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West Bloomfield, MI--After receiving complaints from Libertarian Party members in Pontiac, the Libertarian Party of Oakland County (LPOC) launched their own investigation into the actions of the Pontiac School Board regarding the board's activities in support of the $455.4 million school bond ballot proposal scheduled for a vote on September 23rd. The bond issue is the third largest ever in the state of Michigan. "We investigated newspaper ads, direct-mail advertising, and their web site, then consulted with our attorney," said chair Nathan Allen. "We have determined that there are grounds to request an investigation and civil action from authorities within the state of Michigan, and possibly grounds for criminal action against the school board members themselves." Libertarians mailed letters to both Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Attorney General Mike Cox on September 16th. A copy of the letter can be found on the LPOC web site at http://www.LpocMi.org/NewsRels/PontiacBond.php. Libertarians allege violation of MCL 169.257(1), which says "A public body or an individual acting for a public body shall not use or authorize the use of funds, ... computer hardware or software, ... or other public resources" to support or oppose a ballot question. The material in question goes beyond merely presenting factual material, but also presents opinion and conjecture. "If school boards cannot be trusted to handle their budgets properly, perhaps they should be prohibited from participating at all in these kinds of campaigns," remarked chair Nathan Allen. "Grassroots organizations have neither the time to form nor raise the funds necessary to demand fiscal accountability from bureaucrats run amuck. It is virtually impossible to compete with the multi-million dollar budgets of the school boards. Who is going to question the illogical arguments that the school board is using in their slick campaign literature?" Libertarians urge all Pontiac School District residents to perform their own investigation and also send letters to the Secretary of State and Attorney General. Multiple complaints will provide additional support for an investigation.
Please take a few minutes to nominate worthy recipients
of this year's Defender of Liberty Awards to be presented at
LibertyFest on November 8. Look around at those in your
affiliate and your community whose efforts are deserving of
recognition. Your efforts on this are simple. Provide a maximum 100 word nomination and e-mail it to chair@michiganlp.org . I will confirm by e-mail that I've received your nomination. The committee needs to have your nominations by Oct. 20, 2003, but the sooner we can begin the review process, the better.
There are three categories in which the Defender of
Liberty Awards are made. The latter two awards are given to members of the LPM only. The spokesman award can go to any Michigan resident, whether a member or not. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Gelineau at: 616-254-2878
2003 Liberty Fest Okemos – Michigan When: Saturday, November 8, 2003 5:00 – 6:00pm Registration 6:00 – 7:30 pm Program 7:30 – 8:00pm Reception (cash bar) 8:00 – 9:00pm Dinner Buffet 9:00 – 10:00pm Awards Presentation Program: Media & Third Party Politics Moderator: Bill Ballenger, Editor Inside Michigan Politics (confirmed) Panel: Mickey Hirten, Lansing State Journal (confirmed) Hugh McDiarmid Sr., Free Press-Retired (invited) Pending W. Michigan Journalist, Grand Rapids Press or other Where: Hampton Inn Suites – Okemos – 2200 Hampton Place, Okemos, MI (north of I-96 exit 110 Okemos/Mason) (517) 349-6100 Rooms at $74.95/night Cost: $25.00 pre-paid by November 1 $30.00 at the door Credit Cards Accepted through White Bros. Until November 1 (to charge call Will White at (517) 349-3806) For More Information Contact Will Tyler White, (517) 349-3806,whitewi5@msu.edu Send check or money order to: LPMM PO Box 1402 East Lansing, MI 48826 Name: Number of people: . Address: x $ 25 each = City, State, Zip: Amount enclosed: Phone Number: Or, bill my credit card: E-mail address: Card #: Ex. date Hosted by the Libertarian Party of Mid-Michigan P.O. Box 1402, East Lansing, MI 48823
Every 12 years in Michigan, there are no major statewide races on the ballot. There will be no Governor, Senator, Secretary of State, or Attorney General. Apart from the Presidential election, there will be little happening on a state level in 2004. The LPM needs to develop a strategy to make the most impact on the 2004 elections as possible given the circumstances. Challenging all of the State House races that were decided by a few percentage points could garner the LPM some much needed publicity as well as a project for the entire state membership to participate in. In 2002, there were two house seats in Wayne County where the LP candidate earned enough votes to prevent either major party candidate from getting a majority. In both cases, a Democrat was victorious over a Republican. While it can be debated which major party Libertarians are more likely to draw off votes from, the point is that those votes potentially could have cost the Republican the race. There was a Green Party candidate in Macomb County who prevented a majority in that race, possibly tipping the hat to the Republican victor. If LPM candidates are consistently run in these races, the major party candidates would be pressured to start adopting some libertarian ideas or court potential voters if the do not want to lose these close races. If a Republican is in a tight race with the Democrat, the Republican might have to push tax cuts or gun rights issues a bit more. If a Democrat wants to pull ahead in a close race with a Republican, they may have to address issues personal freedom and civil rights. Pressuring the older parties to adopt Libertarian Party issues is the next best thing to winning races ourselves. Affiliates in these areas should identify potential LP candidates in these districts. If you are interested in putting your name on the ballot as a Libertarian in one of these districts, please contact Greg Stempfle (stempfle@hotmail.com) or Bill Gelineau (chair@michiganlp.org). Republicans hold the majority in the House by 63-47 seats.
The following are the 17 State House seats decided by less than 10%. The first three were those where no candidate had a majority. District 17 Wayne Co (Dearborn Heights, Redford) Democrat Paletko beat Republican Handy 49.6-47.3% while LP candidate Christopher Gonzalez earned 3%. District 23 Wayne Co (very southern end) Democrat Law beat Republican Jones 49.5-48.5% while LP candidate Rick Secula earned 2%. District 51 Genesee Co Republican Robertson beat Democrat Lockwood 49.9-48.4% while Green Party candidate Ponzetti earned 1.6%. The rest of these districts were won with less than 55% of the vote. Dist. 97 Clare, Gladwin, Arenac, Bay Counties Dist. 106 NE Lower Peninsula Dist. 91 Muskegon Co Dist. 108 South Central UP Dist. 37 Oakland Co, Farmington Dist. 43 Oakland Co. Waterford Dist. 55 Monroe Co Dist. 62 Calhoun Co Dist. 52 W Washtenaw Co Dist. 24 Macomb Co, St. Clair Shores Dist. 21 W Wayne Co Dist. 75 Grand Rapids Dist. 101 NW Lower Peninsula Dist. 84 Huron, Tuscloa Counties
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