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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Vote how news organizations like Fox News have built an empire out of political conspiracy fed by a well-oiled propaganda machine that has sought to make President Obama the anti-Christ and the one who is making America un-American. The political stardom of the Glenn Becks of the world was built squarely on the altar of conspiracy theories, feeding into people’s minds what doesn’t exist, but what makes them scared. And innocent-information-seeking-minds kept worshiping on the altar of demagoguery, clamoring for more because they didn’t know any better. But in Detroit we owe it to ourselves and in the interest of civic discourse and honest political engagement to spare the general election of the circus of political conspiracy. We owe it to the guardians of voting rights and the legacies of men and women of mark who fought to ensure that the Black vote carried the same weight as that of their White counterpart to guarantee that every vote counts. Thus, to dismiss about 20,000 votes that were cast in the primary election on the basis of lacking procedural marks clearly flies in the face of protecting voting rights. What message does it send to the world in disqualifying thousands of votes cast when those votes are not being disputed, rather it’s the process of marking the ballot boxes that are in dispute? But since full blown conspiracy theory has it that there is an all-out effort to steal the election, it appears plausible to call into question the legitimacy of those votes that were actually cast even when the issue is the fact that the boxes containing the votes were missing the required hash marks, a process by which the votes are counted on poll books. In this case the 20,000 votes at issue were entered without the hash marks, leaving the matter as a numerical discrepancy, not a voter discrepancy. And since race is at the center of this mayoral election where Mike Duggan, a White candidate, is up against Benny Napoleon, the African American candidate, it is all the more interesting as those thousands of votes which belonged to Duggan are now being called into question. If the votes are tossed out, Napoleon would be the winner of the election as opposed to the primary write-in candidate Duggan. And lawyers for Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett made a stunning recommendation last week that because of the absence of hash marks, the thousands of votes should be invalidated as a recommendation to the Wayne County Board of Canvassers which rejected the recommendation of nullifying of the primary votes, because of the absence of hash marks which is not a state law. Clearly, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey has an obligation to ensure that poll workers follow the recommendation of using hash marks, and if they didn’t those poll workers at the precincts involved in this case should be fired and never used again in future elec-
From page A-1 tions. Some can call it a dereliction of duty on the part of the election department, but those who were delegated this assignment at the precincts in question to maintain voting integrity have an obligation as well to carry out their assignments faithfully. The election snafu led to an exchange of barbs between two of Detroit’s most influential female political leaders. Winfrey did not see any reason why the votes shouldn’t be counted since they are legitimate votes, and Garrett simply stood by a policy, not law, that only ballots with hash marks should be counted. But the battle goes beyond the flap between Winfrey and Garrett, and some, including the Duggan campaign, have suggested that there is a deliberate attempt to meddle with Detroit’s democracy by those who opposed Duggan’s candidacy. Clerk Garrett’s brother is the powerful union boss Al Garrett who runs AFSCME Local 25, which has funded labor activist Robert Davis, the man who has challenged almost every issue in the public domain in court today. And Davis, who has long set his eyes on Duggan and successfully knocked him off the Detroit ballot twice, which forced supporters of Duggan to push for a write-in campaign, is now calling for the invalidation of the 20,000 votes cast for Duggan because of the lack of hash marks. Davis has indicted by the federal government on charges of stealing money from Highland Park’s school board. He has maintained his innocence while awaiting trial. Clerk Winfrey’s husband, Tyrone Winfrey, a former member of the Detroit Board of Education, is the chief of staff to the Education Achievement Authority (EAA), an effort that was birthed by Gov. Rick Snyder to address the plight of failing students and whose funding model has drawn the ire of some education activists, including Davis, since it was set up. Thus the power dynamics and political relationships, whether involved or not behind the personalities of the poli tical leaders in this case, continue to feed the work of the conspiracy theorists about the elections in Detroit. “Election administrators should be people who are ready to lay down their lives to preserve or protect 20,000 votes,” said Vince Keenan, the founder of Publius, the reputable voter information site. “The votes are not in question. So far as anybody knows at this point these are legitimately cast votes and someone made the recommendation to discount them.” Keenan said there is no historical precedent for eliminating that many votes because “the crux of the problem is not who the votes were for…the crux of the problem began when it became apparent that there has been a procedural issue in the way the votes were counted.” But the votes could have been easily verified by hand counting the ballots or doing whatever is needed to satisfy the electoral process. Now the issue goes to the state
Uninsured families and millions of Michigan taxpayers’ dollars.” The delays, run the risk of jeopardizing the state’s ability to meet the implementation target date of Jan. 1, 2014. DCH Director Jim Haveman told the Senate Government Operations Committee at hearings in July that missing the Jan. 1, 2014 implementation date could cause Michigan to lose $7 million a
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where the election director, Chris Thomas, has already signaled that it is unheard of to discount that many votes in a dispute that only has to do with hash marks. “You simply don’t throw out the will of the people on a procedural win,” Keenan explained. “Cathy Garrett generally has a reputation for this. The question is who made this call (to invalidate the votes) and how did this seem like a satisfactory remedy?” But here is the other problem. The lack of trust in Detroit government allows for conspiracies around election takeovers to thrive and to be seen as credible discourse in the overall political wellbeing of the city.
Keenan agrees.
“Part of what has happened here is we have created a toxic environment where regular challenges over minor issues are allowed to cast a shadow of doubt over the electoral process,” Keenan said. “It is a toxic environment for the function of democracy. We are more concerned theoretically with the idea of an emergency manager disenfranchising the people than actually counting votes.” Procedures have to be followed in elections, which is why some have gone to the point of calling for a Department of Justice investigation into the Detroit primary election when it is not even clear if this procedural dispute merits the involvement of a DOJ investigation. “If it turns out that mistakes have been made in the counting of ballots after votes are legitimately cast, then we have a standard to uphold because that cast ballot deserves the utmost priority in terms of tabulation in determining what that voter contributed to in the election.” Both Duggan and Napoleon have expressed the desire to have votes counted fairly, even as the latter called for a DOJ investigation. And Winfrey, according to Keenan, “adapted to what was anticipated to be a large write-in vote. It would have been great if tabulation marks have been used. But at some level she did.” And let’s take the conspiracy theory off the table and deal with the facts only as they evolve in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. The State Board of Canvassers has ordered the write-in votes to be counted, which is what Wayne County should have done. Bankole Thompson is editor of the Michigan Chronicle and the author of the forthcoming book “Rising From the Ashes: Engaging Detroit’s Future With Courage.” His book “Obama and Black Loyalty,” published in 2010, follows his recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty” with an epilogue by Bob Weiner, former White House spokesman. Thompson is a political news analyst at WDET101.9FM (NPR affiliate) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday evening roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York, simulcast in New Jersey and Connecticut. E-mail bthompson@ michronicle.com or visit www.bankolethompson. com.
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day in federal funds. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will also need time to approve waivers for additional reforms that Republicans have submitted. The average review time for waiver approval has been about 120-180 days, meaning the state’s targeted enrollment deadline of October 1 may be at risk. “We cannot afford to
allow the wellbeing of the people of Michigan to fall victim to partisan gamesmanship and disregard,” said Dingell. “With the Senate back in session this week, the time is now to pass legislation to expand Medicaid, and give state and federal agencies the time necessary to implement these policies that will help provide health care to half-a-million uninsured Michiganders across our state.”
Hollier calls on Board of State Canvassers to certify the results of Detroit mayoral primary Last week, in response to write-in votes not counted properly, the Wayne County Office of Elections has refused to certify almost 20,000 votes from the August 6 mayoral primary race. A state elections committee will determine who won the mayoral race. If anyone understands the importance of one vote its Adam Hollier, candidate for Detroit City Council in District 5 who won his primary by 56 votes and who says we need to tighten our electoral process. “Residents have been saying their vote doesn’t count ever since the appointment of an emergency manager in Detroit and now election officials are giving credence to that notion,” Hollier said.
ballots cast. As a Black man, a Democrat and a Detroit resident, I’m sickened that people who exercised their right to vote may have their choice thrown into the trash.”
Adam Hollier of our government and should be a simple exercise. When people vote they need to know two things: that their vote will count and that the elections are run according to the law.”
He continued, “This “This is not a politi- situation is a travesty. At cal issue; it’s an issue of some point we have got democracy and equity. to protect people’s right Voting is the cornerstone to vote and have their
With a low voting turnout for the primary, Hollier worries these circumstances will distract voters from becoming more informed about candidates and where they stand on the real issues affecting Detroiters like crime, blight, education and employment. “On a day when only 17% of registered voters cast a ballot, we should be focused on increasing turnout in the general election, not how many ballots we can disqualify,” he said. “Detroit needs clear and honest elections so we can elect the most qualified individuals to lead this city and address our serious financial issues.”
Shootings of-the-art and will greatly improve public safety and the quality of service that we provide to our citizens.” The 25 new public safety vehicles made their debut in a procession down Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, culminating with a news conference by Mayor Bing and Penske Corporation Chairman and Downtown Detroit Partnership Vice Chairman Roger Penske. Representatives from the corporations and foundations that contributed to the Mayor’s Active and Safe Campaign rode in the public safety vehicles. “This is an extraordinary day for the city of Detroit,” said Roger Penske. “We are proud to offer new police cruisers and EMS units to Mayor Bing and the Police and Fire Departments. I want to offer my special thanks to the local business leaders and the Downtown Detroit Partnership for their outstanding efforts
From page A-1 in helping us reach this milestone today. These vehicles will enhance the visibility of the police and fire efforts in the city, improve the safety and security of our neighborhoods and will provide an immediate positive impact on our city. “ The city’s entire fleet of 23 EMS ambulances is being replaced at a cost of approximately $161,000 per vehicle. The EMS units are being built by Horton Ambulance on the International Terra Star Chassis. Each ambulance takes up to 100 days to build. The Terra Star units were ordered through a local dealer. The 100 police cruisers were acquired through local Chevrolet, Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge and Ford dealerships, and a Detroit company is outfitting the vehicles according to City of Detroit specifications. The police cars cost from $45,000 to $50,000 each, depending on the make and model. The police
vehicles presented today are Dodge Chargers, Ford Interceptors and Chevrolet Caprices. In addition to Penske Corporation, the corporate and philanthropic donors working in conjunction with the Downtown Detroit Partnership are: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Chrysler Group, LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, Quicken Loans, Inc., The Kresge Foundation, Platinum Equity, LLC. Shinola. FirstMerit Bank serves as the financial partner in this collaborative project. Mayor Bing launched the Active and Safe Campaign with a goal of raising $60 million over three years for updated equipment, technology and training for the city’s first responders, as well as improved programming at Detroit’s recreation centers. Email bthompson@ michronicle.com.
INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION HEALTH (IPH) BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIVISION ADVISORY COUNCIL NOTICE OF PUBLIC FORUM ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE A Public Forum will be held to share with the community the City of Detroit Coordinating Agency Needs Assessment conducted by U of M School of Social Work. All citizens are invited to attend and encouraged to ask questions and provide input about current and future services. Treatment, Prevention and Recovery Providers, Stakeholders and potential contractors are encouraged to attend.
DATE: August 29, 2013 TIME: 1:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. LOCATION: D etroit Rescue Mission 138 Stimson Detroit, Michigan For further information please call: 313-324-9550