Michigan LCV launches two more accountability blogs

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched two more accountability blogs to keep track of the environmental voting records of key members of the Michigan Legislature.

The two new blogs will keep track of two of the most conservative members of the Legislature, state Representatives Paul Opsommer, R-DeWitt, and Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge.

“We’re doing what most environmental groups cannot do, which is call attention to environmental voting records,” said Executive Director Lisa Wozniak. “While both Representatives have taken strong stands on some key natural resources and public health issues, they have also cast a number of key anti-environmental votes over the last two years.”

Michigan LCV has been tracking all of Lansing’s elected officials for more than 10 years, and in each legislative session Michigan LCV publishes the Michigan Environmental Scorecard as a way to monitor performance on key issues, like the Great Lakes, children’s health and clean renewable energy. Opsommer earned a dismal 43 percent on the Michigan LCV score on the 2007-08 Michigan Environmental Scorecard.

Jones made statewide news last summer when he spread falsehoods about the just completed Michigan State Police headquarters in downtown Lansing in an effort to make it a campaign issue to attack Democrats with. He also has a dismal 43 percent score on the scorecard.

“Our message to both gentleman is simple: a mixed record such as theirs does not indicate – in any real way – a commitment to either support of a clean energy economy that will grow new jobs in Michigan or protection of our Great Lakes from a variety of threats,” said Michigan LCV Deputy Director Kerry Duggan . “In short, those whom we elect to office need to know that their votes speak louder than their words and consistency matters.”

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to passing strong environmental laws, electing environmental champions and holding lawmakers accountable for their actions.

GOP following the script in the Senate race in the 19th District

Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, called it right back in July when in a letter to the House GOP caucus he pushed for the Michigan State Police headquarters to be the major campaign issue in the 2010 election.

Mike Nofs is following that advice like a script in the race for the vacant seat in the 19th State Senate District next month that will be a preview of the 2010 race. Nofs is running against Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson.

Nofs is running a TV commercial on Lansing TV stations staged with the under construction MSP HQ in downtown Lansing in the background where he spouts the lie that the layoff of 100 State troopers was because of the project.

That is simply not true, and he knows it.

The Republicans are trying to rewrite history and ignore the facts. They are completely ignoring the history of the project. The HQ was first requested by former GOP Gov. John Engler. The original draft of the project, under Engler, drew initial opposition from State Police and Military and Veterans Affairs officials some 10 years ago because the proposal attempted to move some of the emergency management operations into downtown Lansing but did not provide room for the vehicle and other storage needed. It was also too large and luxurious.

After changes were made to make the building smaller, it met the approval of State Police Director Peter Munoz, and Governor Jennifer Granholm requested the building.

The project was then approved on a bi-partisan vote by the Joint Capital Outlay Committee in 2007, as are all state building projects that do not require specific legislation. The committee consists of members from both parties from both the House and Senate. The lease was then approved by the State Administrative Board. Munoz said he supports project, as does the State Police Troopers Association.

The State Administrative Board consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the Department of Transportation. The State Administrative Board has general supervisory control over the administrative activities of all state departments and agencies, including, but not limited to, the approval of contracts and leases, oversight of the state capitol outlay process and the settlement of claims against the state.

The project also brings the State Police into compliance with a constitutional provision requiring that state departments be headquartered in Lansing and with Governor Jennifer Granholm's executive directive (2003-22) that state offices, where possible, be located in central business districts. Michigan State Police want the building back where the majority of the MSP is currently headquartered. Michigan State University wants the building back where the majority of the MSP is currently headquartered.

Nofs then pushed the standard GOP lie that the lease for the new, modern HQ will cost taxpayers $4 million a year more than the current HQ, but that lie ignores two facts. It ignores the fact that it costs in the millions to maintain the current HQ MSU plans to tear down as soon as the MSP leaves, and that the plan is to now buy the building with bonds.

Vote for Martin Griffin on Nov. 3 for some honesty.

Jones plays ‘stinky’ politics with MSP HQ

LANSING – If anyone had any doubts or needed anymore evidence that the almost complete Michigan State Police headquarters in downtown Lansing is nothing but a campaign issue for Republicans, the Lansing State Journal published a letter from Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, to the House GOP caucus where he told them this can be the issue that wins back the House for Republicans and threatened them if they did vote for it.

You will recall that last month Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, and a GOP candidate for Secretary of State, managed to attach an amendment to the state police budget that kills the money for the lease payment on a new MSP HQ, set to be completed in the next couple of months. Despite the project going through all the proper steps and bipartisan approvals, Republicans are using it as a campaign issue and making the false claim that it was political payback from the Governor to one of the developers, Joel Ferguson.

Jones called it an “inside stinky deal” despite the fact that the project was approved on a bi-partisan vote by the Joint Capital Outlay Committee in 2007, as are all state building projects that do not require specific legislation. The lease was then approved by the State Administrative Board. that consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the Department of Transportation. The project also went through the proper public bid process.

Jones claims that the “capitol outlay committee was not told all the facts,” but offers none of the facts that were allegedly absent, or that another opponent, Brown, spoke at the meeting. Everything the Republicans do in Lansing is done for political effect, not to benefit the people of Michigan, and Jones proved that. He outlined a campaign for taking back the House in 2010 using the HQ.

“By Oct. 1 we will cut every service and every program that is state funded. Everyone will be pissed,” he wrote.
“(Rep.) Pete Lund (R-Shelby Township) and (Rep) Paul Opsommer (R-DeWitt) where (sic) right when they said there should not be one republican vote for this thing. Imagine how this vote can be used. Picture a postcard with Granholm, (Rep.) Mike Simpson (D-Jackson), and the MSP building on front. On the back it could say: "They supported lining the pockets of developers with millions of dollars while 100 state troopers got laid off." "They supported wasting your tax dollars with a boondoggle that was not needed," "Throw the crooks out! It's time for a change!"

Stating with Jones.

Never mind that it’s a complete lie, and that has never stopped politicians like Jones, who is term-limited in 2010 and looking for his next political job.

Jones also confirmed all Republicans will use it in 2010. (SOS candidate Brown) “made it part of his statewide campaign (standing up to special interests) and (GOP Oakland County Sheriff Mike) Bouchard is going to make it part of his statewide governor campaign. Bouchard invited me to attend that conference. Senator Kahn simply wanted to tell you that returning senators will use the issue and keep it alive. Reporters like Steve Wilson will not let it die.”

He also threatened his fellow Republicans that did not toe the party line and dared to do the right thing and voted for honoring the contract the state made.
“I wish to warn you that if you vote for the MSP HQ lease, you may (sic) held accountable later,” Jones wrote.

They even plan to use it against Rep. Marty Griffin, D-Jackson, running for the vacant seat in the 19th State Senate District with the primary set for next week. It’s just one more political stunt in that race used by the GOP.
“Mike Nofs is beating the hell out of Marty Griffin with it already in their early senate race,” Jones wrote.

Jones even claims the developer threatened him through a lobbyist, and he made lots of false charges about the developer, saying, “the developer openly brags on the golf course about how he owns Lansing and can get away with anything. I heard today in a coffee shop from a businessman that the developer had said he already pocketed 5 million on the deal.”

What a class act Jones is.

GOP using MSP HQ as a false campaign issue

LANSING - The almost complete Michigan State Police headquarters in downtown Lansing has officially become a campaign issue, at least for one Secretary of State candidate, but it is certainly a dead issue.

Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge and Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard - a Republican candidate for governor- have made the most hay with their opposition to the HQ, but Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, and a GOP candidate for Secretary of State, managed to attached an amendment to the state police budget that was approved on June 18 that kills the money for the lease payment. Senate Bill 253 was approved by a vote of 26-9. Brown, of course, ignored the fact it will cost almost as much to maintain the older HQ as it does to lease a brand new, high-tech HQ.

People are upset of the layoff of 100 state troopers last week, and critics like Brown, Jones and Bouchard are making the claim that a building can’t respond to an emergency like 100 Troopers can. However, the bill does not bring the troopers back, and the House will again have to be the responsible one and do the right thing and live up to the contract it approved and pay for the lease. But Brown has a feather in his cap for the campaign trail.

Brown also completely ignores the history of the project. The HQ was first requested by former GOP Gov. John Engler. The original draft of the project, under Engler, drew initial opposition from State Police and Military and Veterans Affairs officials because the proposal attempted to move some of the emergency management operations into downtown Lansing but did not provide room for the vehicle and other storage needed. It was also too large and luxurious.

After changes were made to make the building smaller, it met the approval of State Police Director Peter Munoz, and Governor Jennifer Granholm requested the building.

The project was then approved on a bi-partisan vote by the Joint Capital Outlay Committee in 2007, as are all state building projects that do not require specific legislation. The committee consists of members from both parties from both the House and Senate.

The lease was then approved by the State Administrative Board. Brown spoke against the building then in 2007, but Munoz said he supports project, as does the State Police Troopers Association.

The State Administrative Board consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the Department of Transportation. The State Administrative Board has general supervisory control over the administrative activities of all state departments and agencies, including, but not limited to, the approval of contracts and leases, oversight of the state capitol outlay process and the settlement of claims against the state.

Brown’s grandstand campaign stunt to bar the lease payments came just one day after Republican Attorney General Mike Cox - also a GOP candidate for Governor - said the state could get out of the contract on the building by not appropriating money for the building. That seems kind of funny considering he is a member of the State Administrative Board that intimately approved the lease.

The project brings the State Police into compliance with a constitutional provision requiring that state departments be headquartered in Lansing and with Governor Jennifer Granholm's executive directive (2003-22) that state offices, where possible, be located in central business districts. Michigan State University wants the building back where the majority of the MSP is currently headquartered.

The GOP claims are becoming increasing screechy and false, and they continue to ignore the facts and try to blame a bipartisan decision on the just Democrats. The official unofficial GOP blog, Wrong Michigan, is trying float the lie that Michigan State University Trustee and MSP HQ developer Joel Ferguson is a Democratic sugar daddy and a close friend of Granholm, but the fact is he also contributes to Republicans. They also continue to push the lie that it was a no-bid contract, but the truth is Ferguson’s company was the only company to submit a bid.

Jones has gone off the rails opposing the project. According to Michigan Messenger, Jones is pushing the lie that the state police are in favor of scrapping the project, and alleged that Munoz was pressured politically to testify that he supported the move into the new headquarters or lose his job. That is a complete lie. Munoz’s support for the project has never wavered.

In addition to the construction jobs that will be lost if the project is killed just months before it is supposed to be complete, what kind of message does it send if after approving a contract and going through all of the proper steps, the state reneges on a contract just to look good for voters?

Even rightwing extremist GOP Sen. Alan Cropsey questioned how it would look for the state to refuse to occupy a building two governors asked for and was approved with bipartisan support.

“I just don’t think it is right to have a building built, and then at the end of that time period, tell the contractor saying, ‘We are sorry, but we are not going to use it now,’” he said. “ I just think that that is wrong, and I think the state ought to hold to what every body knows is supposed to be a State Police headquarters.”