Former State Representative Doug Spade announces run for Michigan Senate

In a bit of great news, former State Representative Doug Spade, D-Adrian, formally announced today he is a candidate for the 16th District State Senate District that covers Lenawee, Hillsdale, Branch and St. Joseph Counties.

“With two government shut-downs in the past three years, a seeming inability to act on pressing matters in a timely fashion, and a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude of inflexibility exhibited by all too many elected officials, it’s no surprise the public has lost confidence in state government,” Spade said in a press release announcing his candidacy.

The 16h District Senate seat is currently occupied by rightwing Republican Cameron Brown, but he is term limited and running for Michigan Secretary of State. But winning in a conservative district is nothing new to Spade. When he was elected to the first of his three terms in the House in 1998 he was the first Democrat to serve Lenawee County in the House since 1914.

I have met Doug Spade a few times, and I had the same impressions as everybody else: he’s a class act, and they think they already know him from listening to the radio show he hosted on WLEN Adrian for 25 years.

I first met him when I was working for my first newspaper, the mom and pop weekly Blissfield Advance. He and I were the “celebrity” guests at a diner hosted by a Girl Scout troop in Blissfield. All I can tell you is that his seeing eye dog was much more popular than both of us.

Spade was the operations manager at WLEN, and for 25 years he hosted a call-in show called “Party Line.” It was not your conventional talk show. The show began at noon, and people just called in to talk about anything they wanted. He made the show about the callers, and they could talk about anything under the sun; from their garden to current affairs. I would listen to see what people were talking about.

I ran across him again when I went to work for the Adrian Daily Telegram. I had only been there a few months when the 1996 election occurred. Doug Spade made his first run at the state House against then incumbent extremist right-winger Tim Walberg, and Walberg kept his seat by just a few votes after a recount. When he retired in 1998, Doug won the seat handily; now held by his brother, Dudley Spade.

Only debate for the 19th Senate seat goes forward even though Democratic candidate was in session

It’s a little sad that in the important race for the vacant 19th District seat in the Michigan Senate next month there is only one, solitary head to head debate, but that’s the case in this important race.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce hosted the only debate last Thursday, but Democratic candidate Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, was unable to attend because the House was in a marathon session that lasted until 11:50 p.m. The Speaker invoked a call of the House, which means the doors are locked and lawmakers cannot leave. Surprisingly, the debate wet forward anyway, giving the GOP candidate free publicity in a county where he is an unknown.

The GOP candidate took shots at Griffin, and he Griffin was unable to defend himself. Word is that he even tried to misrepresent Griffin’s vote on suspending an inflationary increase in the personal exemption on Michigan's income tax, saying every time you get a pay raise, the state gets a pay raise.

Not true. The House voted to freeze the personal income tax exemption at last year's level, and it would have increased the exception from $3,500 to $3,600 this year. Which means you will not get an extra $4.35 back next spring. It seems like $4.35 is a small price to pay for not throwing a monkey wrench in the gears of recovery by killing education and local communities.

Churches sponsoring rally to support equal rights for gays

A pair of Livingston County churches are taking the moral high ground and co-sponsoring a rally on Sunday to support equal rights for gays.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) are sponsoring the rally set for 12:30 p.m. at the Mill Pond gazebo in downtown Brighton. Sunday is also National Coming Out Day, and it is also the day of the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. The public is invited to the brief ceremony that will feature speakers.

The Community Unitarian Universalists have a history of tolerance, acceptance and community service in the county, and they have sponsored past events that reflect that mission. In October of 2007 they co-sponsored a “Counter Coulter” event that brought in Ann Arbor author Jonathan Cohn to speak about health care reform that raised money for the free VINA Community Dental Center of Livingston County.

In September of last year they sponsored a forum on the expansion of embryonic stem cell research featuring former U.S. Congressman and medical doctor Joe Schwarz.

Livingston County Republicans breach the public trust

As expected, Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation is toeing the Republican line on the budgets cuts that will devastate the state, but the comments of Rep. Bill Rogers, R, Brighton, are becoming screechy.

Just minutes after that the House adjoined on Tuesday after a marathon session that lasted until almost 9 p.m. where a modest revenue increase was approved, Rogers’s staffer sent out a press release blasting the increase.

The House approved a physician Quality Assurance Assessment Program (QAAP) that assesses a 3 percent tax on doctors. Revenue collected from doctors would be matched with Federal funds bringing in $2.70 for every $1 the QAAP raises, and those matching funds would be used to increase Medicaid reimbursement to doctors, bringing them up to Medicare standards. The Department of Community Health budget just approved last month cut the reimbursement rate by 8 percent, putting hospitals in danger of going into bankruptcy and causing some doctors to stop treating Medicaid patients.

But Rogers told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that the increase is "a stunning breach of the public trust" that would make it harder to live and work in this state. Please.

If you want a stunning breach of public trust, how about telling high school students that if they do well on the MEAP test they will earn the Michigan Promise scholarship, but once they are enrolled in college, we take it away. That is a breach of the public trust.

He then said he was "outraged" by the proposals, which he said were introduced in "the 11th hour under the cover of darkness." He can be outraged all he wants, but the 11th hour charge is what’s really outrageous. The proposal has been around since late July.

According to the article, Rogers and Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township, both said the proposals broke an agreement between state House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, to balance the budget without raising taxes.

Simply not true. Dillon made the deal without the agreement of this caucus, and they both left out the second half of the agreement: Republicans would support supplemental appropriations bills to restore some of the cuts. Dillon said all along he would look to safeguard K-12 education, college scholarships, local police and fire protection and health care for children and seniors.

MDP calls for investigation of GOP underage drinking

LANSING - The Michigan Democratic Party is calling for an immediate and thorough investigation of the underage drinking that took place at the so-called “GOP Leadership Conference” on Mackinac Island last week.

Central Michigan University College Republican Vanessa Oblinger blogged about the weekend’s events, and she wrote that the students “were rewarded with open bars and free dinners” just for coming. Underage drinking is all too common among college students, but the problem is the illegal alcohol was provided by Republican candidates for Governor and Attorney General. Of those candidates, one is the top law enforcement officer in the state one is the sheriff of one of the county’s most popular counties and another is a former judge who wants to be the top law enforcement officer in the state.

To compound the problem, the party took place just three days before the deadline to approve a state budget.

“This wasn’t a so-called ‘policy conference’ – it was ‘Animal House on the Island’ for three days sponsored by the Michigan Republican Party and its candidates,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “Mike Cox and Mike Bouchard are officers of the law.
“Bill Schuette is a former judge, and he and Mike Bishop want to become Attorney General.,” Brewer said. “For them to ignore and even condone this illegal behavior is shameful and irresponsible. There must be a thorough investigation of this illegal activity on the Island.”

Whitmer announces run for Michigan Attorney General

State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, became the first Democratic candidate for Michigan Attorney General, according to a story in the Lansing State Journal.

According to the paper, she filed paperwork announcing her intention to run for state attorney general in 2010. She became the first Democrat to openly say she wants the Democratic nomination that will be chosen at the state Democratic Convention next year. The three Republican candidates have been campaigning activity.

It has been speculated that Whitmer will run for the past couple of months, even though she has a term left in the Senate, and she could be the Senate Majority Leader in 2010. She had this is just a first step in the process. Also mentioned as possible Democratic candidates are Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton and Farmington Hills lawyer Richard Bernstein.

Whitmer has a record of standing up for the consumers and the vulnerable, and she has been a sharp critic of Senate Republicans, and she has drawn the ire of Republicans, and some of it has been vicious, strident and sexist. In the LSJ article, GOP mouthpiece Greg McNeilly said Whitmer is a "liberal elitist" and "another Jennifer Granholm clone seeking fame and glory over the best interests of residents."

I’m not sure why being called a liberal is a criticism, considering the programs that have made life better for most Michiganders are liberal programs, but it is a code word to activate the GOP base.

Whitmer was first elected to the State Senate in March of 2006 after serving served in the Michigan House from 2000 to 2006. Whitmer was born in Lansing earned a BA degree in Communications law degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Michigan State University. Whitmer was a corporate litigator specializing in administrative and regulatory law with the Lansing law firm of Dickinson Wright. She practiced administrative law before the Ingham County Circuit Court and the Michigan Public Service Commission.

‘Stand With Griffin’ District Invasion set for Saturday

College students from all over Michigan will be in Battle Creek this Saturday to show their support for Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, in his race for the vacant 19th District Senate seat that represents Calhoun and Jackson counties.

Griffin voted in the minority on Sept. 30 to protect the Michigan Promise Scholarship from getting axed and preserve other higher education funding, and college students are standing up for Griffin for that support.

The plan is to invade the district beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday Oct. 10 at the Martin Griffin for State Senate campaign office in Calhoun County, 38 Michigan Ave E: Battle Creek, 49017.

The Nov. 3 election is less than a month away, and this is the first step in taking back the Senate like we did the House in 2006. The Republicans enjoy a thin 21-16 lead with the vacant seat, and they are pulling out all the stops to win it back. They see it as the first step in keeping control of the Senate in 2010. More people voted for Senate Democrats in 2006, but they gerrymandered the districts so badly, they kept control.

We saw the importance of Democrats having control during the recent budget process. Like I said, Republicans are pulling out all the stops in trying to win this seat, and they have gone as far as to pay for hotel rooms and transportation for the so-called volunteers for the Republican opponent.

Apparently, paying volunteers is a common practice in the GOP, and we saw a prime example of that during the so-called Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference last month where college Republicans bragged about underage drinking and partying.

The canvas is not limited to students or even parents of students struggling to help their student pay for college, so grab a friend or two and come out with your walking shoes. And think car pool. Call (269) 425-4333 for further information.

Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation spews GOP talking points in response to budget crisis

It was no surprise that Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation is against any new tax revenues to save essential programs, but the comments coming from them are still a little surprising.

The comments from freshman Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, were a little surprising. Rogers is a genuinely good guy in person, but his earlier pretense of being a bipartisan leader went quickly out the window following the budget process last month. Rogers was elected as the co-chair of the Freshman Caucus with the mission to foster friendship and cooperation that would address the problems facing Michigan. They even signed a pledge to cooperate even when they disagree.

Rogers told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Sunday that it would be better if state government shut down. I’m not sure how putting some 50,000 people out of work would help the budget situation. He then said Gov. Jennifer Granholm “entered the budget debate at the zero hour, and that legislators on both sides of the aisle are enraged.”

That is simply not true. The Legislature Rogers is a member of approves budgets, not the Governor. She sent a recommended budget to the Legislature and they can accept or reject it. She was involved in the negotiations with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, but she did not agree with the agreement reached between the two to balance the budget with all cuts. Neither did many in Speaker Andy Dillon’s caucus.

Then he takes a ridiculous shot at the Governor: “Now she gets engaged? Maybe she should go back to Japan," Rogers added, referring to the governor's recent overseas business trip.” Maybe the Republicans should have stayed at the party in Mackinac just three days before the budget deadline.

The Governor has created a lot more jobs on mission trips than Bill Rogers has, and that includes his family business. The auto industry has shed jobs at an unprecedented rate because of the national recession, and the Governor has traveled far and wide with success to diversify the economy and bring new jobs to the state.

The fact is the economy is changing, but our tax structure has not. We are a service economy, yet there is no tax on services. That means every level of government has had to do more with less, yet the demand has increased.

Rogers and the Republicans continue to push the false argument that lower taxes equal economic growth, but we have cut taxes every year in Michigan for the past 15 years. They also buy into the false argument that Michigan is a high tax state. Simply not true.

The conservative Tax Foundation found Michigan has the 17th best business tax climate in the nation, up from 28th in 2006.