Kilpatrick calls recount a waste (sic)

Irony abounds in the fall out of Detroit's recent election as Mayor re-elect Kwame Kilpatrick, of Navigator, petty-cash and late-night-Washington-DC fame, calls recount a waste of taxpayers monies.

Currie requests a partial recount

In what has to be the ultimate irony, former City Clerk Jackie Currie, who obstensibly ran the election, has called for a partial recount. That makes 4, with Currie, Hendrix, city council candidate Dearing and school board candidate Hammons calling for recounts of Detroit's recent general election. And we though Ohio and Florida had problems.

Ohio Greens announce state executive slate

I picked this up over at Steve Herrick's blog Chlorophyll. The Ohio Greens announce candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State, Bob Fitrakis, Anita Rios and Tim Kettler respectively. Dr. Fitrakis, known as fraudbuster Bob, and Rios and Kettler were all involved in exposing the election irregularities that have occured in Ohio.

Now everyone is concerned about the security of the ballots.

Does the mayor not trust the Michigan State Police? Or does he know what can happen to a ballot box that lies unattended? Whatever the reason, the Mayor's lawyers have asked for and received Wayne County Sheriff's protection in addition to the State Police. This is all in preparation for the recount that was called for by the Hendrix campaign, which lost the election by 15,000 votes.

UPDATE: Chief Judge Mary Beth Kelly has struck down Kilpatrick's request for additional protection of the ballots.

It's Time To Dump The Dems, Support The Green Insurgency

Scott McLarty, national media coordinator for the Green Party of the United States wrote an open letter to the Nation in response to their position that they "will not support any candidate for national office who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq a major issue of his or her campaign. We urge all voters to join us in adopting this position." ("Democrats and the War", November 9, 2005 <http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051128/editors>)

In his letter Scott concludes: "The Nation's pledge is admirable, but it says nothing about supporting antiwar candidates. Is this a loophole, in order not to offend
Democrats? Or is the pledge a serious statement that its support for Democrats can no longer beguaranteed? If the latter, we invite all who oppose the Iraq war and the bipartisan consensus to consider seriously the Green insurgency, support our candidates, and join us in making the Green Party the great political endeavor of the
21st century."

A petty punitive proposal to the National Committee of the GPUS

Proposal 191, the latest incarnation of the love-it-or-leave-it rule that would subject any state that didn't put the GPUS nominated candidate on the state's presidential ballot line to possible dissaffiliation is currently being discussed by the National Committee. Voting will begin on Monday.

How this proposal supports our values of grassroots democracy and decentralization is beyond me. The argument is being made that to attract high-caliber candidates we must be able to offer a guarantee of all available state ballot lines. This seems to be pandering in contradiction to our stated values. Will it attract the candidates we want or need?

I urge our National Reps to vote no on 191.

Happy Thanksgiving and remember, Friday is Buy Nothing Day

Wired Magazine has an interview with one of the founders of Buy Nothing Day, a global holiday from consumerism.




Buy Less! Live More!

Huge changes in Michigan's economy in store

With GM's announcements of 9 plant closings and 30,000 jobs cut, Ford Motor Company's intention to terminate 4,000 workers and the Delphi backruptcy, it should be clear to everyone that change is in the air. With each job in the auto industry creating up to 7 jobs in the economy, that change could be devastating to Michigan's economy. What are our leaders doing about it? Apparently, very little.

Gorcyca remark goes too far, experts say

How can Oakland County Prosecuter David Gorcyca be 100% confident that Fieger tried to blackmail Attorney General Mike Cox yet be unable to prove it? That sounds a little fishy to me and apparently a Wayne State University law professor agrees. I'm pretty certain Fieger isn't going to take ths lying down. More on the Cox Affair(s) at 11!

Do we still have our hands on the lever of democracy?

Apparently, they are still counting the ballots in last Tuesday's Detroit election and even though 'no protests or challlenges had been filed' as of Saturday, counting will resume on Monday. A state elections spokesperson says 'We want to preserve the integrity of this process'. You can't preserve what has already been lost.

More on voting irregularities here and here.

more on the Cox Affair(s)

This story tells us that Cox' PAC was the single largest contributor to the State Supreme Court justice that was the target of a 'secret' Fieger campaign. (Why the campaign was secret is never fully explained in this article.) Apparently that's the campaign that the AG was investigating that prompted Fieger's alleged 'threat'. It also describes a fund-raising event for the AG that sounds more like a meeting of (alleged) unindicted co-conspirators.


The more I hear about this story the uglier it gets.

Green Party Victories

Here's the Green Party press release detailing the victories in 19 races this election season.

More coverage of Green victories can be found here and here.

Shocker isn't Currie loss, but who won

This analysis of the City Clerk results compares Jackies campaign to Mayor Kilpatricks and one consultant says many well known politicians wish they had run against Currie. Well, Janice Winfrey is well known now. Congratulations to the new City Clerk!

More analysis of the Mayor's re-election victory and a rather interesting take here.

Michigan attorney general acknowledges having an affair

Gosh, I don't want anyone to miss this admission in the flurry of election results. Mike Cox even turns it into an attack on prospective opponent Jeffrey Fieger, claiming he's making the announcement in advance of a threatened exposure of his unseemly actions..

The Dream is over...

...this morning with Mayor Kilpatrick winning re-election, contrary to the early calls for a Hendrix victory.

Full Detroit election results

include 4 new members of Detroit's City Council:

Ken Cockrel Jr. (I) 145,230
Monica Conyers 117,811
Jo Ann Watson (I) 116,413
Sheila M. Cockrel (I) 113,682
Barbara-Rose Collins (I) 110,941
Kwame Kenyatta 108,180
Alberta Tinsley Talabi (I) 103,421
Martha Reeves 88,349
Brenda Jones 86,840"

more here and here

early results show Hendrix leading...

... in a poll of 800 voters. The story also mentions possible intimidation of voters and poll workers by members of the Republican Party.

Update: At 9:10pm WDIV called the race for Freman Hendrix.

Write-in Maureen D. Taylor for Detroit City Council

When you vote today in Detroit, remember Maureen D. Taylor is running as a write-in candidate for City Council.


Info on other Green candidates around the country can be found here and here.

Jackiegate blows up days before the election

After hearing testimony of possible felony violations in the handling of absentee ballots, Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Mary Beth Kelly put County Clerk and Secretary of State officials in charge of the absentee ballots being cast in next Tuesday's general election.

Here's the Detroit News story.

Green Party of Ontario would reduce voting age to 16

Our neighbors across the river are holding their Annual Policy Conference and General Meeting in Orillia. There they passed resolutions on Democratic Renewal, Agriculture, Economics, Energy, Infractructure and Governance including a move to lower the voting age to 16. They make some interesting points suggesting an increase in voter participation would result. I'd have to agree.

State targets Detroit ballots

I'm curious about the Detroit News probe mentioned in this article. It sounds like a couple of reporters showed up in court and listened to the testimony of Maureen Taylor, write-in candidate for Detroit City Council. Maureen and her team have been trying to bring Jackiegate to the attention of the authorities since the night of the primary. Her lawyers had Detroit City Clerk Jackie Curry sanctioned by the court for sending out absentee ballot applications in violation of a court order. Monitors have been selected to oversee the general election in Detroit next Tuesday.

In this editorial the News endorses Janice WInfrey for Detroit City Clerk.

Maureen Taylor Announces Write-In campaign for Detroit City Coucil

COMMITTEE TO ELECT
MAUREEN D. TAYLOR
FOR DETROIT CITY COUNCIL
P.O. Box 02008, Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 832-0618...Fax#: (313) 832-1409
www.taylorforcouncil.org

“Ezekiel 37...Can these dry bones live?”

November, 2005

To: Supporters & Residents of Detroit
From: The Grassroots Candidate
Re: Official Campaign Statement

>>ANNOUNCEMENT<<

The unprecedented, lawless acts of the Detroit City Clerk have mandated a full court press relative to the voter tampering that has transpired under her leadership. As you know, there were grave concerns raised when the Primary results of August 2nd showed that we were not among the top eighteen vote getters, when clearly there were extraordinary efforts forged that suggested more votes were cast for our Campaign. When the recount was requested and granted, no one was more shocked by the results than I was. Fraud, fraud, & more fraud...

Of the 46 absentee ballot boxes that we wanted to view, 29 couldn’t be recounted because the number of votes put in these boxes on August 2nd were found to be different when the recount was ordered. Suspicion has now given way to proof that the Clerk has committed fraud and that the Primary Election of August 2, 2005 was tainted.

I have been reluctant to energize our people toward an uphill, write-in campaign, knowing how challenging such a grassroots effort would be. Despite this, volunteers all over the city who have faith in what the Grassroots can do have been waging an exhausting day and night campaign to get a seat at the Council table. The out-pouring of love has been so tremendous, the level of faith has been so humbling and the need for our presence has been so compelling that a forward pass is required to equal the intensity of those who continue to promote the Grassroots Campaign. I now declare my official candidacy for the Detroit City Council as a write-in candidate.

Our Campaign has made a choice...we stand and fight no matter the odds, no matter the threats, no matter the sacrifices. We are approaching another winter of discontent & calling real warriors to first meet at the council fire, pray to our Spirit for success, and into battle we go. Many will not survive the winter as foreclosures, along with the costs of heat, lights and water, rise with few voices in position to do battle with these corporations who would rather we die if payments are not made. Michigan is second in high unemployment, and no elected official has even suggested an extension of unemployment benefits. WHY??? We are almost alone. From this position we will organize our city and help provide those things that will make Detroit great.

Maureen D. Taylor, Michigan Welfare Rights Org. State Chair