Tag: Melanie Kurdys

The result of Saturday's Michigan Republican convention was very conservative, and very consistent with tea party and traditional values that have been notably lacking in recent years.  Add to this a solid backing (almost purposefully noticeable) of candidate Kerry Bentivolio in the 11th district, and it should be clear that some folks are starting to pay attention to the grassroots.  And those grassroots are now becoming more fully vested in the party, and changing from within.

The slate?

Michigan Supreme Court Justice:
Stephen J Markman - Incumbent
Brian Zahra - partial term incumbent
Colleen O'Brien - new nomination

State Board of Education
Todd Courser - New
Melanie Kurdys - New

MSU Trustee
Melanie Foster - Incumbent
Jeff Sakwa - New

U of M Regent
Dr. Rob Steele - New
Dan Horning - New

Wayne State University Board of Governors
Michael J. Busuito
Satish B. Jasti

The Michigan Supreme Court pick was an interesting one for a number of reasons.  We have seen much of the criticism of either O'Brien or Markey on RightMichigan.com, and frankly it was undeserved.  Both candidates represented a conservative rule of law perspective and the nomination of Colleen O'Brien should not disappoint anyone.  I tried to refrain from affecting the discussion and was particularly neutral and trying to look at qualifications and overall perspective.

I carried that neutrality into the convention and had no reason to specifically support either candidate, and was not worried about the outcome other than a bit of a nasty back and forth with passed out literature left in the seats for attendees.  There were good people I knew supporting either candidate.  After listening to both candidates in caucus, re-looking at notes, talking to friends who supported either candidate, reviewing caseload, history, etc., my decision to support a single candidate started to develop.  I even spent 20-25 minutes speaking with justice Stephen Markman.

Saturday Morning found me leaning Jane Markey.

Kurdys and Hollenbeck for Portage School Board

Kurdys got involved in education issues as a concerned parent in the Portage Public Schools in Kalamazoo County.  She ran for school board in 2007 and won.  She started asking questions about the conduct of Superintendent Marcia Wells.  Kurdys was initially alone in criticizing Wells, and the other members of the board were critical of her persistence. But as the composition of the board changed, Kurdys won over those who had initially been hostile or skeptical.

So why did Wells deserve to be fired? It has become clear that she is an autocrat who opposed any transparency or accountability for her actions. In particular, the board directed her to provide information on administrator contracts, and she outright refused to comply with that policy. She should have been fired right there. No further argument about Wells' conduct is necessary.

There was more, though. Wells made false allegations against the then-president of the board, Dale Posthumus, that led him to resign in disgust. She chose to hold a performance review in public, hoping to intimidate the board into not airing criticism in public. (This backfired.)  The board finally forced Wells to resign in 2011.

In the 2011 election Kurdys and another critic of Wells lost to supporters of Wells.  Though this result was disappointing, it shows that Kurdys is willing to stand for principle even when it costs her politically.

In her race for the state Board of Education, Kurdys has emphasized opposition to the Common Core standards that would nationalize school curricula.

Kurdys is a strong conservative Republican active in the Tea Party movement.  She is not afraid to endorse conservative challengers over moderate incumbents.  She deserves the support of Republican delegates.