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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    Did the Michigan Senate Leader Break The Law?


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Sun Feb 05, 2012 at 04:36:44 PM EST
    Tags: Secretary of state, Rules, Randy Richardville, Michigan, State Senate, Illegal Acts, Breaking the Law, Notary, Family, Glenda Kennon, Monroe Republican Party (all tags)

    Apparently he did.  And right now he may be occupying the office illegally.

    The secretary of state requires candidates to complete their POST-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMPLIANCE STATEMENT before assuming office. the bullet points read:


    • This form must be filed by any candidate subject to Michigan's Campaign Finance Act who is elected to a state, county, city, township, village or school office. The form must be filed before the candidate assumes office. Exceptions: an elected candidate whose Candidate Committee did not receive or expend more than $1,000.00 during the election cycle is not required to submit this form. In addition, this form does not have to be filed by an individual elected to a U.S. Senate, U.S. House or precinct delegate position.

    • An elected candidate who is required to file a Post-Election Campaign Finance Compliance Statement must submit this form to the filing official designated to receive the elected candidate's campaign finance disclosure filings.

    • An elected candidate subject to the Post -Election Campaign Finance Compliance Statement filing requirement who fails to submit this form prior to assuming office is guilty of a misdemeanor.

    • If you need information on your current compliance status under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, contact the Michigan Department of State's Bureau of Elections and/or the appropriate county clerks as necessary.

    Of course.

    One might presume that failure to do so would exclude a candidate from assuming their elected position.

    According the to BOE, Republican majority leader Randy Richardville filed This (image at right - click to view full sized) as his post election compliance. So naturally one might assume all is done, and properly.

    But we must go below the fold for the rest of the story.

    Randy Richardville has a problem. The statement is incomplete and illegal.

    According to the business dictionary, an immediate family member would be:

    Someone's spouse, parents and grandparents, children and grand children, brothers and sisters, mother in law and father in law, brothers in law and sisters in law, daughters in law and sons in law. Adopted, half, and step members are also included in immediate family. See also first degree relative.

    And really, we would not see any disagreement there.

    So what happens when that definition meets THIS RULE that is clearly posted on the Michigan SoS website?:

    FAQ
     Notary Public
    May I notarize for a family member?

    Answer:
    No. You cannot notarize a document for an immediate family member.


    Pretty simple.

    It means you cannot have family notarize for you. It means that a candidate would be breaking the law by using an immediate family member to verify and notarize your post election compliance.

    And Glenda Kennon is Randy Richardville's mother, who is also a vice chair for the Monroe County Republican Party who should have been aware this was inappropriate.

    We usually see this from the Democrats. History shows the law doesn't usually apply to them.  In the federal government, Holder's ability to be shielded by the president, and the US congress allowing Nancy Pelosi to skate on her conflict with regard to CLNE, a proposition in CA, and her refusing to allow a vote in 2008 demonstrates the inability for the law to matter to them

    But until that last man in the Michigan senate steps up to remove the leader who ought not be there in the first place, we remain a lawless country, and a state run by criminal enterprise.  For a year an improper occupation of a particular Michigan senate seat has been ongoing.

    Its now time to remove Randy Richardville from the leadership position, and begin the investigation.

    Update [2012-2-5 17:23:28 by JGillman]: a bad link was fixed for the image.

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    Did the Michigan Senate Leader Break The Law? | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden)
    He did not break the law (none / 0) (#1)
    by InksLWC on Sun Feb 05, 2012 at 06:24:54 PM EST
    His mother did in notarizing the form, which is clearly laid out in MCL 55.291 clause 8.  However, nowhere in MCL 55.291 (or the act as a whole that I could find) does it say that notarizing this document invalidated the notarization, only that she is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be fined or imprisoned.

    Furthermore, MCL 168.848 does not state that failure to complete the postelection statement results in being thrown out of the office, merely that it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

    In all honesty, you're over-reacting to what was most likely an accident.  That being said, his mother should have her commission revoked, and possibly prosecuted.

    But nowhere does it indicate that her acting as his notary invalidates the document; and furthermore, even if it did invalidate it, it would not mean that he would have been excluded from taking office.

    I seriously hope that you don't expect anything... (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by KG One on Sun Feb 05, 2012 at 08:46:20 PM EST
    ...to ever come from this.

    Michigan Politicians from "both" parties have been turning a blind eye and providing cover for one another for far too long.

    From Mike Cox ignoring the goings on during the Kwame Administration for as long as he did, to Bill Schuette all but ignoring the shenanigans in Wayne County, do you really expect either him or SoS Johnson to initiate any procedures to have him removed from office?

    Don't misunderstand me, you bring up a valid point regarding his eligibility.

    But for someone to actually act, you'll need someone who demonstrates that they have character, a trait that is sorely lacking in just about every elected position nowadays.

    Did the Michigan Senate Leader Break The Law? | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden)
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