In a year that has seen more political drama than any in recent memory, we're finally closing in on the home stretch, and within a week, we'll have a new president, congressman, prosecutor, and (hopefully) some peace and quiet. And as is customary around these parts, I run down the ballot and look at all the important races facing you tomorrow.
- As far as presidential choices, you're already screwed before you cast a vote. As far as options that have enough ballot access to theoretically win, you have Donald Trump, a narcissist pandering to the most xenophobic wing of his party while offering little in terms of tangible policy; Hillary Clinton, whom you've no doubt been flooded with so many substance free "scandals" that it's almost too easy to overlook some of her actual concerning lapses in judgement; Gary Johnson, whose economic policy consists of "let's just get rid of all the rules and hope for the best," because as we all know, corporations never act in an unethical manner; and finally Jill Stein, who, when she's not busy speaking about economic policy as "magic tricks," spends her time giving vague credence to the tinfoil-hat wing of her party that believes vaccines cause autism and that 9/11 was an inside job. Endorsement? Hardly; they're all freakin' nuts!
- U.S. House- First off, if you're looking for anybody actually local, forget about it. Only one candidate claims a Lapeer County residence, and I use that term loosely. If you're looking for somebody to keep Lapeer County's best interest at heart... well, three of the four candidates showed up to the one general election forum held in Lapeer, and the front-runner wasn't one of 'em, so take that as you will. The candidates:
Paul Mitchell (R)- For starters, not the hair-care guy, but rather the proprietor of one of those for-profit colleges (Ross) who currently claims Dryden as home, but ran in Midland last election, and is also the money behind the campaign to take down the road debacle otherwise known as Proposal 1, which is about where his positive attributes end. Needless to say, my experiences with him on the campaign trail don't leave me sold on the idea that he'll take the concerns of his constituents into consideration. (This would be the candidate that did not attend the forum.)
Frank Accavitti (D)- A former mayor of Eastpointe and state rep in Macomb County. He has made a point of talking about bringing broadband to the Thumb, and that his jobs plan calls for incentivizing companies to run broadband across state right-of-ways. Opposes single-payer healthcare because "what about employees in the insurance industry/stockholders of insurance companies?"
Lisa Lane Gioia (L)- As one would expect from a Libertarian, sticks to the company line of nonintervention, ending the IRS and the Department of Education, and in general getting the federal government out of... well, everything.
Ben Nofs (G)- A Berniecrat disillusioned by the Democratic Party, with everything that implies, including support for single-payer healthcare and renewable energy. As the lone veteran running, he's made improving veterans' affairs a priority, and he's firmly against arms sales to foreign nations and propping up regimes that violate the basic human rights of their people.
- Prosecutor- One of those races that nobody typically notices until the incumbent really screws up, and in this case, the incumbent really screwed up. The current holder of the office, Tim Turkelson, will be out of a job no matter the outcome of this election, having made a few enemies too many in his time in office. Running to replace him:
Mike Sharkey (R)- Byron Konschuh's defense attorney, so it's pretty clear why he ran to unseat Turkelson. Certainly seems a conflict of interest that the county prosecutor could potentially try cases before a guy he defended at trial, though I'm sure certain corruption-based pages will ignore that.
Phillip Fulks (D)- The only candidate running for this office to not have had any ties to any of the myriad scandals involving Konschuh or Turkelson, and as such, the only one that won't be coming in with any baggage or conflicts of interest. If we're really all about a fresh start in the courthouse, this seems like a good place to start.
- Circuit Court Judge- Of course, my usual policy is to vote against whoever the Corruption Page endorses, but beyond that, the reasons to vote for Dave Richardson haven't been all that compelling. Not to say that he'd be a bad judge; I've not really heard anything bad about the man, other than that he was a Todd Courser supporter, which is admittedly about the worst thing you can say of somebody in Lapeer County. But when you're running as a write-in against an incumbent, the burden is on you to prove that your opponent is unfit to stay in office, and I can't honestly say that Richardson has done that. Honestly? I don't care where Nick Holowka throws his trash. Is he doing his job properly? That's definitely up for debate. Certainly, the lack of technological advancement and specialized courts, particularly the oft-mentioned drug court, which Lapeer has had in the past but has gone away in recent years amid cutbacks from the state. But it's also hard to determine how much of this Richardson would be able to implement. Seems rather interesting, though, that the same people who decry a "good ol' boys" network at the courthouse have no issue with it as long as they're in charge of it; note which sitting judge has thrown his endorsement behind Richardson, and note who's throwing their money behind him.
- State Representative- It's Gary Howell and Margaret Guererro DeLuca again, in a repeat of... this year's matchup. I like them both, though I've admittedly been a Deluca supporter since her first run for the office. But no matter who wins here, we'll have good representation in Lansing. Gary Howell may not have been my first, second, or third choice, but credit where credit is due: he has made good on several campaign promises since being elected, and has been light years ahead of his predecessor in regards to maintaining communication with his constituents. Truthfully, anybody willing to subject themselves to my line of questioning gets a point or two in my book! No shock here: the County Press endorses Howell; not at all a surprise, as its owner has been a major donor. As you might expect though, my support is still ultimately behind DeLuca.
- Lapeer Board of Education- There's two spots to fill, and one incumbent, a political newcomer, and two hyper-partisan candidates running to fill them.
Brad Haggadone- The lone incumbent running, despite being all of two years removed from high school. Seems to have the support of the rest of the current board, though he's also hitched his wagon to Jan Peabody's candidacy, as the other Republican running.
Lisa Novak- Serves as Associate Professor of Accounting at Mott Community College, and worked for years in accounting for K-12 public education, so there's no doubt she has a background that would make her an excellent fit for the job.
Jan Peabody- Lapeer County GOP chair, whose last few runs at public office were largely bought and paid for by the DeVos family and the Great Lakes Education Project, which support union busting and privatization of schools. Hardly supporters of public education. Is amazingly still Facebook friends with me despite that I haven't supported a single attempt she has ever made to run for office.
Dave Campbell- The husband of a Lapeer schoolteacher, and a staunch pro-union Democrat currently employed in the prosecutor's office. Refused to attend the recent Tea Party-sponsored school board forum for predictable reasons: early tea party groups were supported by the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity, whose Michigan director now chairs Donald Trump's campaign in this state, and both are inextricably tied to the Tea Party even now.
I'll address this at length here. When running for public office, it seems a bit counterproductive to refuse to address the public in any forum, even one as partisan as the Tea Party. Even more so when no other organization is willing or able to put together similar events. And to be clear, the Lapeer County Tea Party's political views are about the polar opposite of my own, as are those of the candidates they have endorsed. And yet I make it a point, when my schedule permits, to venture into the lion's den and attend the forums, despite the occasional blatant editorializing from the moderators. And you may recall that during the last state representative race, all three candidates in the general election showed up to face questioning, and boy, did Democrat Margaret DeLuca hear it from a couple of Tea Party diehards in attendance. But the point is, she still went, and you've got to respect anybody that's going into a room knowing the hosts are not particularly receptive to their cause, and making their case anyway. Despite completely sympathizing with his position, I really wish Campbell would have done the same.
Also worth noting: The Lapeer Education Association, which is currently embroiled in a contract dispute with Lapeer Schools over teachers taking pay cuts so their superintendent can get his 8% raise, endorses Campbell and Novak, so do with that as you will.
- Road Commissioner- Honestly? I don't know a thing about either one.
- College Boards of Regents- Don't know, don't particularly care, as I didn't go to U-M, MSU, or Wayne State.
- State Supreme Court- David Viviano and Joan Larsen are the incumbents, and if there's a compelling reason to vote against either, I'm not aware of it.
- Millages- The Lapeer County Veterans Affairs Office is up for a renewal of its current .10 mills, which should be a no-brainer, and the Lapeer County EMS seeks a 1-mill increase in taxes, with which it would expand its service and open additional bases in Metamora and Goodland Township. LCEMS' primary competition is Medstar, which just happens to be co-owned by a McLaren hospital in Macomb County and holds the lucrative contract with McLaren in Lapeer for medical transfer services. That cuts into the money that funds LCEMS, which has made it clear that a 'no' vote means a potential shutdown. Really it boils down to this: If you're not comfortable with having Lapeer County in the hands of a for-profit ambulance service that can't get to patients in outlying parts of the county in a timely manner because it's not worth it to them financially to staff those areas at the level LCEMS currently does, then vote yes.
Unfortunately, the County Press opposed the LCEMS millage in an editorial Sunday, though with Rick Burroughs' ties to McLaren and the fact that McLaren is a major advertiser in the Press and sister publication the LA View, it's not hard to see why. Now, I've got something of a tortured relationship with the local paper: I defend their reporters against anonymous slander and unmask the people doing the slandering, I get my name butchered in a picture taken at a gig. (Not the same reporter, by the way.) I call their editorial out for things like a bizarre double-endorsement that reads like it was mandated from on high, they write a spread about my radio gig. But things like this that read as obvious conflicts of interest are rather disappointing, and even more so considering that one man owns both countywide news publications and essentially controls what news is published in the county. (Yeah, I know, Tri-City Times, but try finding one of those west of Van Dyke and north of 21.)
- Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, do your research, people. Last Sunday's County Press had a pretty solid voters guide (if not some questionable endorsements), the county Tea Party hosted a forum or two; hell, I went so far as to stage a congressional debate in Lapeer. As is our usual custom, links to campaign pages are linked in this post so you can ask questions of these people yourself, and if you really wanna kill some time and stumble into the rabbit hole, look up who's funding them.
Even if you vote for Pedro in the presidential race, at least get out there and vote on the races and millages down the ballot. There's a lot more at stake than which mistake is going to hold the highest office in the land; if anything, several of these other races are likely to have far more effect on your daily life than the one up top.
And the same thing I asked of you in the last state rep race in March holds true for the next presidential race.
Whatever you do, for the love of all that is holy, don't let this happen again next time.
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