Title:
Proposed Recall Election Law Makes Recalls Virtually Impossible
Author:
Ghazey Aleck
Date:
4/21/2002
Year:
2002
Article:
04/21/2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ghazey Aleck
1-800-608-7375

Do you like your local elected officials? You had better if House Bill # 5185 becomes law in Michigan.

This bill will require a recall election in Michigan to not only gain a majority of votes to support the recall of a local official, but it also requires that the total votes for recall be greater than he or she received in the last election.

Since almost all recalls are done in a special election where voter turnout is significantly lower than a general election it would make it virtually impossible to remove a wayward elected official by the will of the people. Even worse since Michigan had a near record turnout for the last general election it simply would be impossible to recall virtually any elected official no matter how bad they are.

Elected officials serve by the will of the voters and the voters should always have the guaranteed right to remove a public official from office if the majority of voters will it to happen.
Under the proposed bill it is possible to have 90% of the voters who turn out for a special election to vote for the recall of an elected official but end up with the same official remaining in office.

For example, in the recent recall election in Flint, MI. Now former Mayor Woodrow Stanley would have avoided recall despite the voters having overwhelmingly voting for his recall.
According to Libertarian Party Chairman Ghazey Aleck, The taxpayers of Flint would have little to no recourse to remove a mayor who is unable to account for millions of dollars. The taxpayers of Flint as well as taxpayers throughout the State of Michigan have a right to be represented by elected officials in whom they have full faith and confidence.

Dont wait until find you may have an elected official who deserves to be removed from office. Make your opinion heard. Contact the Governor’s office and your State Senator as soon as possible and tell them to kill this bill before it is too late.

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Title:
Oakland Libertarians File Slander Lawsuit Against Candidate Cristina Pappageorge
Author:
Greg Dirasian
Date:
2/26/2003
Year:
2003
Article:
02/26/2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Greg Dirasian
(248) 417-2217

Troy MI—In the recent Council of Troy Homeowners Association (COTHA) television debate candidate Cristina Pappageorge thought she had a free shot at one of her opponents, councilman Martin Howrylak. She used her two-minute closing statement to blast the three-year incumbent for his membership in the Libertarian Party.

Calling the local issues that had been the subject of the 1 ? hour debate “a smokescreen,” she charged that Howrylak’s reelection would encourage children to use marijuana, justifying their behavior to their parents with: “Mr. Howrylak is a city official; Mr. Howrylak is a Libertarian; Libertarians say it’s okay to do drugs. So what’s your gripe, if you voted for Mr. Howrylak?”

She went on to cite as “proof” a plank from the state Libertarian Party platform dealing with vice laws, telling viewers that a copy of a page from the party web site substantiating the allegation would be distributed to the studio audience on their way out.

Having already given his two-minute closing statement before the attack, Howrylak had no opportunity to respond to the “pot shot.” However, the Libertarian Party of Oakland County has responded. The LP affiliate has filed a slander suit against Pappageorge.

“The very web page she distributed clearly states our view that the law should be used to protect citizens against force and fraud, and not in an effort to protect individuals from themselves,” said Libertarian Communications director Greg Dirasian. “Nowhere does it say that we believe ‘it’s okay to use drugs.’ This is a slanderous misrepresentation of our position and we intend to fight it.”

“Libertarians are second to no one in our concern about the plague of drug abuse,” added Oakland County Chairman, Nathan Allen. “That’s why our platform calls upon lawmakers to repeal prohibition and end the failed War on Drugs. However, we simply demand that laws be changed,” he said. “We certainly do not encourage people to break the law. But, of course, none of the viewers at home would have any way of knowing that.”

Howrylak himself is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “This has nothing to do with the city council race,” Dirasian noted. “That election ought to stay focused on issues of concern to Troy residents, not on state laws that can only be changed in Lansing,” he said. “This action is being taken by our county party on behalf of Libertarians everywhere. We are law-abiding people, who seek change through the political process. And frankly,” he concluded, “we’ve had enough of being slandered. We will no longer permit these derogatory allegations to go unchallenged.”

The lawsuit was filed in Troy 52-4 District Court. No hearing date has been scheduled.

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Title:
Libertarians Make Clean Sweep in Targeted Races
Author:
Date:
11/4/2003
Year:
2003
Article:
11/04/2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: NewsRelease@lpmich.org

Hazel Park MI—Libertarians celebrated a clean sweep tonight. Three Libertarian city councilmen were reelected and Libertarians added two new council members to their ever-growing farm team of elected officials.

The three re-elected councilmen are Mark Owen in Owosso, Andy LeCureaux in Hazel Park, and Bill Bradley in South Haven. Despite negative campaigning from anonymous and fraudulent sources in Hazel Park attempting to discredit LeCureaux for belonging to a minor party, voters showed that when it comes to honesty and trust, the Libertarian name can’t be beat. Owen was also blasted for his Libertarian affiliation, but voters have proven repeatedly their personal budgets and property rights trump party affiliation every time.

“One thing is clear,” said LeCureaux, “the existing elected officials from the older parties wouldn’t be attacking us if they weren’t afraid. I’m still not sure what it is they fear, but I am sure that they don’t want an open and honest discussion of the issues. If they did, they would be more interested in discussing issues than political affiliations.” LeCureaux continued, “In these difficult economic times, Libertarian councilmen are balancing budgets without raising taxes—much like most families are doing with their own budgets. Neighboring communities keep going to the voters for tax increases or they raise fees to increase revenues—seemingly unconcerned about the impact on their constituents. It is unfortunate that they seem to have taken a lesson from their counterparts in the state legislature.”

The two new council members are Erin Stahl of St. Clair Shores and John Stempfle of Grosse Pointe. This was Stahl’s second run for a council seat. “Many voters urged me to run again,” Stahl said. “Our city council had become so arrogant and disrespectful of the residents that they had to be replaced. The strong showings by the other challengers was an expression of how upset the residents were—I hope the remaining council members get the message.”

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Title:
Michigan Libertarians Influence Presidential Race
Author:
MICHAEL BADNARIK
Date:
10/25/2004
Year:
2004
Article:
10/25/2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: NewsRelease@lpmich.org

Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik announced a national TV ad campaign at a fundraiser in Farmington Hills Saturday evening. The ads were produced by Communications Consultants of Allen Park with local talent and will be shown over the next week on Fox News Channel cable network and other regional stations throughout the country.

Badnarik’s campaign manager Fred Collins, a Berkley city councilman, said they expected to reach the million dollar threshold in fundraising soon and have already spent $300,000 on television ads in key states, with more to follow.

“We are just getting started” said Collins, who has been in office for seven years. “The Libertarian message is resonating with a lot of young people who have registered to vote for the first time, and independent-leaning Republicans and Democrats who have become disillusioned with their party’s candidates”.

“The radio and TV ads have already had an effect, with Badnarik polling 5% in New Mexico, which was the difference between Bush (43%) and Kerry (48%)”.

This is the most visible Presidential campaign the Libertarians have run to date. Independent candidate Ralph Nader is on the ballot in only 36 states, and may yield the spoiler role to Badnarik this election. Badnarik is on the ballot in 49 states and a write-in candidate in New Hampshire, where ballot status is questionable (including the District of Columbia – www.ballot-access.org ).

Many will be surprised to find seven Presidential candidates on the ballot in Michigan. Only five are on enough ballots to conceivably win or influence the election, with Badnarik the most likely. Whatever the case, Michigan Libertarians will have played a crucial role in this election.

CONTACTS: MICHAEL BADNARIK, Media Coordinator Jeff Frazee (512) 275-6722
FRED COLLINS, Communications Director Stephen Gordon (512) 637-6867
TIM OBRIEN, COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANTS (313) 562-5778
MIKE DONAHUE, LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF MICHIGAN Chair (313) 837-9082
WILL TYLER WHITE, US Congressional candidate, Mich. 8th Dist. (517) 349-3806

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Title:
Annual Michigan Liberty Fest Draws A Crowd
Author:
Will Tyler White
Date:
11/13/2004
Year:
2004
Article:
11/13/2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: NewsRelease@lpmich.org

The annual Michigan Liberty Fest banquet began with a cash bar social hour at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Okemos on November 13. Sponsored by the Capital Area Libertarian Party, the event was opened by a town crier in colonial garb with a clanging bell exclaiming “Here ye, hear ye”. This was followed by a humorous proclamation, supposedly direct from “King George the W” of the District of Columbia realm.

Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik delivered the keynote address, fresh off the campaign trail. When asked what was the dumbest question asked by interviewers, he answered “Who are you going to vote for?”. He went on to cover some of the details of his arrest at the Presidential debates in St. Louis and the proposed recount in Ohio.

Author of a book on the U.S. Constitution titled “It’s Good to be King”, Mr. Badnarik presented a constitutional integrity seminar on Sunday at the same location. The seminar was well attended, with twenty-seven students enrolled for his insightful tutoring. Included in the fee was an autographed copy of his book, now a bestseller on Amazon.com.
Awards were presented after the banquet t
o Defenders of Liberty. Stewart Ruley was named posthumously as a Supporter of Liberty for his gracious estate gift to the Libertarian Party of Michigan. The Communicator of Liberty was presented to Jamie Lewis for his work on the state newsletter and untiring efforts in western Michigan as an activist and candidate. The award for Producer of Liberty went to Tim Beck, organizer of the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care, which was responsible for the medical marijuana initiative for Detroit approved in the November election.

Some of the libertarians attending came from the nearby states of Indiana and Ohio, which made for a full house. Winners of the traditional raffle took home antiqued copies of the original Constitution, “Liberty Works” mugs, and some federal reserve notes. The following Monday a nice write-up appeared in the MSU State News (45,000 readers) titled “Libertarians celebrate awareness, progress”.

The event was videotaped and broadcast on the Lansing area cable access show “Voice of Liberty” the following week. Copies are available for a nominal fee by contacting Will Tyler White by phone at 517 349-3806 or his email address, treasurer@lpmich.org.

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Title:
Libertarian Party of Michigan
Author:
Thomas Bagwell
Date:
5/13/2006
Year:
2006
Article:
Libertarian Party of Michigan

-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-

Contact
Tom Bagwell, Communications Director
(734) 678-5040, 1 888-FREENOW
commdir@lpmich.org

Chelsea MI- The Libertarian Party of Michigan held its 2006 nominating convention in Chelsea Mi at the comfort Inn Conference center On Saturday May 13, 2006.  The following candidates were nominated for statewide office:

Governor – Gregory Creswell

Lt. Governor- Scotty Boman

Attorney General- Bill Hall

U.S. Senate – Leonard Schwartz

The Libertarian Party of Michigan also has many candidates running for other offices both statewide and in various districts, townships and cities. These include University of Michigan Board of Regents, Wayne state University Governor, and 15 U.S. House of Representatives candidates.   Also nominated were candidates for state Senate and House of Representatives.

For more information on the Libertarian Party of Michigan visit www.lpmich.org or call 1-888- FREENOW.

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Title:
Libertarian Candidates Selected
Author:
Thomas Bagwell
Date:
5/22/2006
Year:
2006
Article:
PRESS RELEASE – for immediate issue- May 22, 2006

Libertarian Candidates Selected

At their state convention in Chelsea this month, the Libertarian Party of Michigan selected Gregory Creswell of Detroit as their candidate for Governor in the November 7 election.  Scott Boman was picked for Lieutenant Governor and Bill Hall for the Attorney General spot on the ballot.

All told, Libertarians filed paperwork for 43 candidates in state and national races, with additional office-seekers in local and county races.

With candidates in 13 of the 15 Congressional districts, they continue to uphold their status as the largest, most active party behind the Republicans and Democrats.

“As an African-American from Detroit and a member of the only Party supporting the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), Greg Creswell hopes to shed light on the false promise of the affirmative action crutch in his campaign for Governor”, said Libertarian state chair Scott Boman, noting that Mr. Creswell is a volunteer coordinator for the MCRI.  He explained that while the passage of the initiative will have little practical effect, it is important to hold the state accountable for upholding the constitution, which requires equal treatment for all.  Government-forced affirmative action amounts to state-sponsored discrimination.

A candidate for U.S. Senate also emerged from the convention, attorney Leonard Schwartz of Oak Park.  Planning an active campaign, Mr. Schwartz began fundraising early and has garnered some support from his previous bid for Supreme Court in the 2004 election.

“We look forward to an interesting election”, continued chair Boman.  “Right now a lot of people are very disappointed with the way our government is being run on the state and national level.  The same old tired rhetoric from both parties in power has people looking for change.  We hope they will see that the Libertarian party offers commonsense solutions to problems that fall within the guidelines our founding fathers laid out in the constitution.”

CONTACT:

Greg Creswell, candidate for Governor  313 527-9099

Scott Boman, candidate for Lieutenant Governor 313 247-2052

Bill Hall, candidate for Attorney General  616 752-2143

Leonard Schwartz, candidate for Senate  248 546-3569

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Title:
Libertarian says, “Support our troops.  Bring them home.”
Author:
Scotty Boman
Date:
7/2/2006
Year:
2006
Article:
-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-
Contacts:
Scotty Boman, Chair
Libertarian Party of Michigan
(313) 247-2052
scottyeducation@yahoo.com
mi.lp.org
scottyboman.org
[Permission: Current photograph of Scotty Boman may be copied from scottyboman.org]
Libertarian says, “Support our troops.  Bring them home.”
Detroit, MI – Scotty Boman, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, and candidate for Lt. Governor, cited the recent rape-murders of Iraqi civilians, at the hands of their American occupiers, as more proof that the occupation of Iraq needs to end.  On Saturday, US Military officials said they are investigating the crime that occurred this March in Iraq’s Mahmoudiya region, (south of Baghdad).   Boman said, “Power corrupts.  The American people seem quick to recognize this when it concerns foreign excesses, but have trouble believing their own friends, family and neighbors are capable of such atrocities.” He went on to say, “Democracy and liberty can’t be forced on people.  As soon as you kill and threaten a nation of people to accomplish those goals, you have taken on the role of tyrant.    This country is setting a poor enough example by trampling the liberties of it’s own people.  It certainly has no moral high ground by which to dominate foreign nations.”  Boman said in reference to recent invasions of privacy conducted by the Bush administration.

“Unlike the Republicans and Democrats,” Boman said, “Libertarians believe the appropriate roll of the military is to protect the American people from foreign aggression, not to regulate the internal affairs of foreign nations.”  The Libertarian National Platform says, “The important principle in foreign policy should be the elimination of intervention by the United States government in the affairs of other nations.”  The Libertarian Party is currently discussing its platform at their national convention in Portland Oregon.

Boman says there is more to this than just a matter of principle.  “By occupying foreign countries like Iraq, we have made more enemies.  This doesn’t make us more secure.  If anything we have only spawned a new generation of terrorists.  Furthermore, Americans are going bankrupt and loosing their homes because they can’t afford high fuel costs; costs that have steadily risen as a consequence of this war.  Furthermore, this country is going bankrupt.  We are paying the price with our hard won freedom and hard earned money.  What have we gotten in return?  2,500 of our sons and daughters sent home in body bags,  and an even greater number of angry grieving foreigners who blame each of us for the deaths of their sons and daughters.”
Boman concludes, “Meanwhile, we light fire-works, on July 4th, to commemorate a war fought by insurgents against a more “civilized” world power…  Happy Independence Day!”

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Title:
Libertarian Candidates Poised to make a difference in key Races
Author:
Thomas Bagwell
Date:
8/9/2006 [This date is clearly wrong. This survey USA poll was on August 8, 2006]
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=27bc992d-e678-421d-a37e-4aa30d1d4a48
Year:
2006
Article:
Contact: Tom Bagwell, Communications Director
(734) 678-5040
1-888-FreeNow
Commdir@lpmich.org

-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-

“Libertarian Candidates Poised to make a difference in key Races”

Lansing, MI- Two Recently Published polls place Two Libertarian Party Candidates in a position to influence both the race for Governor and US Senate. The polls Published by Survey USA put Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Greg Creswell and running mate Scotty Boman at 6% of the statewide vote. A second poll puts Libertarian Candidate for US senate Leonard Schwartz at 8% of the vote.

Both were telephone polls of 730 registered voters with at +/- 3.7% margin of error.

“These numbers are huge” stated the Libertarian Party of Michigan communications director. While they are not winning numbers yet, these numbers me we have the ability to make a big impact this year.” He said.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest Political party with over 600 people serving in public office across the country. Libertarians believe in limited government, lower taxes, and personal responsibility.

For more information on the Libertarian party visit www.lp.org, or www.mi.lp.org, or call the Michigan office or the party at 1-888-Free-Now.

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Title:
Higher Taxes will not solve Michigan’s Budget Crisis
Author:
Thomas Bagwell
Date:
4/18/2007
Year:
2007
Article:
Libertarian Party of Michigan
P.O. Box 27065
Lansing, MI 48924
1-888-FreeNow

-For Immediate Release –

Contact: Tom Bagwell, Communications Director (734) 678-5040

“Higher Taxes will not solve Michigan’s Budget Crisis”

Lansing MI – Higher taxes in Michigan will lead to more economic problems, Libertarians say.  With a looming tax on services and further expansion of state governmental power residents are starting to say enough is enough. In fact Lawrence W. Reed of the Mackinac Center for public policy suggests a new tax will make government less efficient.  “When Florida in 1987 extended its 5 percent sales levy to most services, 240 new full-time government enforcement jobs had to be created” Reed said.

Libertarian’s say reduces the size of state government to balance the budget and allow the people to create wealth not government. One solution proposed by Libertarians is a Part-time legislature. “A part-time legislature will reduce the amount of legislation as well as the cost of government” Libertarian Party of Michigan communications director Tom Bagwell said.

As for the immediate shortfall, Libertarian Party of Michigan Chair Scotty Boman says, “The governor could solve this problem with the stroke of a pen, if she wanted to.  All she needs to do is pardon prisoners who are serving time for victimless crimes, such as drug possession.  These people could then free to contribute to the economy, rather than waste away in prison at taxpayer’s expense.  No one would suffer from this, and no new taxes would be needed.”  Boman went on to say, “Additional money could be saved by instructing the State Police to refrain from enforcing laws that only exist to control people personal moral conduct.”

All freedom loving Michiganians are invited to join Libertarians in their fight against an unfair and growing tax system. For more on the Libertarian party visit www.lp.org or call 1(888) FreeNow.

There will be a rally on April 18, 2007 at the Michigan Capital front steps in Lansing at 11:00Am. All are welcome to attend.

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