2009 November Election Endorsements

Posted: October 29, 2009 at 3:19 pm | Tags: barb dempsey, dave bing, detroit ballot 2009, elections, jeff lamarand, lisa howze, macomb county ballot 2009, mike simmons, pete rubino, roger bunton

With elections coming this Tuesday, I figured it’s as good of a time as any to make my election endorsements for the Metro area. Some of these people I’ll be able to vote for, others I won’t. But if I could, here’s the direction I’m heading.

Macomb County

All citizens in Macomb will be faced with a vote for a county charter. This document, like pretty much anything in government has it’s good points and it’s bad points. However, the Wayne County style of government is not what we need in Macomb. The proposed charter will:

Create Tax increases. There are going to be millage increases as a result of this charter. Maybe not right away, but they will hit with the allowable taxable millage increasing.
Give the County Executive Power. A lot of power. Too much power. This will make county government, a mostly invisible layer of government, the ones with all the power. It will shift away from your municipalities to a county. While regional solutions are good, more unnecessary power is not good.
No term limits for the executive. Prior to being elected executive, Ficano held county-wide office for around 20 years, it’s not hard to imagine he’ll be in charge of Wayne for a long time. In Oakland County, Brooks Patterson has been in charge for what seems like forever. This isn’t a county executive, this is for a king of Macomb county.
“Accountability”? I don’t think so. People who push the charter are claiming that it will create more accountability and transparency in government, but it makes little difference. We already have a leader of the county commission, so there’s already someone to blame or praise. The difference is, as it stands now, they are easily replaceable. It doesn’t matter if the county exec is held accountable, the odds of getting them out of office over anything short of a scandal is next to impossible.

I could go on an on about why it’s no good. But the facts speak for themselves: Vote No on the Macomb County Charter

City of Mount Clemens

I could make an endorsement for the office of Mayor, but realistically, there’s no point. While a lot of people like Steve Ferdig, he hasn’t run much of a campaign. But if you take a look at talking points and what they want to accomplish apples to apples, here’s what we get:

Candidate A

Strengthen Neighborhoods and the community
Balanced City Budget
Safe City with a hands-on approach to engaging citizens

Candidate B

Start neighborhood watch groups
Re-paint the fire hydrants in the city
Appoint more ethnic minorities to public boards

There’s little question that Candidate A has a better vision for the city, focusing on direction and building a community, while the other has some pet issues and simple fixes. While I’m not going to make an endorsement, I’ll say simply that Barb Dempsey is going to wipe the floor with Steve Ferdig. I don’t expect the election to be anything close.

For City Council on the other hand, I have 2 candidates that I want to support. The first is Roger Bunton, a man who has very much impressed me with his attitude. He has two things that I feel are very important for civic leadership: a desire to build communities and a focus on education. He is a very bright man and easily the most worthy of a council seat. The other endorsement goes to Mike Simmons. Simmons understands the need to get those storefronts on main street filled with businesses and making Mount Clemens an economic center again. Interestingly for Simmons, he’s receiving a lot of across the board support: supporters of the old guard (Hill, Dredger) and the challengers (Blash, Bunton) are throwing in Simmons as their third choice (as there are three seats available), so I fully expect him to win a seat on Tuesday.

The City of Detroit

For ballot proposals, I support them both. The current city-wide structure for council elections needs to change, and neighborhoods need to be represented. Vote Yes on Proposal D. And for the love of God, if you have any common sense, please please vote for proposal S. Give Robert Bobb the chance to succeed with his vision and allow the schools to flourish.

For Mayor, I have no reservations whatsoever endorsing Dave Bing for re-election. The man has the testicular fortitude to stand up for what he feels is right even if it isn’t popular and even if it involves going up against some of the most powerful people in Detroit. Give the man a chance to succeed.

For City Council, I’m only going to make two endorsements. First is Lisa Howze, who has so much of what Detroit needs right now: common sense, financial sense, and the ability to get things done. Second is James Tate, a lifelong Detroiter should help to strengthen communities and bring stability with his background in Law Enforcement. Do Detroit a favor and vote for them both.