Tag: Kalkaska

by Tom Backers

"The Tea Party Explained"

    During the recall contest between the now deceased County Prosecutor and certain members of the Board of Commissioners, I had the opportunity to canvass many areas of the County and Village of Kalkaska and spoke to hundreds of residents.  By the time the petition to recall became a moot point, two very distinct community undertones became apparent; people in the communities did not understand the Tea Party Patriots...and...many of them absolutely feared repercussions from their own local government authorities should they sign the petition to recall the Prosecuting Attorney.

    The lack of understanding confounded me.  I realize that in this County, and in this economic environment, many folks are simply too busy riding out the recession to have much time or energy to pay attention to, or research, the root causes of the situation they now find themselves in.  They only know that something is terribly wrong when they themselves have to work two or three jobs, if they can find them; and then have to watch their children and grandchildren leave the area to find work for themselves.  So in the end, the people I had opportunity to speak with at length agreed that something has to change drastically to shift the direction in which the County, Village and nation are headed; but when presented the opportunity to initiate such change at a basic and local level, feared provoking the very government that needs to change.  

No one can accurately predict life's events, the effects of this singular one will change the lives of several people I can think of immediately, and already has...

This will not change the mission of our Tea Party in any way however, merely its focus...there is much to do in Kalkaska to restore the County's government to the control of the people living here, and we will continue to pursue this goal...

This is not the outcome any of us wanted to see, as we were approaching our goal of petition signatures to have the issue placed before the people on the May ballot...

By Tom Backers
October 30th, 2011

    Having come this far in efforts by the residents of Kalkaska County to wrest control back from the "Ma and Pa Kettle" politics of generations here, I can no longer remain silent in my personal view of the situation, its history, and its eventual outcome. The attempted recall of the County Prosecutor is just the beginning of this effort to restore open government to one of the worst run counties in the State of Michigan. For the first time in a half dozen attempts, the recall petition has been approved for the `point man' of a consortium consisting of the Prosecutor, Sheriff's department, and the County Courts that has controlled the residents and businesses of the County by coercion and intimidation for decades.

Though Kalkaska county prosecutor Brian Donnelly's efforts at recalling at least three county commissioners may not be over, it appears he has (his allies attempting the recall) failed initially to clarify the language to the satisfaction of the elections board.  In a turnaround however, the prosecutor himself appears to be the only one out of the process who may have to defend his job.

From a press release:

Kalkaska, Michigan
October 11th, 2011

Today the Kalkaska County Election Commission denied approval for clarity for recall petitions against three District Commissioners. Additionally, wording was approved for the petition to recall County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Donnelly. The Election Commission found the petitions for the recall of the Commissioners too lengthy, non-specific in facts, dates and locations; among other issues. The votes on all petitions were unanimous.

With the approval of the recall wording for Donnelly, the petitioners now have until the November 15th deadline to submit the required number of valid signatures, approximately 1600, to place the recall on the February ballot. According to Michigan law MCL-168, petitions will be made available after 10 days if no appeal is filed, leaving signature collectors only 25 days to gather the required number. It is not known if the petitions against the District Commissioners will be amended and refiled.

The last election has had its consequences not only of statewide or national significance, but also in local areas as well. In Northern Michigan's Kalkaska county, we could have up to 5 casualties, as a shoot out in the OK Corral begins.

Four newly elected county commissioners, Stuart McKinnon, Dave Ritter, Tony Martini and the Chair, Mike Cox (all Republican) are being recalled by the Kalkaska Democrat party efforts and with active assistance from the local prosecutor, Brian Donnelly, a [Democrat] as well.  The recall effort has apparently been spawned by the prosecutor's objections to the commission's refusal to reinstate funding to his department.  The funding cuts had been made by the prior county board's actions.  It is also presumed to be payback for an attempt to have an outside consultant look at the prosecutor's office as well as other county operations by the 'Axe Man':

The board voted to retain the services of attorney John Axe of Axe and Ecklund, PC, to provide consulting services to the county for a cost not to exceed $9,375.

Said services are intended to "permit the county to operate on a balanced budget in the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2012," as stated in the firm's contract with county.

"They've spent $10,000 on somebody they refer to as the `Axe Man,'" Donnelly said. "He is supposedly doing a study for them on how big the (county) departments should be."

The remaining 15 minutes here.

This video is part one of 30 minutes total.  It will give you a pretty good idea about the man who would like to unseat Debbie Stabenow in 2012.  To face her he will have to first defeat those on the list of the ever growing field of Republican primary contenders.  Given his message, it could be doable.

Not a note card on his person.  Speech straight out.