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A moderated two-person debate featuring Gerard Bradley, Prof. of Law at Notre Dame Law School and Andrew Koppelman, Prof. of Law at Northwestern University.
This event is co-sponsored by the Triangle Bar Association of the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University and the Federalist Society. THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY is a non-partisan organization committed to the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY provides a forum for legal experts of opposing views to interact with members of the legal profession, the judiciary, law students, academics, architects of public policy and the community.
MEA union leaders try to convince people that the MEA speaks for teachers, and that criticism of the MEA is the same as criticism of teachers, public education, or even education per se. The reality, however, is that Michigan teachers oppose many of the MEA’s key initiatives and policies.
An internal March 1989 survey commissioned by the MEA paints a telling picture of the degree to which the MEA union leadership is out of step with union members. The evaluation, conducted by the Washington, D.C., firm The Analysis Group, Inc., included both teachers and support employees. The results speak for themselves. The survey found that:
· 69% of teachers and 86% of leaders are bothered that "the MEA takes stands I do not agree with;"
· 64% of teachers are bothered that "the MEA is mainly committed to union goals, not professional goals for education;"
· 75% of teachers and 80% of leaders within the MEA are bothered that "the MEA gets involved in issues, like abortion, that have nothing to do with education;"
· 55% of teachers are bothered that "the MEA is too liberal;"
· 67% of leaders within the MEA are bothered that "the MEA is too liberal;" and
· 57% of teachers are bothered that "the MEA never tells us how the dues money is being spent."
A telling anecdotal comment regarding the chasm that exists between union leaders and union members appeared in The Saginaw News in 1994. Saginaw High School economics teacher and former union representative Mark W. Hoerauf expressed the sentiments of a large number of fellow teachers. MEA officials, he said, "aren’t representing us effectively because they are not in line with our thinking." Hoerauf went on to say, "The people the MEA hires down in Lansing and Detroit are so much more removed. I don’t think I’m getting my money’s worth. The union is getting to be too much of a bureaucracy."
One reason for this situation is the lack of accountability that arises when teachers are forced by state law and their union contract to contribute financially to the labor union. Union leaders need not earn the voluntary financial support of their members. Few teachers know that they have a legal right not to pay the portion of their dues that goes to fund union political activity.
The Patriot's Day Rally posted in the calendar section of earlier newsletters has been cancelled.
Per Brass Roots Director, Michael Hoban, you are being asked to contact your state representative and ask him/her to vote "No" on the so called "reform" concealed carry weapon legislation introduced by State Representative Alan Cropsey, House Bills 1551-1559. Tell your representative the possibility exists that our self-defense rights will be decreased - not increased through the passage of such legislation. Call Brass Roots at 1-800-555-GUNS.
Here are the results in the Romeo Village Trustee race held Monday, March 9: (elect three)
Matthew Edwards (R) -- 124 John Foltz (R)-- 116 James Micielli (R)-- 116 James McAbee (L)-- 78Jim was disappointed with the loss. In addition to running a business, he is very active in the community and had a lot of support, and felt this race was winnable. The good news is that he is encouraged to run again next year when there will be two open seats which are again likely to only be contested by Republicans in the primary . Of the approximate 2000 voters in Romeo, only 200 or so actually voted.
The Libertarians of Macomb County elected officers and at-large committee members at its March 11th meeting.
Elected for one year terms are: Chair - Paul Soyk Vice Chair - Gary Bora Treasurer - Marnie Edwards Secretary - Mark Heil At-Large - Diane Barnes, Rosemary Racchi and Joe Zemens
The LPM web site has been listed on the Politics1 web directory -- http://www.politics1.com --
Politics1 covers races for Congress, Governor and US Senate (all 50 states), plus the 2000 Presidential race, parties, news, issues and more. AltaVista lists Politics1 as a "Best of the Net" site for US political coverage. Please check out the link to our site -- on Michigan's page -- at: http://www.politics1.com/mi.htm
Macomb County is the second county in Michigan to fill up the ballot for the upper level races. Busy Queen Bee Stacy VanOast (Macomb County Campaign Coordinator) spent a few evenings on the phone and filled up the ballot. Congratulations Stacy! Good job! Great work!
The Candidates for Macomb County's upper level races: R. Friend Representative in Congress District 10 Al Titran Representative in Congress District 12 Don McCloskey State Senate District 10 Russ Kohler State Senate District 11 Paul Soyk State Senate District 12 Keith Edwards State Representative District 26 Tom Sydlow State Representative District 27 Ron Birchum State Representative District 28 Jim Pietrangelo State Representative District 29 Jerry McKeon State Representative District 30 Scott Allen State Representative District 31 Bob Van Oast State Representative District 32 Joe Zemens State Representative District 33 Other races in Macomb County: Laurel Pietrangelo Macomb County Commissioner District 6Macomb County will add more county candidates to the ballot at Convention (April 3-5, 1998). There are 25 county commission seats, so there is plenty of room for more. Don't be shy; if you have ever considered running for office and you live in Macomb County, please contact Stacy Van Oast at 810-784-8783 or stacyvo@eesc.com. Candidates who wish to be nominated to run for office, but do not plan to attend the state convention, must contact Stacy immediately to fill out their nominating paperwork!
When Lorna Tate, LP of Oakland County Secretary, heard of Stacy's resounding success, and the success of Nick Stoner in Wayne County, she said, "I have the list for Oakland County and I am going to print it out and divide it up for our folks to do some phone calling. Oakland County has 250 members, more than any other county in Michigan. If Macomb County [with only 129 members] can fill up their ballot, we certainly should be able to do it too! And, if Wayne County has more than 20 candidates, we ought to easily exceed that!" Anyone interested in helping Lorna fill up the Oakland County ballot, please contact Lorna at 248-740-0292 or ArdentInvs@aol.com. Oakland County has 5 candidates at this time; Oakland County still has 1 of 3 Congressional races open (District 9), 4 of 5 State Senate races open (Districts 13, 14, 16, and 28), 11 of 13 State Representative races open (Districts 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, and 45), and all Oakland County Commission races open. Don't hesitate to help Lorna fill up the ballot in Oakland County for 1998 ... help her with phone calls and/or be a candidate!
When Nick Stoner heard how few candidates Wayne County had for the 1998 election, he picked up the member list and started making phone calls. Within a couple of days he had identified 12 more excellent candidates for the LP, bringing the total number of candidates for Wayne County to 21. Congratulations Nick! Excellent work.
The upper level candidates for Wayne County: Richard Gach Representative in Congress District 11 Dean Hutyra Representative in Congress District 13 Mike Freyman Representative in Congress District 14 Linda Willey Representative in Congress District 15 Edward Hlavac Representative in Congress District 16 Kristin Stoner State Senate District 7 Joe Turek State Senate District 8 Doug MacDonald State Senate District 9 Joann Karpinski State Representative District 3 Greg Stempfle State Representative District 15 Michael Corliss State Representative District 18 John Tatar State Representative District 19 David Nagy State Representative District 21 Gary Lloyd State Representative District 23 Kathie Orvis State Representative District 24 Nick Stoner State Representative District 25 Other races for Wayne County in 1998: Paul Woolum Wayne County Executive Karin Corliss Wayne County Commissioner District 12 Loel Gnadt Wayne County Commissioner District 13 Mike Drummond Wayne County Commissioner District 14 Jim Sager Wayne County Commissioner District 15Nick Stoner is still making phone calls. He is making every effort to fill up the ballot for Wayne County. There are still 6 (of 9) State Senate races open, 17 (of 25) State Representative races open, and 11 (of 15) County Commission races open. If you wish to be a candidate and you live within Wayne County, please contact Nick Stoner at 313-928-3116 or email me (Doug MacDonald) at dm@compserv.net. Candidates who wish to be nominated to run for office, but do not plan to attend the state convention, must contact Nick immediately to fill out their nominating paperwork!
When Lorna Tate, LP of Oakland County Secretary, heard of Nick's success, and the resounding success of Stacy VanOast in Macomb County, she said, "I have the list for Oakland County and I am going to print it out and divide it up for our folks to do some phone calling. Oakland County has 250 members, more than any other county in Michigan. If Macomb County [with only 129 members] can fill up their ballot, we certainly should be able to do it too! And, if Wayne County has more than 20 candidates, we ought to easily exceed that!" Anyone interested in helping Lorna fill up the Oakland County ballot, please contact Lorna at 248-740-0292 or ArdentInvs@aol.com. Oakland County has 5 candidates at this time; Oakland County still has 1 of 3 Congressional races open (District 9), 4 of 5 State Senate races open (Districts 13, 14, 16, and 28), 11 of 13 State Representative races open (Districts 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, and 45), and all Oakland County Commission races open. Don't hesitate to help Lorna fill up the ballot in Oakland County for 1998 ... help her with phone calls and/or be a candidate!
As of March 15, 1998, the LPM has 66 candidates for 1998. We have both State Board of Education candidates, 1 of 2 Regents of the U of M, both Trustees of MSU, both Governors of WSU, 0 of 2 Supreme Court Justices, 15 of the 16 US Congressional races, 8 of the 38 State Senate races, 27 of 110 State Representative races, and 9 County Commission seats. The following is the Libertarian Party of Michigan ticket for 1998 as of March 15, 1998:
Federal Offices in 1998 (US Congress Only): Cyndi Ask Representative in Congress District 1 Bruce Smith Representative in Congress District 2 Erwin Haas Representative in Congress District 3 Dan Marsh Representative in Congress District 4 Clint Foster Representative in Congress District 5 Glenn Whitt Representative in Congress District 6 Ken Proctor Representative in Congress District 7 Ben Steele III Representative in Congress District 8 R. Friend Representative in Congress District 10 Richard Gach Representative in Congress District 11 Al Titran Representative in Congress District 12 Dean Hutyra Representative in Congress District 13 Mike Freyman Representative in Congress District 14 Linda Willey Representative in Congress District 15 Edward Hlavac Representative in Congress District 16 Michigan Offices in 1998: Diane Barnes State Board of Education Jon Coon State Board of Education James Montgomery Regent of the University of Michigan Barbara Goushaw Trustee of Michigan State University Mark Heil Trustee of Michigan State University Scotty Boman Governor of Wayne State University Tom Jones Governor of Wayne State University Kristin Stoner State Senate District 7 Joe Turek State Senate District 8 Doug MacDonald State Senate District 9 Don McCloskey State Senate District 10 Russell Kohler State Senate District 11 Paul Soyk State Senate District 12 Brian Ludwig State Senate District 15 Richard Samul State Senate District 26 Joann Karpinski State Representative District 3 Greg Stempfle State Representative District 15 Michael Corliss State Representative District 18 John Tatar State Representative District 19 David Nagy State Representative District 21 Gary Lloyd State Representative District 23 Kathie Orvis State Representative District 24 Nick Stoner State Representative District 25 Keith Edwards State Representative District 26 Tom Sydlow State Representative District 27 Ronald Burcham State Representative District 28 James Pietrangelo State Representative District 29 Gerald McKeon State Representative District 30 Scott Allen State Representative District 31 Bob VanOast State Representative District 32 Joseph Zemens State Representative District 33 Lorna Tate State Representative District 41 Mark Carney State Representative District 46 Teresa Pollok State Representative District 66 George Sise State Representative District 67 Mike Brinkman State Representative District 70 Scott Beavers State Representative District 79 Max Dollarhite State Representative District 85 Allen Bauer State Representative District 97 Greg Willis State Representative District 102 Richard Ask State Representative District 104 Robert Black State Representative District 110 County Offices in 1998 (Alphabetically by County): James Anderson Leelanau County Commissioner Laurel Pietrangelo Macomb County Commissioner District 6 James Hudler Washtenaw County Commissioner Paul Woolum Wayne County Executive Karin Corliss Wayne County Commissioner District 12 Loel Gnadt Wayne County Commissioner District 13 Mike Drummond Wayne County Commissioner District 14 Jim Sager Wayne County Commissioner District 15 Floyd Willis Wexford County CommissionerAt this time, Livingston and Macomb counties are the only counties that have filled up the ballot for upper-level races. Stacy VanOast of Macomb County and Nick Stoner of Wayne County have both found calling the membership list a quick and easy way to identify good solid candidates for the LP. Pick up the membership list for your area from Ben Bachrach (Ben45@aol.com) and start making some phone calls! There is less than 3 weeks left to nomination time!!! Hurry! Don't miss out on the thrill of a lifetime: Running for office and telling people the truth about their loss of Liberty!!!
We provide a list of our candidates to the FEC. This adds our candidates to the list maintained by the FEC which is also provided to politically interested groups, such as the League of Women Voters. Anyone checking with the FEC, regarding the candidates for a Michigan Congressional race, will obtain the LP candidate as well as the D and R candidates. This helped us achieve greater recognition in the Congressional races of 1996 than ever before.
However, providing our candidate list to the FEC also prompts two obnoxious packages of mail in the candidate's mail box. The first is from the FEC and it is a kit intended to 'help' candidates file their financial reports. If you do not raise or spend over $5,000 during your campaign for US Congress, you do NOT have to file financial reports with the FEC. The second package is from the House Ethics Committee. It is another intrusive disclosure about your personal finances. Again, like the FEC financials, if you not raise or spend over $5,000 during your campaign for US Congress, you do NOT have to file the personal financial disclosure with the House Ethics Committee (a contradiction in terms, me thinks).
In 1996, none of our candidates exceeded the $5,000 filing threshold. My guess is that in 1998, the same will be true. If you are running for US Congress and you intend to raise/spend over this threshold, please contact Barbara Goushaw, Libertarian Campaign Managers Association Chair, at 248-399-9177 or BGoush@aol.com.
Candidates for state, county, and local offices are required to file campaign finance reports whenever the candidate raises or spends more than $1000. Candidates which exceed the $1000 threshold are compelled to file at the end of the campaign finance reporting period during which they exceeded the threshold. Most of our candidates do not cross this threshold, but for those who plan to (or may do so), here are the critical dates for your campaign timeline:
March 20, 1998 Pre-Primary Close of Books March 25, 1998 Pre-Primary Report Filing Date April 25, 1998 Post-Primary Close of Books May 5, 1998 Post-Primary Report Filing Date October 18, 1998 Pre-General Close of Books October 23, 1998 Pre-General Report Filing Date November 23, 1998 Post-General Close of Books December 3, 1998 Post-General Report Filing DateNOTE: THE NEXT CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING PERIOD ENDS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1998!!! If you have raised or spent more than $1000 through this Friday, March 20, 1998, then you must file campaign finance reports and your Statement of Organization for Candidate Committees on or before the following Wednesday, March 25, 1998.
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