Dumb picks dumber as running mate

Michigan Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Snyder chose rightwing State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, as his running mate on Wednesday, but its’ unclear which one of the two will be dumb and who will be dumber.

Calley, the former banker and two-term State Representative, helped write the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) and the 22 percent surcharge passed back in 2007 that replaced the hated Single Business Tax (SBT). Ironically, Snyder had harsh words for the work of his running mate, calling the MBT a job killer, just days before he made the choice.

He told his hometown “newspaper,” Ann Arbor.com, that the creation of the 2007 tax is “like Lansing went to the video store and rented ‘Dumb and Dumber.’”

“We’ve got an environment now where we’re killing job creation through the Michigan business tax. It is absolutely awful,” he said.

The teabaggers who appear to control the GOP and are pushing it off the cliff are not happy with the moderate and unknown Snyder, so the pick of a conservative is a move to shut them up and try and get them onboard.

We know very little about Snyder and his plans and policies because he refuses to debate with the Democratic nominee, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, and he appears to be just trying to run the clock out to November before voters really can get to know him.

We do know that he knows absolutely nothing about state government, he’s rich and he outsourced thousands of U.S. jobs while he was in charge at Gateway Computers.

While Snyder was an official at Gateway Computers, the company outsourced nearly 20,000 American jobs to China and other parts of Asia. But Snyder took good care of himself at the same time - cashing-out tens of millions of dollars in stock options while the lives of thousands were ruined. While he served on the board of directors Snyder was sued in 2000 along with two other Gateway executives. The issue was that Snyder cashed in on 355,000 stock options worth $23.7 million at a time that executives admitted they misrepresented the company’s financial outlook.

Now, we know he will do anything and say anything to win, even compromise his alleged principals.

That’s in sharp contrast to Mayor Bernero who has led by example. He's cut his own pay, doubled his health insurance premium, and gave up his city-funded car to share in the sacrifice of Michigan's workers.

His job creation record is outstanding. The Lansing Economic Development Corp. reports that Lansing has created 5,311 jobs and saved 1,722 for a total of 7,033 jobs since Bernero became mayor in 2006. Bernero has leveraged over $500 million dollars in new job-creating investments in Lansing, and he helped launch the area's first regional public-private economic development initiative.

Calley’s selection also sets up an interesting development. He won the primary for the 33rd District Senate seat to replace term-limited Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, the most rightwing member of the Senate. It’s unclear how Calley’s name will come off the ballot and who will replace him.

Bernero knows importance of early childhood education

The Michigan Democratic Party and the Republican Party are holding their state nominating conventions this weekend, but a new party is holding their convention on Thursday: the newly formed Sandbox Party.

The free convention will be held at Michigan State University’s Breslin Student Events Center from 1-4 p.m. on Aug. 26. The convention is free and open to all – kids are especially encouraged to attend with their families -- and thousands of supporters from across the state are expected. There will be family entertainment, exhibitors and special appearances by popular Michigan sports, music and news personalities. Featured entertainment includes the Michigan rock band The Verve Pipe.

The convention guest speakers will be Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero and Republican Rick Snyder.

The Sandbox Party was just formed in June during a new conference at Lansing’s Educational Child Care Center, near a sandbox where several young children were playing. Representatives from the following organizations participated in the event: Michigan’s Children, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Michigan, Children’s Trust Fund, Michigan League for Human Services, Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children, Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, Michigan Association of United Ways, the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, ECIC, the Great Start Collaboratives, the Great Start Parent Coalitions, the state Department of Education, Department of Community Health and Department of Human Services.

Despite Senate Republicans all cuts budgets the last two years, 83 percent of Michigan voters in a poll last year said early childhood development and education programs are an “absolute necessity” for their community, and 75 percent want them spared from state budget cuts. Early childhood education is an investment that will pay dividends later in life for both the child and society, and that investment will save millions of tax dollars in the long run.

It’s cheaper to educate a child at an early age when they are developing than to house and feed then in a prison.

That’s something that Virg Bernero understands. In fact, his wife is an elementary school principal.

He believes that education is economic development and deserves to be a top priority in our effort to return Michigan back to greatness. Bernero also believes in investing in our young people to ensure they are prepared to succeed in a new and global economy, which amounts to a renewed effort to invest in human capital. Michigan is only as strong as its ability to train, educate and innovate. Failure is not an option.

Snyder trying to run the clock out until November

As expected, Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Snyder continues to duck and try to weasel out of debates with Democratic nominee and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.

Like he did in the primary election when he only took part in one of the five debates and held staged “town hall meetings” in front of friendly audiences, he is stalling and using the same strategy in the General Election. He is hoping he can continue to stall and run out the clock until November and con people, praying they do not find out how little he knows about state government and that he has no real plan for Michigan.

Bernero appeared on the radio show “City Pulse On The Air” on Thursday and said the Snyder campaign is more interested in "the size of the table," "the size of the podium" and other assorted "nonsense."

“You've got to face the music,” Bernero said. “We're not running for county commissioner here. This is governor for the state of Michigan. We should be debating over the next two months in every region of the state. We owe that to the public. Let them shop and compare. Let them kick the tires. They're going to be stuck with one of us the next four years."

Snyder spin doctor, Green Oak Township resident and GOP dirty trickster Bill Nowling, is doing his best to spin the Snyder cowardice, but he does not have much to work with.

He told subscription only MIRS that “what the Snyder camp doesn't want is a free-for-all public spectacle that only "Lansing reporters" would enjoy watching. Reminded about the 2006 gubernatorial debate in which Republican gubernatorial nominee and fellow outsourcer Dick DeVos gave a now-infamous blank stare to the camera after being thrown off right out of the gate by a Tim Skubick question, Nowling responded, "Yeah, nobody is interested in that."

Well, Snyder and Nowling are not interested in answering tough questions from people who know what’s going on in the State Capitol, but many voters are. That’s simply Snyder ducking the debates.

Like I have said before, Snyder is wrapped himself so tightly in the outsider blanket that he wants nothing to interfere with that expensive image he bought with the millions he made cheating stockholders; like facts and the fact he has no idea how state government works. His preferred campaign mode is the millions he has spent on 30-scond TV commercials crafting the false image of “one tough nerd” and in front of friendly audiences who someone believes state government can be run like a business where you can fire the elected Legislature if they don’t do what you want.

Good luck with that, but that bought and paid for image will be destroyed after the first debate

Snyder trying to weasel out of debates

Lansing Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero accepted three debates across the state on Thursday, and he said he would work with Republican nominee Rick Snyder to accept more. However, it appears the Snyder campaign is trying to get out of them just like he did with the Republicans debates during the primary election.

Bernero formally issued a challenge earlier this month to hold eight debates before the November 2 election. However, Snyder is clinging to this “outsider” tag with a death grip, and that’s why the public knows so little about his stand on issues. He has declined to fill out questionnaires from the many groups that endorse or present information on the candidates to the public or their members, and he has ducked GOP debates; instead holding “ town hall” meetings around the state in front of friendly audiences.

Bernero issued a press release on Thursday saying he has accepter the three debates. The three debates Bernero has accepted include a WOOD-TV debate on Sept. 21, a joint WXYZ/WWJ/Crain’s Detroit Business debate on Oct. 21, and a debate that will air on WKAR-TV, WJBK Fox 2 in Detroit, WLNS Channel 6 in Lansing, Michigan Public Broadcasting stations, WWJ Radio in Detroit, the Michigan Radio Network and other commercial TV and radio stations on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

"We’ve been inundated with offers for debates, and we appreciate the offers, and will work with the Snyder campaign to schedule more debates to give Michigan voters the opportunity to know what we really stand for, and our vision and plans to put Michigan back to work.” Bernero said. “The people of Michigan are starved for a chance to compare candidates side by side, and we’re committed to giving voters every opportunity to see us debate.”

Not so fast.

According to subscription only Gongwer, “Snyder spokesperson Bill Nowling said Mr. Snyder has not agreed to appear at the three debates cited by Mr. Bernero. No negotiations between the campaigns have occurred, Mr. Nowling said.” Livingston County residents are familiar with Nowling and his problems with telling the truth, so I’m not sure what that really means.

It’s obvious Snyder doesn’t really want to debate, based on how badly he performed in the few he did during the primary and that fact that most of his appearances have been so controlled and only in front of friendly audiences and friendly media.

This could also be a face saving angle for the Snyder campaign to make sure as few people as possible actually see any debate he agrees to. Snyder is wrapped himself so tightly in the outsider blanket that he wants nothing to interfere with that expensive image he bought with the millions he made cheating stockholders; like facts and the fact he has no idea how state government works. His preferred campaign mode is the millions he has spent on 30-scond TV commercials crafting the false image of “one tough nerd.”

Even Nowling’s quote tells us that.

“We will leave the debate about debates to the career politicians,” he told Gongwer.

Fortunately, government is nothing like a private business. He can’t just tell the Legislature what to do and fire them if they don’t comply, and he can’t outsource the jobs of 20,000 state employees to China to balance the budget like he did at Gateway.

Rightwing newspaper continues to trash Michigan Democratic Gubernatorial candidates

We know one thing for certain, the conservative Livingston County Daily Press & Argus will not endorse the Democratic candidate for Michigan Governor in November whoever it is.

For the second straight day the rightwing editorial page has taken shots at the Democratic candidates for governor. On Monday it said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero – its second shot at him in less than two weeks – should not run because he was just reelected as Mayor, and today it gleefully editorialized on the decision of former state Treasure Bob Bowman to drop out of the race.

Monday’s editorial came from the Lansing State Journal, another newspaper in the corporate change, but since it ran in the P & A it’s obviously their position, too.

Monday’s editorial on President's Day was titled “Lansing mayor should stick to the job he has.” Now, some city residents might have a right to grumble about that, but the situation has change significantly since he was elected a few months ago. The decision by Democratic front-runner Lt. Governor John Cherry to drop out of the race last month change the dynamic.

The editorial takes the Mayor to task for saying he had no intention for running for Governor, and that was true then, saying “When Virg Bernero ran for the mayor of Lansing last year, most voters didn't expect him to run for the governor a year later - partly because he promised them he wouldn't do that.”

The charge seems even more ridiculous when you consider every single Republican gubernatorial currently holds elective office but one. Take Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, for instance. The former state Senator left that office in 1999 before his term ended to take the vacant Sheriff position, and he was elected to the post himself to serve until 2013. But that did not stop him from running for U.S. Senate in 2006 when U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-East Lansing, kicked his ass. Where was the Gannett chain editorializing that he should not run because he made a commitment to the residents of Oakland County then?

Now, he’s running for Governor. When can we expect that editorial from the P & A?

Today’s snarky editorial was titled “GOP hopes must be rising as more Dems sit out race.” In the same edition that the news that Bowman dropped out of the race ran, over a holiday weekend, they have an editorial prepared already.

The insulting lead is, “Will the Democrats have anyone left to run for governor this fall?” The answer is yes, and we have the best candidate from both parties, and his name is Virg Bernero.

It goes on to say, “That leaves two announced candidates for the Democrats, state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem Township, and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. Neither appears ready to mount a strong statewide campaign.”

More misinformed crap from an editorial board that did not even know state Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, had dropped out of the race. The fact is Bernero has already mounted “a strong statewide campaign.”

Obviously, the newspaper has abandoned all pretenses of being neutral, fair and nonpartisan.

Clark appears to be back in the race where he can make a difference

State Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, appears to be back in the race he belongs in and where he can make the most difference, the race for the 13th District in Congress currently held by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit.

Clarke briefly entered the Governor’s race after the Democratic front runner, Lt. Gov. John Cherry, dropped out, but apparently after concluding he did not have enough name recognition to win a state wide race, Clarke dropped out last week. But he told the Free Press he decided to get back in the race when Democratic leaders approached him about the congressional race.

Last year’s primary showed Kilpatrick was vulnerable because of the scandal that sent her son, former disgraced Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, to jail. She was almost unseated in the primary after 13 years in Congress.

Clarke is term-limited after serving three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate. His Senate District represents most of the east side of Detroit, as does the 13th Congressional District. Clarke ran for Mayor in 2005, and he has good name recognition in the district because of that. The 13th Congressional District also includes the Downriver communities of Lincoln Park, Ecorse, River Rouge and Wyandotte, and I don’t think Kilpatrick has the kind of support there that Clarke has or will have.

Clarke serves as the minority vice-chair of the Health Policy Committee and the Commerce and Tourism Committee. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and the Government Operations and Reform Committee. He has been an outspoken champion of foreclosure protection and insurance reform, and he has spoken passionately about it on the Senate floor.

Clarke grew up from humble beginnings in a working class neighborhood on Detroit's lower east side to attend an Ivy League university and become an attorney. He was raised alone by his mother, who worked as a school crossing guard, after his father passed away when he was just 8 years old. While in the third grade, an observant teacher recognized his artistic ability that promoted him to take art classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and it eventually led to a scholarship to Cornell University where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Clarke then attended Georgetown University Law School. After he received his law degree he returned to Michigan to practice law. He was elected to his first of three terms in the Michigan House in 1990.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero sworn in for a second term

LANSING – Mayor Virg Bernero was sworn in for his second term as Mayor of Lansing at a simple ceremony Tuesday called the “Community Works 2010 Inaugural Day of Caring.”

“We wanted to do something different,” he said. “It’s not just a celebration of a new beginning, but a celebration of the City of Lansing.”

Community groups from the Capitol Area Community Services to the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing set up information booths, and the food was a Taste of Lansing with samples from various Lansing restaurants.

Four City Council members and the city clerk were also sworn in. For the first time in the city’s history, a majority of women hold council seats.

“That may be an adjustment for some, but from where I sit I’m ready,” said Bernero, who has two daughters. “I am so excited about the new leadership coming to the 10th floor of city hall.

2009 was a tough year for Lansing with some major budget cuts, as it was for most municipalities, and it had to do more with less. Still, Bernero has leveraged over $500 million dollars in new job-creating investments in Lansing, and he helped launch the area's first regional public-private economic development initiative. The city also has some major building and redevelopment projects underway.

“I am very humbled by the way our citizens rose to the challenges,” he said. “The new year is a time for resolutions, so let’s resolve today to make 2010 a better year.”

With the withdraw of Lt. Governor John Cherry in the race for the Democratic nomination for Michigan Governor Tuesday, Bernero has become the front runner for the nomination. He has the most widespread experience of any of the candidates form either party. He has not only had to balance a municipal budget, he has legislative experience and local government experience. He knows the consequences of the budget cuts made in Lansing, and no other candidate can say that.

He served in the Michigan State Senate and State House from 2001 – 2006, and Bernero also served four terms on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. He was also a legislative aide in both the state Senate and House.

Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful to speak in Livingston County

BRIGHTON – Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem Township, will speak at a potluck dinner at the Livingston County Democratic Party headquarters - 10321 E. Grand River, Suite 600, Brighton. – from 5-7 p.m. this Sunday July 26.

Smith is joining front runner Lt. Gov. John Cherry and former state Representative John Freeman in vying for the Democratic nomination for Governor.

Livingston County residents may be familiar with Smith when she served as the President of the South Lyon School Board. She has had a well-rounded career in public service. Smith graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Journalism and did advanced degree work in Political Science and Business Administration. Smith is very familiar with the Legislative process, and she served as legislative coordinator for former Michigan Sen. Lana Pollack and played a significant role in the passage of Michigan's landmark "polluter pay" law.

She has local experience as a cable commissioner, school board trustee and president, Washtenaw County Commissioner and state Senator. In 2002 Alma joined former Congressman David Bonior's campaign for governor as his choice for Lieutenant Governor.

I have been to many of the party’s pot luck functions, and the food is fantastic. Bring a dish to share and meet Rep. Smith.

Call (810) 229-4212 for more information.