residents to adopt this so we can fix boilers and roofs and update to energy efficient power and solve other pressing needs. That is needed to keep kids in the district.
Voters in the general law townships and villages you will decide if they want to pay to support Road Patrols from the Sheriff through either assessments or millages (depending on the jurisdiction). If these do not pass, then these residents will no longer receive road patrol services from the county and will only receive emergency response from the county as well as whatever is provided by State Police.
There are also several other local council races, millage requests and other things on the ballot. Click here to see the entire candidate and proposal list.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Ingham County Primary Elections Preview
This week in my County Blog, I thought I would focus on the upcoming primary elections. There are several important elections and issues that will be on the ballot, and this is a good time for people to start thinking about them.
First a reminder – you can only vote in the Democratic or Republican primary election. Not both. If you try to cross over and vote for one democrat and one republican, your ballot at the box will be rejected. If you do it with an absentee ballot, your ballot will be spoiled and none of the choices will count. So once you decide if you are voting on the Republican or Democratic side…stay there!
The Governor’s race is the first on the ballot. For the first time in 8 years, there will not be an incumbent. The Democrats have Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero versus Speaker of the House Andy Dillon. The Republicans have Congressman Pete Hoekstra, businessman Rick Snyder, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, Attorney General Mike Cox, and State Senator Tom George all running. These have been well documented in the press, so I won’t comment any further.
There is no U.S. Senator on the ballot this year. Senator serve 6 year terms which are staggered, and neither Sen. Stabenow nor Sen. Levin are up for re-election this year. All 435 members of the U.S. House, though, are up for election. As such, in Ingham County we have Republican U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers seeking re-election. He is unopposed in the primary. On the Democratuc side, on the ballot is Kande Ngalamulume. He has dropped out, though, and has will not campaign for the job. Running as a write-in for the Democrats is Lance Enderle of Clinton County. Should be interesting to see if Mr. Enderle can get enough votes to knock Kande off the ballot.
For State Senator, most of the county is represented by Democratic Sen. Gretchen Whitmer who has another term available and is running for re-election. She is unopposed in the primary. Repuvblican Kyle J. Haubrich is running on the Republican ticket. Part of the county near Livingston are represented currently by Sen. Valde Garcia. He cannot seek another term due to term-limits, though. Former State Rep. Joe Hune is running for the seat as a Republican, as is Brighton Councilman and former Mayor Paul Rogers. That should be an interesting race. On the Democratic side is Chuck Fellows.
For State Rep., most of Lansing (and all of Lanisng Township) is represented by Democrat Joan Bauer. She is unopposed in the primary. On the Republican side is Timothy B. Moede, who is also unopposed in the primary. For East Lansing, Democrat incumbent Rep. Mark Meadows is unopposed in the primary. The Republicans have Meridian Twp Supervisor Susan McGillicuddy and Frank Lambert running against each other in the Republican primary. Parts of south Lansing as well as the rest of the county are represented by Democrat Barb Byrum. She is unopposed in the primary. There are 3 Republicans running for her seat, though. They are Jeff Hall, Jeff Oesterle, and Trisha Opper. I understand they are all running hard, so if you are in the district and are a Republican, you have a tough choice to make.
All 16 County Commissioner seats are up. There are only a few primaries, though. You already know that I am the incumbent in SE Lansing and face a primary opponent. Rebecca Bahar Cook of downtown and Westside Lansing is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, but has Republicans Vickie Niklas and Jennifer Smith running against each other. Democrat Carol Koenig of East Lansing is also unopposed but has Republicans Robert Batchelor and Owen Blank opposing each other. Republican Don Vickers of Mason faces primary opponent Leon Black. And the one empty seat (Commissioner Laura Davis is not running again) has three Republicans facing each other – Barry Damon, Vince Dragonetti, and Renee Sumerix.
The 30th Circuit Judge spot is open due to Judge Giddings being unable to run again due to age. Candidates for the spot are: Gregory Crockett, Clinton Canady, Jim Jamo and Billie Jo O’Berry.
The 55th District Court spot has Judge Don Allen running to retain his spot after being selected for the bench by the Governor. Opposing him are Randie Black, Patrick Crowley and Paul Joseph. Judge Allen will have the incumbency designation on the ballot.
There are also a variety of ballot initiatives. CATA has two millages. The first renews the CATA service millage of 2.22 mills in Lansing, East Lansing, Meridian Twp, Lansing Twp, and Delhi Twp. The second renewal is primarily for the elderly and disabled. It is a .48 millage renewal. While this millage is primarily for the elderly and disabled, some of the money is also used for rural CATA service.
The Capital Area District Library has a renewal of its millage of 1.56 mills for library operations.
Lansing has a 1 mill renewal of its Parks millage. Delhi has a new police protection millage of 1 ½ mills on the ballot, and a fire protection millage to increase the previous millage by 1 ½ mills. Dansville and Leslie schools also each have millages on the ballot.
For more information, you can go to the County Clerk website at http://www.ingham.org/CL/Election_Info/2010/AugustPrimary.htm or go to the individual city or township clerks.
First a reminder – you can only vote in the Democratic or Republican primary election. Not both. If you try to cross over and vote for one democrat and one republican, your ballot at the box will be rejected. If you do it with an absentee ballot, your ballot will be spoiled and none of the choices will count. So once you decide if you are voting on the Republican or Democratic side…stay there!
The Governor’s race is the first on the ballot. For the first time in 8 years, there will not be an incumbent. The Democrats have Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero versus Speaker of the House Andy Dillon. The Republicans have Congressman Pete Hoekstra, businessman Rick Snyder, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, Attorney General Mike Cox, and State Senator Tom George all running. These have been well documented in the press, so I won’t comment any further.
There is no U.S. Senator on the ballot this year. Senator serve 6 year terms which are staggered, and neither Sen. Stabenow nor Sen. Levin are up for re-election this year. All 435 members of the U.S. House, though, are up for election. As such, in Ingham County we have Republican U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers seeking re-election. He is unopposed in the primary. On the Democratuc side, on the ballot is Kande Ngalamulume. He has dropped out, though, and has will not campaign for the job. Running as a write-in for the Democrats is Lance Enderle of Clinton County. Should be interesting to see if Mr. Enderle can get enough votes to knock Kande off the ballot.
For State Senator, most of the county is represented by Democratic Sen. Gretchen Whitmer who has another term available and is running for re-election. She is unopposed in the primary. Repuvblican Kyle J. Haubrich is running on the Republican ticket. Part of the county near Livingston are represented currently by Sen. Valde Garcia. He cannot seek another term due to term-limits, though. Former State Rep. Joe Hune is running for the seat as a Republican, as is Brighton Councilman and former Mayor Paul Rogers. That should be an interesting race. On the Democratic side is Chuck Fellows.
For State Rep., most of Lansing (and all of Lanisng Township) is represented by Democrat Joan Bauer. She is unopposed in the primary. On the Republican side is Timothy B. Moede, who is also unopposed in the primary. For East Lansing, Democrat incumbent Rep. Mark Meadows is unopposed in the primary. The Republicans have Meridian Twp Supervisor Susan McGillicuddy and Frank Lambert running against each other in the Republican primary. Parts of south Lansing as well as the rest of the county are represented by Democrat Barb Byrum. She is unopposed in the primary. There are 3 Republicans running for her seat, though. They are Jeff Hall, Jeff Oesterle, and Trisha Opper. I understand they are all running hard, so if you are in the district and are a Republican, you have a tough choice to make.
All 16 County Commissioner seats are up. There are only a few primaries, though. You already know that I am the incumbent in SE Lansing and face a primary opponent. Rebecca Bahar Cook of downtown and Westside Lansing is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, but has Republicans Vickie Niklas and Jennifer Smith running against each other. Democrat Carol Koenig of East Lansing is also unopposed but has Republicans Robert Batchelor and Owen Blank opposing each other. Republican Don Vickers of Mason faces primary opponent Leon Black. And the one empty seat (Commissioner Laura Davis is not running again) has three Republicans facing each other – Barry Damon, Vince Dragonetti, and Renee Sumerix.
The 30th Circuit Judge spot is open due to Judge Giddings being unable to run again due to age. Candidates for the spot are: Gregory Crockett, Clinton Canady, Jim Jamo and Billie Jo O’Berry.
The 55th District Court spot has Judge Don Allen running to retain his spot after being selected for the bench by the Governor. Opposing him are Randie Black, Patrick Crowley and Paul Joseph. Judge Allen will have the incumbency designation on the ballot.
There are also a variety of ballot initiatives. CATA has two millages. The first renews the CATA service millage of 2.22 mills in Lansing, East Lansing, Meridian Twp, Lansing Twp, and Delhi Twp. The second renewal is primarily for the elderly and disabled. It is a .48 millage renewal. While this millage is primarily for the elderly and disabled, some of the money is also used for rural CATA service.
The Capital Area District Library has a renewal of its millage of 1.56 mills for library operations.
Lansing has a 1 mill renewal of its Parks millage. Delhi has a new police protection millage of 1 ½ mills on the ballot, and a fire protection millage to increase the previous millage by 1 ½ mills. Dansville and Leslie schools also each have millages on the ballot.
For more information, you can go to the County Clerk website at http://www.ingham.org/CL/Election_Info/2010/AugustPrimary.htm or go to the individual city or township clerks.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
PLA, Community Agencies, Commissioners Bupp and Tsernoglou, and the Start of Election Season
The Board of Commissioners took up the resolution to create a Project Labor Agreement for the Rhino exhibit at the Zoo. If you are a faithful reader of my blog (and I hope you are!) then you already know what a PLA. We had public testimony from the Associated Builders and Contractors saying that PLA’s are for union-only shops and are unfair. Several Commissioners during debate rebutted this assertion, though, reminding that our policy is unique and makes it specifically possible for non-union contractors to bid on projects. Non-union shops would not be disadvantaged, and would only have to allow union level benefits and pay for employees working only on that project. The PLA was passed on a 13-3 vote, and the project can now begin.
We also considered the community agency funding. This was a very tough vote for everyone. As discussed in my blog last week, we have a small pot of money that we give to community agencies in Ingham County who do non-profit work. They help out those in need. Unfortunately, the money that we have available is continuously reducing. We need to pay our own employees without laying them off and reducing benefits, so it is hard to give money away to others. In the past, this money has been $300,000 or so, This year, though, it is anticipated to be about $100,000.
We had a proposal before us to instead send any money available to the Power of We for community agency building (which recently lost a federal grant). After discussing this with the Power of We director and some constituents in my district who contact me about the proposal, I decided that it would maximize the dollars more to ensure that the community agency building program kept on running. Sending few dollars to over 30 agencies would not be as effective as ensureing that the groups are doing their work most efficiently. This was a very tough decision, but I believe that it was the best one. We will try this for a year and see what happens. Next year we will review this and see if it still makes the most sense. We will also have a chance to review the program before we actually send the money (when we do our budget later in the year). The proposal passed on a 9-7 vote.
Finally, we said goodbye to Commissioner Shelby Bupp (D-East Lansing). When Commissioner Marc Thomas (D-East Lansing) resigned, Shelby was appointed to the Board. She held that seat until a special election was held. She did an excellent job and we all appreciate her work. Thanks Shelby!!!
We also will welcome new Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) to the Board at our next meeting. Congratulations, and welcome Penelope!
On the political front…filing deadline has passed. I have a primary opponent in the Democratic primary on August 3rd. He has been aggressively campaigning and has been very critical of my leadership for our district. I will continue to work on behalf of the citizens of my district and all of Ingham County, and will continue to talk to my constituents and get the message out about the important issues. If I am successful in the primary, then I will take on a Republican who filed in November. If you are reading this blog and are a constituent, I hope I have earned your vote for another term. Please feel free to email (aschor@yahoo.com) or call me (485-0926) any time!
That’s it for this week.
Andy
We also considered the community agency funding. This was a very tough vote for everyone. As discussed in my blog last week, we have a small pot of money that we give to community agencies in Ingham County who do non-profit work. They help out those in need. Unfortunately, the money that we have available is continuously reducing. We need to pay our own employees without laying them off and reducing benefits, so it is hard to give money away to others. In the past, this money has been $300,000 or so, This year, though, it is anticipated to be about $100,000.
We had a proposal before us to instead send any money available to the Power of We for community agency building (which recently lost a federal grant). After discussing this with the Power of We director and some constituents in my district who contact me about the proposal, I decided that it would maximize the dollars more to ensure that the community agency building program kept on running. Sending few dollars to over 30 agencies would not be as effective as ensureing that the groups are doing their work most efficiently. This was a very tough decision, but I believe that it was the best one. We will try this for a year and see what happens. Next year we will review this and see if it still makes the most sense. We will also have a chance to review the program before we actually send the money (when we do our budget later in the year). The proposal passed on a 9-7 vote.
Finally, we said goodbye to Commissioner Shelby Bupp (D-East Lansing). When Commissioner Marc Thomas (D-East Lansing) resigned, Shelby was appointed to the Board. She held that seat until a special election was held. She did an excellent job and we all appreciate her work. Thanks Shelby!!!
We also will welcome new Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) to the Board at our next meeting. Congratulations, and welcome Penelope!
On the political front…filing deadline has passed. I have a primary opponent in the Democratic primary on August 3rd. He has been aggressively campaigning and has been very critical of my leadership for our district. I will continue to work on behalf of the citizens of my district and all of Ingham County, and will continue to talk to my constituents and get the message out about the important issues. If I am successful in the primary, then I will take on a Republican who filed in November. If you are reading this blog and are a constituent, I hope I have earned your vote for another term. Please feel free to email (aschor@yahoo.com) or call me (485-0926) any time!
That’s it for this week.
Andy
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