After the 2006 campaign where he was as scare as snow in July in Livingston County, it came as no surprise that state Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, missed more votes and more days of work than any lawmaker during the 94th Legislative session that just ended on Dec. 30.
Ward missed 385 votes out of a total of 1,500 roll call votes for the two-year session that ran from January 2007 until Dec. 30, 2008, according to an annul report by Michigan Votes, maintained by the conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The outcome for the term-limited Republican was never in doubt because he led the Legislature with the most missed votes in 2007, trailed closely by fellow Livingston County Republican Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell.
But Ward was given a run for his money in the session by Detroit Democrat Rep. Marsha Cheeks, the aunt of imprisoned Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Cheeks missed 358 votes in the session, but she edged out Ward for the annual lead in 2008, missing 288 votes to Ward's 252 votes in 2008.
With the Legislature only meeting three days a week it seems a little odd that Ward would miss so much. Many state employees live in Livingston County and work in Lansing, and they make the commute up and down I-96 everyday, myself included. The only difference is we are not paid mileage to commute like Ward is.
12 comments:
Kudos for fairness in mentioning the high absenteeism of a Democrat as well.
You seem totally obsessed on Ward, likely because he spanked your guy in the last race. But I have to agree...if he wants to be our state lawmaker, he should be showing up for the votes. His voting record is disappointing.
I apologize for jumping the thread but I don't know how else to make this point.
Since you were quick to smear Ann Coulter as a racist, I wonder if you are upset that the Democratic all-white U.S. Senate is blocking the admission to their all-white club of a black man who was appointed to fill Barack Obama's vacancy.
Were you at all put off by the sighe of a black man being told there was no room for him at the all-white (mostly male) club?
Yes, I know that Blago is a crook. But he has not been convicted of a thing and he is governor of Illinois and, as such, has the right to appoint a senator. While Blago is seemingly caught on tape trying to sell the seat, there is no evidence that Burris was part of that ugliness.
How creepy and sad. Just when we show the world that we can elect an African American as president, our Democratic U.S. Senators make it clear that dem darkies still need to know their place.
No...you are not paid mileage to commute...but given the frequency of your posts, you apparently are paid with taxpayer dollars to write silly things on your blog.
I’m not obsessed over anyone, but yes I am upset he beat my guy. I don’t mind getting beat, and I expected it. What bothers me is getting beat by a guy just phoned it in. He didn’t campaign, he didn’t show up for work, and he didn’t show up in the district. He won a third term simply because he had an R after his name and was an incumbent. If he was a Democrat I would hope he would get beat in the primary.
Wow, talk about spin, anonymous troll. You need to read the news, troll Senate leaders said if Roland Burris has the legal standing to be seated it should be done. But that’s beside the point. Senate Democrats said even before the Illinois governor chose Burris that whoever he chose would not be seated.
I said Ann Coulter as a racist because she is. “Dem darkies still need to know their place?” Looks like you are the racist.
Not true, anonymous troll. I’m not paid with taxpayer dollars to write on my blog. If you that’s that’s the case, file a complaint. Second, the only person who writes anything silly on this blog is you, but it borders more on the ignorant.
The Dems said that no matter who was appointed...even if legally...would not be seated. Nice guys....real fond of the Constitution!
I normally don't criticize typos, grammar mess-ups and spelling errors on blogs, but since you think it is fair game, could you in your brilliance explain your line that says, "If you that's that's the case, file a complaint." Sounds pretty silly to me.
You must not work many hours then if you are never posting on work time.
All I am saying is that the all-white, mostly-male Democrats looked like plantation owners as they failed to seat the legally appointed senator from Illinois.
Talk about silly. You say Dems vowed not to seat whomever Blago chose, but you also said they would seat any legally appointed senator. Can't have it both ways. Either they will seat him or they won't.
No matter how much you spin it, the only black in the senate gets elected president and the Dems in the U.S. Senate reject his black replacement.
Real nice. And you will list all of the convictions so far for the sitting Illinois governor? Seems to me in other arguments, you think a lack of a conviction is pretty compelling.
Once again, the Dems know better than those poor slobs otherwise knows as voters. The legally-elected and still-sitting governor of Illinois legally makes an appointment for the U.S. Senate and the Dems say "nope, can't have that happen here."
Now they are suitably embarassed and are looking for a way to save face. Maybe if they put their faces in front of the constitution, they might get a clue. They are HYPOCRITES.
The Democrats said they would not seat anyone appointed by the Governor. They did not want someone who paid a bribe for the seat. But you know that. It was about stopping corruption. I know stopping corruption is something foreign to Republicans, but you know the process has nothing to do with race.
I don’t “criticize typos, grammar mess-ups and spelling errors on blogs” either, but twice you falsely accused me of being a hypocrite. The fact that you spelled it wrong twice really isn’t important. What is important is that you apparently have no idea what the word means. I was hoping you would look it up.
You accuse me of something, and then you ask me to explain to you what you accused me of? Are you that stupid? Once again, if you think I’m doing something wrong, file a complaint.
This has nothing to do with race or “plantation owners.” They will seat someone legally appointed, but they do not to seat someone who paid for the seat. I know that’s hard concept for a Republican to grasp.
I was wondering what this had to do with Chris Ward’s disgraceful voting record, anonymous troll.
So are you saying Burris paid a bribe? Are you saying there is no way a black man could reach the U.S. Senate unless there was corruption involved?
A bunch of white males are blocking the legal appointment of a black man into the U.S. Senate. Apparently 99-1 isn't a big enough majority for the all-white club.
Blago is a jerk but I don't see where he is convicted of anything. And I see nothing that indicates that Burris shouldn't be in the U.S. Senate....but Harry Reid played to an audience and now he is looking for a way to save face.
Both parties have had their share of corruption...you can't honestly believe that there aren't hundreds of examples of Democratic corruption.
No and no.
"The Democrats said they would not seat anyone appointed by the Governor."
And, yet, tonight, the Democrats have announced that they will indeed sit Burris...later this week, in fact.
According to you, they won't "seat anyone appointed by the Governor," because otherwise they would be endorsing corrpution. So are they now supporting corruption since they are seating him? Of course not...it was all a bunch of hot air from that idiot Harry Reid...and now he looks even more a fool than normal.
I have great hopes for Barack Obama, but I fear he will be defeated by Congress...not by the Republicans but by idiots such as Reid and Pelosi. Those two are scary, stupid and in power...a horrible combination.
Good thing the Democrats changed their mind. They should have just not cared about corruption like the Republicans, but now that they know Burris is above board they will seat him. It’s nice to see they are doing the right thing.
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