Turning a township council into a personal fiefdom

Posted by $ splumb 10 years, 2 months ago to Government
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Attended a meeting of Plymouth Township concerned citizens tonight.
Four out of six of our township representatives have run amok (see link), and we met to see what could be done about it.
Well, about fifty people showed up, and they were plenty hopped up. That's all fine and good, but the Township population is over 26,000.
The meeting ended with a unanimous vote to recall the Township Four, and I support that decision.
However, there are problems. Big ones.
We need 4000 valid signatures on the recall petition. With only 50 attendees at the meeting, this is a huge uphill battle. But David defeated Goliath, so I won't count it out.

The death blow came from Lansing over two years ago:
Should the recall be successful, the recalled candidates are automatically on the ballot at the special election to replace them. Lansing said it kept the people from continually recalling candidates they didn't want. Gee, thanks.

So, we're screwed.

Hubby and I had already made up our minds to leave Plymouth Township and Wayne County. This way we won't give the place a backwards glance.
SOURCE URL: http://patch.com/michigan/plymouth-canton/trustee-arnold-casts-deciding-vote-controversial-amphitheater-project#.U_6_uUS0X0N


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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 2 months ago
    Read the article s. Simply astounding how much arrogance these people have. And the rudeness. Did the guy with the gavel really bang it that hard?
    I bet you can get your signatures. Trouble is, are there good candidates in the wings?
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    • Posted by $ 10 years, 2 months ago
      He did indeed bang it that hard, and that often. One citizen with a wood shop is planning on building an enormous gavel for us all to sign before the next official meeting, then present to him. Disrespect begets disrespect.

      Replacement candidates are another concern. At the citizens meeting, they decided on the "one thing at a time" approach, and said they would deal with vetting candidates later. Should the recall succeed in 60 days, the election would be in May. That doesn't leave a lot of time.

      And the Michigan law is a problem in the age of the uninformed voter. All the people being recalled are Republicans, and this is a Republican town. Thanks to Lansing, since they will automatically be listed on the ballot as the Republican candidates, the concern is that most uninformed voters will go a straight party ticket and put those clowns right back in office. Again, thanks to Lansing, we only get one shot at this. You can only recall someone once.

      I think we'll buy an old farm in outer Dexter and go semi off the grid.
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