Opponent again refuses to state his position and views on the issues

Here’s just one more example of our opponent’s arrogance, disrespect for the voters and a vivid example of his belief that he already has the election in the bag so why bother to let people know what his views are.

The latest group he chose to blow off is the AARP. The AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over, and with more than 35 million members it is the largest organization of its kind in the country. One of its many missions is informing members and the public on issues important to this age group, and because it has so many members it carries significant clout.. However, not enough clout that our opponent thought it important enough to answer their questionnaire. He has staff paid for by the taxpayers that could do that for him, but this is just one more example of Mr. Ward taking this election and the voters for granted.

You can click on the headline above and read Mike’s position and AARP’s position on selected issues from electric rates to pprescription drug affordability.

It’s time to send Mr. Ward a message to remind him who he represents. It’s time for a change in Lansing, and the time is just one week away.

McGonegal supports accountability and transparency in government

This is a candidate questionnaire circulated by the Michigan Press Association (MPA) and posted on their web site at www.michiganpress.org. The MPA is the official trade association for the daily and weekly newspapers of Michigan. As you can see from Mike’s responses, he supports transparency, openness and accountability from all levels of government.
You can click on the headline above and go directly to the responses of all the candidates from U.S. Congress to the Michigan House. However, you will not find our opponent’s responses. Either he does not support openness in government – and his record reflects that possibility – or he was too busy to respond, even though the House has not been in session since Sept. 21 and not at all in the summer.

District 66
Mike McGonegal

Can you explain in 100 words or less why you think the Freedom of Information Act is important to the citizens of Michigan?
At a time when trust in government is at an all time low, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) flings open the doors of secrecy and reveals to citizens the inner workings of government. In the past, government drew the curtain of secrecy around corrupt politicians, and the FOIA restores some faith in government. For those who have the public’s interest at heart it reveals their true character, and for those that do not it holds them accountable.

In the current legislative session, there is a bill that would protect statements given by a police officer from public disclosure. Do you feel that police officers should have special rights above and beyond those of other public employees?
I would not support SB 647 or HB5414. As a former law enforcement officer, I think officers should be held to a higher standard not a lesser one. Sunshine laws have opened government up to the very people it was created for, and I would resist any attempt to shove it back into the darkness. Far too often, any excuse for keeping information from the public is abused, and it is often used to hide misconduct and questionable activity.

Do you think the current requirement regarding posting public notices in newspapers is important? I can think of no other means of economically or conveniently getting essential public information to the public and those that need the information. Newspapers have filled the role of informing the public and encouraging commerce for more than 200 years and despite the technology advances newspapers will continue to fill that role for many more years to come. I will resist any move to change that long-held tradition and public service.

If elected, would you be supportive of the Freedom of Information Act?
I firmly believe the public’s business should be conducted in full view of that public in the open sunlight, and I will resist any effort to do otherwise. Both FOIA and the (Open Meetings Act) OMA have made government transparent and accessible, and any move to shut it back behind closed doors into the smoky back rooms creates even more suspicion of government than there already exists. If anything, I want to make less exceptions to the OMA because I believe it is abused by some local government bodies.

Watch Mike win the lone debate on rebroadcasts

You will have at least 15 opportunities before Election Day to see and hear Mike defeat our opponent in the only debate between the two candidates when Comcast rebroadcasts the debate sponsored by the Pres & Argus that originally took place on Oct. 9. The debate will air on Comcast Cable channel 17.

The air times are as follows today, Sunday Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 30 at 1 and 9 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.; Wednesday,, Nov. 1 at 1 and 9 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 2 at 9 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 3 at 9 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2 and 4 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and Monday, Nov. 6 at 1 and 9 p.m.

Mike was the clear winner of the lone debate, and we want you to see why. Unfortunately, it will be the only debate between the two, despite an open challenge by Mike to hold one anywhere at anytime.

McGonegal campaigns for Michigan House seat

This story appeared in the Thursday edition of the Milford Times, a Gannett weekly newspaper that covers Oakland County’s Huron Valley, a small part of the 66th District thanks to gerrymandering.
The story brings out Mike’s most important issue, jobs, and the No.1 job killer in the state and nation, the high cost of health care. Mr. Ward uses the same old disproved idea that cutting taxes for the rich will create jobs. Study after study has shown that to be false, but that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

By Aileen Wingblad
STAFF WRITER

Democratic challenger Mike McGonegal is squaring off with two-term incumbent Republican Chris Ward for office of state representative for the 66th district.
The race is a first for McGonegal, a Green Oak Township resident, though he admits that for years he's considered running for political office. "People have asked me to run for things in the past, but I just didn't have the time, " he said. "Now, I do. And I'm not happy with the way things are going."
Ward, a Brighton Township resident, is majority floor leader who is seeking his final term allowed as state representative. "I feel very good about another term — the opportunity to finish my work," he said.
Mike McGonegal
Michigan's high unemployment rate is the key issue McGonegal said he will address if elected to office.
And doing so, he said, will require the state legislature to ensure education is adequately funded and to make affordable health care available to everyone.
"How do we get jobs in here? We make sure we have a priority in education," McGonegal said. "A better educated work force will attract new types of business. That's the magnet to get jobs back to Michigan — nonexportable jobs."
Along with getting new companies to the state, it's also vital to support those that are already here, McGonegal added. And that will entail a long, hard look at the accessibility of health care, he said.
"The automobile jobs, the durable goods manufacturers and the machine tool industries have left because of escalating costs of health care. Other countries help their businesses with that cost, but we don't help ours."
McGonegal noted that he was not in favor of the recent repealing of the single business tax, calling it an "irresponsible" move that ultimately lowered the state's bond rating. This is deterring businesses from investing and relocating to Michigan, he said. Yet he stops short of placing too much blame on the legislature's eliminating the SBT.
"What's it's really about is we haven't adjusted to the global economy. It has a lot more to do with the decisions of the auto industry — and those came from health care costs spiraling out of control," he said.
The answers are out there, he said. "We don't have to reinvent the wheel. All we have to do is look at how other states and other countries are addressing health care and learn from their mistakes," he said. "It has to be at the state level and the federal level, because the bigger the pool, the lower the cost."
McGonegal added that if voters send him to Lansing, his extensive background in business will be particularly beneficial to his constituents. He has spent most of his career in industrial sales. He also has five years in law enforcement.
"I know what the issue is: It's jobs it's jobs, it's jobs," he said. "I've been a businessman and I know that this isn't about a particular tax or what the Republicans did or didn't do, or what the Democrats did or didn't do.
"What we need to do is invest in the right stuff — and know that things aren't going to be easy in Michigan for a long time."
McGonegal, 57, moved to Michigan from Ohio 12 years ago. He's married and the father of four.
And though he knows the state representative race will be a tough one, he said he's up to the challenge.
"It's going to be an uphill battle," he said. "But I believe people are ready for a change."

Chris Ward
There's no hesitation for Ward when asked to name the major issue facing the state legislature — and its residents.
"Definitely, it's the economy. Every priority right now is on turning around our economy, reducing the unemployment rate and beginning to stop the rapid downfall," Ward said.
And Ward is ready with plans to do just that. "We need to reform the business tax structure. We've already started that by ending the single business tax, and I've introduced a bill for a gross receipt tax," he said.
He is proud of the work he's done so far as a state representative and is looking forward to two more years. "Hopefully, I'll have the chance to serve again," Ward said. "It's really quite an honor."
Ward, 32, is the father of three. He's currently separated from his wife.

DFP editorial catches on to opponent’s divisive scare tactics

An editorial today in the Detroit Free Press catches on to what our opponents has tried to do in the past by playing the race card and playing suburban Livingston County schools against urban Detroit Public Schools.

“Earlier, an independent committee with conservative Republican ties bought misleading newspaper ads claiming four incumbent Democrats supported "extra funding" for Detroit Public Schools. In fact, the "extra funding" was part of basic school aid bills that passed the Legislature with near-unanimous votes.”

You can see our response called “Ward again forgets his party controls the House and blames Detroit for Problems” first posted here on Sept. 26. It was a response to a story where Mr. Ward plays the race card and used the old standby divisive issue and scare tactic of playing suburban Livingston County Schools against urban Detroit Public Schools.

This editoral also answers his recent press release touting his acceptance of the “Make a Difference Award” from the Huron Valley Schools Board of Education.

The editorial concludes by saying if his party “…are really serious about building bridges, they should stop others in the party from burning them.” It’s a little too late, and Mr. Ward has spent the last four years blazing bridges. Our opponent has so soured the atmosphere between the two parties that there is no cooperation between the two parties and no real legislation that benefits the entire state is getting done.

Check out one of the candidates in the 66th District House Race on Project Vote Smart

It’s getting harder and harder to find groups out there who will help voters wade through all of the claims made by politicians and special interests groups that don’t have a partisan agenda. Perhaps the most well known is the League of Woman Voters, and their goal simply to increase voter turnout with well-informed voters.

Another non-partisan group doing a wonderful job helping voters make informed decisions at the polls is called Project Vote Smart. The goal is the same as the LWV, but it digs a lot deeper. Thousands of citizens - conservative and liberal alike- working together, spending endless hours researching the backgrounds and records of thousands of political candidates and elected officials to discover their voting records, campaign contributions, public statements, biographical data -including their work history - and evaluations of them generated by over 100 competing special interest groups.

Like the LWV, Project Vote Smart also wants to hear from the candidates. You can check out the link by clicking the title and see Mike’s response. Unfortunately you will not see our opponent’s responses. Instead you will find this blurb.

“Representative Chris Ward repeatedly refused to provide any responses to citizens on issues through the 2006 National Political Awareness Test when asked to do so by leaders of both major parties including: John McCain, Republican Senator, “even though Ward is one of the Michigan legislative co-chairs of his Presidential campaign.

Mike is clearly the best candidate in side-by-side comparison

We have offered you plenty of instances of where Mike stands on the issues and other reasons to vote for him, and we have also provided more than enough – far too many actually – examples of our opponent’s so-called “missteps” and his ethically challenged record on why he should not be retuned to Lansing. Here is one more example of why you should vote for Mike. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two candidates from the Gannett voter’s guide, the mega-chain that owns USA Today, the Press & Argus and the Detroit Free Press. I hope this was not what the Press & Argus based its endorsement on instead of the traditional one-on-one endorsement interview. If that’s the case then I am even more shocked.

Mike said he generally favors it, but he does not want to link increases to the rate of inflation or link it to anything. He does not support the ballot issue in its present form, but he strongly supports public education. As he has said before, education will be the magnet that attracts and retains high-paying, high-tech and non-exportable jobs to Michigan.

Here’s a link. http://www.vgt2004.org/a-mi-gannett/compare-candidates.go?choice1=4600415&choice2=4600414&x=47&y=11

Newspaper reports Mike is winning at online poll

It’s hard to find polling data for Mike McGonegal’s race, but the only one we can find has him a clear winner over his opponent 53-42 percent, with 91 votes to 73. The data appeared in the Daily Press & Argus today, and it comes from a blog called the “Republican Michigander” ran by Dan Wholihan, a member of the Livingston County Republican Party’s executive committee. Granted, online polling is suspect, but getting those kind of results from a pro-GOP site gives us some hope. The polls have been up for more than two months; going up shortly after the August Primary Election.

I was once a regular poster there, but the quality has fallen off significantly at a time when political news is at it’s highest ever, even approaching saturation. When I pointed out the results of another poll there that did not go the way he wanted it for a candidate he favored he accused me of getting people to come to his blog and encouraging them to vote to skew the vote total. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I have never nor would I ever recommend that particular blog to anyone. The only poll or election I’m encouraging people to vote for Mike at is the on one being held on Nov. 7.

There are a lot of good blogs out there, but that is not one of them.

If one believes in the veracity of online polling, the current standings for Livingston County on the Republican Michigander blog site show a sea change in Livingston County's political landscape, should they stand up to the test of Election Day.
Democratic challengers are also beating state Reps. Joe Hune, R-Hamburg Township, and Chris Ward, R-Brighton Township, in the Republican Michigander's online polling. Challenger Mary Andersson is whooping Hune, 57 percent to 39 percent, and Michael McGonegal is beating Ward, 53 percent to 43 percent.
The Buzz is taking it all with a grain of salt, keeping in mind that the polling the Republican Michigander did during the August primary was less than accurate after all the votes were counted.

A blast from the not-so-distant-past: Ward’s $5.5 million gift to a developer from the taxpayers

This is from today’s Daily Press & Argus. To answer the question in the lead, “Would the dual roundabout at Lee Road and U.S. 23 have looked any different if a tax-capturing downtown development authority would have been approved for the area, providing more money for the reconfiguration of the interchange? “

I don’t know. However, what I do know is that it would have cost you and I, the taxpayers, $5.5 million. It’s time Mr. Ward stopped representing rich developers like Wixom-based Quadrants and started representing the 66th District.

The DDA law was established in 1975 to halt the decline of property tax values and deterioration in downtowns. It was also intended to give downtowns a weapon to fight huge shopping malls, like the $100 million Village Place Mall, that were just coming on line in 1975 that had uniform hours, lots of free parking and everything within walking distance. In other words, the law was made to combat the very thing Mr. Ward wanted to pervert the law to benefit.

In 2004 Mr. Ward changed the law – for just one person mind you – that allowed a DDA to expand its boundaries if it was a $100 million project and it did away with the requirement that the property had to have declining property values.

The end result would have been a 20-year bond would have been sold, and the rest of the $5.5 million – not including interest – would have been paid for by the taxpayers.
Only when Brighton City officials found out about the stealth amendment and complained and after the resulting bad publicity did he changed the law back.

When was the last time you had the opportunity to talk to a legislator one-on-one let alone get one to pass a law just for you that would have gotten the taxpayers to help for your project out to the tune of $5.5 million? I’m guessing never.

Mike Craine said 17 other highway interchanges in this county do not work as they should. Why aren’t these getting any money and this one would have?

These are the so-called “missteps” the newspaper skips over. Good job here by Dan Meisler. Mr. Ward’s supporters do not want you to remember these $5.5 million missteps. They will again, cry that we are using dirty politics and personally attacking Mr. Ward because they want voters to forget these missteps. And again I challenge them to show a personnel attack and to refute what has been written on this blog.

I’m still waiting.

Would the dual roundabout at Lee Road and U.S. 23 have looked any different if a tax-capturing downtown development authority would have been approved for the area, providing more money for the reconfiguration of the interchange?
The issue has come up in the campaign between Republican incumbent state Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton Township, and Democratic challenger Mike McGonegal of Green Oak Township, but there's no clear answer to how the hypothetical DDA-funded interchange would have looked.
Bill Clark — CEO of Quadrants Inc., the developer of the nearby Green Oak Village Place mall and funder of the road upgrades — said a new off-ramp from northbound U.S. 23 would have been built, and the two roundabouts on the west side of the highway would have been farther apart.
Mike Craine, managing director of the Road Commission, said there may have been enough money to widen the bridge taking Lee Road over U.S. 23, which is potentially a bottleneck point.
Regardless, McGonegal is sticking with his criticism of Ward for pushing through a bill to allow the DDA, and then getting other legislation passed nullifying the original bill once the Livingston County Board of Commissioners nixed the DDA.
McGonegal said Ward used "surreptitious, stealthy and sneaky" methods to get the original bill through, and that it would have cost the county and townships a lot of revenue that is used for police and fire services.
"It was put in there in kind of a way that nobody would be able to know what was going on. That's what a lot of people were angry about," McGonegal said. "It was not a small amount of money. That would have been a lot of money for a lot of years that would not have been available to the township or county."
But Ward said the extramoney — over and above the $6 million Quadrants spent — would have allowed a "full interchange" to be built.
Does he still think that would have been a good idea?
"Absolutely," Ward said. "If the county commissioners had decided to move forward with it, there would have been additional money available to create a better interchange there."
As it is, the roundabouts are very close together, making for tougher navigation; and the original off-ramp is still there, which takes motorists in a 180-degree loop into the interchange instead of going straight in as the new one would have.
Clark said the additional work on the off-ramp and roundabouts would have cost about $2 million more.
Ward said one of the reasons he rewrote the statute with the second bill was to ease tensions between the city of Brighton and Green Oak Township.
"One of the things I felt bad about at the time was the bad feeling between the township and the city," he said.
But he added that he would have kept the language intact had the Livingston County Board of Commissioners approved the DDA.
McGonegal said the episode is one of several times Ward has tried to sneak bills through, and then reversed himself. McGonegal cited a bill allowing a land swap at the Island Lake State Recreation Area as another example.
"He's got a history of doing this," McGonegal said. "It's a pattern of this stuff."
Ward said he was led to believe that the county board would approve the DDA, and that's why he introduced the original bill in the first place.

Come out tonight and hear Mike speak at the VFW forum

Come out tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. and hear Mike speak at a candidate forum sponsored by Fowlervillve VFW Post 6464 and the Ladies Auxiliary at the VFW Hall, 215 Veterans Drive in the Village of Fowlerville. The forum is billed as for all candidates seeking office in Livingston County, so we don’t know if our opponent will be there. We certainly hope so. Mike plans to take few hours off from door knocking to bring his message to a larger audience.

We are looking for opportunities to talk to larger number of voters, such as house parties, service club meetings or any gathering of people. We hope to engage our opponent in more than just the one debate. We need all the help we can get to get our message out.

The listeners of WHMI-Radio heard an excellent piece on Mike yesterday. WHMI followed Mike and Jim Marcinkowski, the candidate for the U.S. House for the 8th District, as they knocked on doors in Brighton. We would like to take this opportunity to thank WHMI News Director Jon King and reporter Jessica Matthews for their great continued and sustained coverage of the campaign. They are taking very seriously the traditional role of the media in informing the public about the issues and the candidates.

Editor explains why endorsement was not based on endorsement interview

Rich Perlberg, Executive Editor of the Livingston County Daily Press, was kind enough to answer my question on the endorsement of our opponent, such as what is this endorsement based this on and why you stopped doing endorsement interviews? He answered the first question, but did not answer the second one.

Just about every candidate from school board to U.S. Congress sits down for an endorsement interview, and certainly one as important as State Representative warrants one. The public thinks these endorsements are based on due diligence and research, but this proves it carries no weight and is meaningless. We felt we had little chance of getting the endorsement based on the make-up of the editorial board. But we expected the chance to make our best case that everyone before us had for many years, and like this entire election we are not conceding anything. Mr. Perlberg said they based the endorsement on mystery positions the paper has taken in the past. That is the very definition of bias.

I find it telling that for months we have seen constant TV commercials, news stories, and three televised debates from the two candidates for governor, yet the Lansing State Journal sat down with both candidates individually before it makes an endorsement. It was also televised on MGTV, and here’s a link. http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=video.

What did the LSJ Editorial Board expect to learn from the two candidates they didn’t already know? Why didn’t they just take the Press & Argus’s position? Yet Mr. Perlberg says he knows everything about Mike from the blog and one story in this newspaper. I beg to differ, and he knows nothing about Mike’s real-world private sector experience and personal integrity.

We also oppose Proposal 5 at this point. If you will recall at the debate, Mike said he generally favored it, but he does not want to link increases to the rate of inflation or link it to anything. He does not support the ballot issue in its present form, but he strongly supports public education. As he has said before, education will be the magnet that attracts and retains high-paying, high-tech and non-exportable jobs to Michigan. You would have found that out with the standard endorsement interview.

I have no idea where you got the mistaken idea that Mike “criticizes Mr. Ward for not doing more to close the school funding gap.” It did not come from this campaign. You may be referring to our blog entry where Mr. Ward was given the platform in your newspaper to falsely claim that Detroit schools are getting the money that should go to Livingston County schools. That tired, old trick of blaming Detroit has been played by suburban lawmakers for years, and it’s disingenuous by Ward at best. His party controls the House and he controls what the full House membership considers. How can he blame anyone else for not getting something passed when his party controls the House? But, he continues to do so. The money was set aside for all school districts that experienced student loss, and that’s the majority of schools in Michigan, except a few districts like in Livingston County. Student count has become extremely critical under Proposal A, and what happened in Hartland a few years really illustrates how damaging just miscalculating that number of students can be. After hiring a professional firm to estimate the number of new students expected the count was way off, forcing them to cut money from the budget after school had already started. Can you imagine the problems with just losing a few students?

I fail to understand how Oakland County legislators, which Ward is among, can block anything. There are 110 Representatives, and only 14, including Ward, are from Oakland County. Of those the majority, nine, are Republicans and five are Democrats. How can they block anything?

It seems to me that if you’re going to stick your neck out and make an endorsement and expect it to mean something you should do it properly. The newspaper provides a much-needed public service, and it’s a community treasure. However, you failed to uphold that tradition in this situation.


Fair question, guru. We do endorsement interviews when we need to know more about candidates or if we need to further delve into positions if it becomes difficult to make an endorsement. Sometimes they double as interviews for reporters doing stories. Mr. McGonegal appears to be a fine candidate, but his positions on issues differ significantly with this paper's past editorial positions. We have followed Mr. McGonegal through his campaign, his press releases, his web site, his answers to our web site questionnaire and his appearance at our candidate forum. You disagree, of course, but we are continually impressed with Mr. Ward's knowledge and skill in Lansing, even though we don't always agree with him. Our endorsements for office should coincide with our editorial stances on key issues. In that regard, we have consistently taken the position that Michigan must take control of the increasing costs of teacher health care and retirement issues. We also stand firmly opposed to Proposal 5, the K-16 proposal. We also have said that the state must correct the inequities in school funding that hurt our schools. In that regard, Mr. Ward's positions and actions are closer to our positions than is Mr. McGonegal. Mr. McGonegal, by the way, somehow criticizes Mr. Ward for not doing more to cose the school funding gap. That either shows a lack of understanding of the issue or is purposely misleading. Mr. Ward has worked hard to increase the county's funding but has been blocked by two strong opponents: Those lawmakers (of both parties) in districts (such as in Oakland County) that benefit from the inequities; and Gov. Granholm who directs school funds toward Detroit (a defensible position, by the way, but not one that helps our schools). Mr. McGonegal appears to be a fine candidate. But we don't think he is the better of the two candidates. Unless he was going to recant most of his basic positions, I'm not sure how an endorsement interview would change that.

Newspaper does away with traditional endorsement interview for Ward endorsement

Congratulations go out to Mr. Ward for gaining the endorsement of the Daily Press & Argus. But the one question we have is how did he get that endorsement?

We were shocked when we picked up the newspaper today, then turned to the opinion page and saw the endorsement. We are still waiting for the call from editors to set up the endorsement interview with the editorial board. How does the newspaper conduct its endorsement interviews now? By osmosis?

Every reputable newspaper in America actually sits down with the candidates, at least the local candidates that live in the newspaper’s circulation area, and the editorial board interviews each individual candidate before it makes a decision. The Press & Argus did that, at least until today. You can actually watch the Lansing State Journal’s editorial board interview the candidates for Michigan governor on Michigan Government TV.

When people read these endorsements they believe the newspaper actually interviews the candidates, examines their record and looks at past performance. I have no idea what this endorsement was based on, and I would like to hear the explanation on why it went away from years of newspaper tradition and practice and based an endorsement on, what? Maybe it can tell us in the political notebook because that's the only place we seem to get any mention.

We knew we faced an uphill battle when the wife of the executive editor/general manger contributed to the Ward campaign, and another member was a conservative Republican candidate for the House in 2002, but we mistakenly thought we would at least be treated fairly. Or even that the newspaper would go through the motions to keep up appearances.

When we actually break down what was written in the endorsement it raises more questions than it answers. It talks about Mr. Ward being elected to the Brighton Township Board as a teenager. Great. In this economy what we really need is someone with some real experiences to address our structural economic problems. Someone like Mike McGonegal who has almost 30 years of actual business experience instead of someone who has never worked in the private sector.

Perhaps the only thing I agree with in the editorial is when it says, “Ward is an enthusiastic student of politics.” He has proven that he can play politics, but our problems are far tool serious to continue to play politics. We need someone who can work with both sides of the aisle and has the experiences to work with both business and government to address Michigan’s problems. Ward does not have those qualifications.

It’s funny that the paper has to go all the way back to his days on the Brighton Township Board to say something positive about him. Doers anyone remember the problems with the sanitary sewer system he left behind? In 2000 quarterly rates increased five-fold and again in 2002 an auditor recommended doubling them again.

If Ward gained “additional revenue for Livingston County's under-funded public schools and roads” I’d like to see it. It took the new Governor to get money to the county for the fix of the dangerous Lake Chemung interchange.

Show me one piece of “effective ethics and campaign finance reform laws” that he has passed into law. He has got some alleged campaign finance legislation passed by the House, but he knows the Senate will not approve it. How hard is it to get legislation passed when your party controls the House? To top if off, Rich Robinson, of the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said in this very newspaper that the legislation favored his party. So that blows away the ridiculous claim that he “willing to work constructively with legislators on both sides of the aisle.”

The exact opposite is true, and we have shown numerous examples of how he has poisoned the atmosphere between the two parties by doing away with simple courtesies like giving the other side the daily schedule and trying to throw a priest out of a hearing for daring to disagree with him.

The newspaper also calls borderline bribery, cronyism, favoritism and violating the very rules you say you’re trying to establish “a few Ward missteps.” That’s ridiculous. A former member of that editorial board, Jack Lessenberry, the former Executive Editor of Hometown Communications that included the Press & Argus before the paper was sold, said this about Ward’s “effective ethics and campaign finance reform laws,”

“That is the moral equivalent of Monica Lewinsky opening a charter school of chastity. If Chris were in another occupation, he might have a mattress strapped to his back. Here’s all you need to know about him. Michigan had a law for years saying that you couldn’t order a bottle of wine from a winery in, say, Napa Valley. The middlemen and their lobbyists were behind that. Outraged, some wine connoisseurs took that all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that Michigan couldn’t discriminate that way. Good old Chris gallantly stepped into the breach — and introduced a bill that would have prevented you and me from buying a bottle of wine from a Michigan winery! That is, not without going through a wholesaler first. Fortunately, he didn’t get away with it.”

To say “He's a perfect example of why term limits, no matter how well-intended, were a bad idea” is really stretching it, and he’s a better example of why we enacted term limits in the first place. The only time politicians are really accountable at all is during elections, but Ward is so confident of victory that he has completely ignored the voters during this election and phoned it in, rarely showed up in the district because he believed people will just elect him without looking at his record, just like the newspaper did.

Ward, McGonegal square off in 66th

It was nice to finally get some coverage from the A2 News weekly covering Livingston County. I purposely cut out what Mr. Ward said in the article. He can start his own blog if he wants to post it, but we have provided a link if you want to read it uncut. It’s funny that Mr. Ward’s supporters keep trying to spin our pointing out Mr. Ward’s record and conduct as personal attacks. I have repeatedly challenged them to point one out, and I am still waiting. Here are Mike’s own words to the reporter regarding the story.

“Nice article, fair and balanced.
However, regarding the "onslaught of criticism" regarding press releases, please know that I have approved every press release and if we could have found stronger words we would have used them. We stand by them.
There are things we hear, that have nothing to do with issues, from people who work with him that I would call " harsh."That is what I was probably referring to. In our interview.”


BY CASEY HANS
News Staff Reporter
As two-term incumbent Rep. Chris Ward vies for re-election for his third and final term in the Michigan House of Representatives, he is challenged by Green Oak Democrat Mike McGonegal, who touts himself as a moderate who believes in a business model for government.
Both are doing door-to-door campaigning to find out what's on the minds of voters in the 66th District, which covers all of Green Oak, Brighton, Genoa, Marion and Oceola townships and the city of Brighton in Livingston County and Milford Township in Oakland County.
McGonegal once studied to be a priest, was a parole officer in Ohio, and has worked for most of his career as a manufacturing representative. He said he would bring his varied life experience to the job.
"Dad was a diehard Democrat, union guy. I was kind of the opposite,'' he said. "I've spent 30 years doing sales, so I'm sort of conservative because of the business I've been in. My philosophy is that I don't have a philosophy. I'm about as practical as they get.''
McGonegal said he is frustrated with the direction of the country and the state and wants to be an advocate for change. As someone working in the automotive sector, he started to see the state's problems coming several years ago. "I'm an industrial sales guy and I'm watching my state and my country be deindustrialized,'' he said. "That's a pretty strong thing. In my own way, I thought I can make a contribution.''
The changing economy is his biggest issue and he said if elected he will work to bring jobs back to the state and to diversify the business base. "There's a shift. This is not an ordinary downturn,'' he said. "People are scared out of their wits. People who have jobs are worried about losing them. Those at the state level need to take some action.''
Other key issues include working with the federal government to address the spiraling cost of health care, focusing on education funding, and getting and keeping good teachers to improve the education system. He also would get businesses involved in education so that they can bring ideas forward for what's needed in the future work force. "That's going to be a magnet that's going to draw companies and businesses to Michigan,'' he said.
Ward has faced an onslaught of criticism in press releases from McGonegal, who has used phrases such as "irresponsible,'' "sneak'' and "partisan politics at its worst'' to describe the incumbent. However, in person McGonegal said none of those things about his opponent and said he sometimes has to "hold back'' those involved with his campaign from being too harsh.
McGonegal said he hopes to do well Nov. 7. "I'm too old at 57 to go on a fool's errand. I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I could win.''

Newspaper praises campaign efficiency

It was nice to get some coverage for a change. I think what Dan should have said was that in all fairness Mike's portion of the debate ended at 7:30 p.m. I have no problem writing on a tight deadline.
The really disappointing thing is Dan ignored the substance of the press release, as well as the follow up one clearing up Mr. Ward's falsehoods in his closing statement. But we will give Dan the benefit of the doubt because we know this is his busy season.

And the winner is ... the quickest typist! (From Thursday's Press & Argus)
Before this reporter could even get back to his desk the night of the Daily Press & Argus' first election forum, one of the eight participants — Mike McGonegal — was already claiming victory.
"McGonegal wins first public debate with opponent," said the e-mail from his campaign, with a time stamp of 8:17 p.m. The event didn't end until 8:50 p.m., but, in fairness, McGonegal's portion started at 6:30 p.m.
"Rogers' Positive Accomplishments Dominate Forum," sent at 10:22 p.m., was the second press release to claim victory, and it was eerily similar to another press release from U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' campaign. That one was titled "Rogers to Highlight Bipartisan Record of Accomplishment," sent on Sunday.
As of press time, none of the remaining six candidates had claimed, although they clearly lost the press-release race.
— Compiled by Daily Press & Argus reporter Dan Meisler.

McGonegal sets the debate record straight

RIGHTON – Mike McGonegel, candidate for the Michigan House from the 66th District, issued the following points of clarification to closing remarks made by his opponent, Chris Ward, following Monday night’s candidate forum sponsored by the Livingston County League of Women Voters and the Daily Press & Argus

“Mr. Ward demonstrated his willingness to shamelessly mislead Livingston County voters while responding to accurate charges I have made regarding his record,” McGonegal said. “Mr. Ward avoided acknowledging the fact that he withdrew an amendment to an appropriations bill he wrote that would have arranged a sweetheart land swap for his contributor Mr. Earl LaFave. This was done without a public hearing, and when caught in the act Mr. Ward quickly withdrew his underhanded attempt to help a contributor."

McGonegal said Ward followed a similar method of operation to help a private developer by asking the public the foot the bill when he tried to get the state Legislature to usurp the self-governing rights of Livingston County with a bill that would have created a Downtown Development Authority in Green Oak Township where there is no downtown. He now claims this would have been preferable to the roundabouts the developer had to pay for.

He then claims he sponsored a bill that allows Michigan wine vineyards to ship directly to consumers, when the record clearly shows his original attempt was to force these same small business owners to only distribute their product through the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers, who were Mr. Ward's single largest campaign contributor in the previous cycle.

Finally, Mr. Ward takes credit for sponsoring legislation on ethics reform and school finance that he has previously acknowledged would stand no chance of being passed by the full legislature, a waste of the people’s time and resources.

Voters in the 66th District deserve a better standard of candor from their representative in Lansing.

After further review the call on the field stands

After further review from the replay officials in the booth and re-listening to the debate on WHMI in the harsh light of morning the ruling on the field stands. Mike McGonegal is still the clear winner of the debate Monday night sponsored by the Livingston County League of Women Voters and the Daily Press & Argus.

Perhaps one of the most amazing aspects of both this campaign and from last night’s debate was the accusation that we are running a dirty, attack campaign. I’m utterly amazed that simply pointing out an incumbent’s record and conduct while in office can possibly be called attacks. I challenge anyone to show where we have ever made a personal attack on Mr. Ward. If we are simply making these baseless attacks that Mr. Ward and his supporters allege then it should be simple enough to debunk them with a few simple facts, but that has not happened yet. We also challenged you to disprove anything we have posted, and that also has not yet happened.

We hear all about this mistrust of politicians, but then we are supposed to believe whatever Mr. Ward says with no skepticism, suspicion or even a deeper glance into what he says. That’s ridiculous. All we have ever done here is take a look behind the curtain, and because he doesn’t want anyone to take a close look at him, Mr. Ward says we are playing dirty politics, personally attacking him and falsely accusing us of calling him a racist. Of course he does not want voters to examine his record too closely because it’s a record of catering to special interests and wealthy contributors. How hard is it to get legislation passed when your party controls the House and Senate and you personally control what goes before the full House. Yet almost all of the bills he passed just served to keep him in power and does not benefit the residents of Michigan.

But back to the debate. Mike’s opening statement clearly laid out why a businessman of almost 30 years decided to take on an uphill battle and run for public office. Mr. Ward, a career politician who has never worked in the private sector since he was appointed as a township clerk, gave an opening statement that said absolutely nothing. He chose the tack that he has taken throughout the campaign, which is do nothing and play the voters of the 66th District as stupid who will simply return him to Lansing by voting straight party ticket despite his spotty record. His record is one of simply looking for the next more powerful political job.

For the first time Mr. Ward was asked what essential services will have to be cut from the state budget because of the cowardly and premature killing of the Single Business Tax and the $2 billon in lost revenue. This is an issue the Legislature has avoided talking about like the plague until after the Nov. 7 election, and Mr. Ward continued that trend by ducking the question. He did say, falsely, that the SBT is a “job-killer” despite nonpartisan studies that say otherwise. Mike talked about the real job killer, the high cost of health care. Companies are looking at locating to places where they have help with health care costs, such as GM’s recent decision to build the new Camero in Canada instead of here.

The closing arguments were also very telling. Mike pointed out Mr. Ward’s record of an attempted land giveaway to a big contributor, an attempt to bastardize the Downtown Development Authority Act to pay for road improvements for a developer by the taxpayers, an attempt to give his major contributor exclusive rights to distribute wine and a recent all-expenses paid trip when he says he’s trying to ban travel paid for by lobbyists.

Mr. Ward’s defense was flimsily, and at this point if there was any doubt who won the debate it was over by then. He pointed out a Detroit News poll that says people don’t like negative campaigning. But how can it be negative campaigning to point out an incumbent’s record? He made that ethically challenged record, and now he has to live with it. He defends his vacation trip by claiming some Democratic House members also do it, as well as the governor. The response to that is simple; Mike has never taken such a trip and he never will, and the governor brought jobs backs from her trips abroad. What did Mr. Ward bring back? A t-shirt?

His final parting shot was really telling. He said he has changed the way Lansing does business, and unfortunately that’s one of the few true things he did say all night. He has poisoned the atmosphere so much in Lansing that there is no compromise or cooperation between the two parties, and in a country founded and based on compromise to get the best possible product that’s not a good thing.

You can listen to the debate on the newspapers site at http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061010/NEWS01/610100310. Or at the radio station at http://www.whmi.com/mp3archives.php.

McGonegal wins first public debate with opponent:challenges Ward to further debates before Election Day

BRIGHTON – Mike McGonegal, candidate for the Michigan House from the 66th District, was the clear winner over his opponent Chris Ward in a public debate Monday night sponsored by the Livingston County League of Women Voters and the Daily Press & Argus.

“As a businessman for almost 30 years, I am accustomed to negotiating multimillion dollar contracts, so speaking in public is not something that makes me nervous; plus I had the issues on my side,” McGonegal. “My opponent was burdened with being on the wrong side of the issues and with the ethically-challenged record he must defend.”

McGonegal said he has tried to engage his opponent in other face-to-face public forums, like a forum at the Brighton Senior Center last month that his opponent failed to show up for. However, McGonegal said he would gladly participate in any and all of the candidate forums put on traditionally in the county, such as local service clubs, media outlets and local chambers of commerce. He is also challenging his opponent to a participate with him in as many forums as possible to give as many voters as possible an insight into their views and positions as this important Election Day fast approaches.

“I urge Mr. Ward to join with me in agreeing to a public forum or series of events in which voters can gain a solid understanding of our positions on critical issues regarding Michigan’s future,” he said. “I look forward to his reply and will make every effort necessary to accommodate his schedule.”

* * *

Come out and show your support for Mike

Mike will have his first opportunity tonight to confront Mr. Ward on his atrocious record and actions while in the House at a public forum sponsored by the Livingston County League of Women Voters and the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus at 6 p.m. at Howell High School. The doors open at 6 p.m., but the debate does not begin until 6:30 p.m. This will give you the opportunity to mingle and meet the candidates for the U.S. Congress, State Senate and for Livingston County’s other House seat in the 47th District.

Candidates set up tables to display their campaign literature in the spacious lobby of the high school auditorium, and it’s a very informative event.

I urge everyone to come out and cheer Mike on and show him our support.

See you there.

Ward lashes out with false accusation

Chris Ward again gets the facts wrong when he lashed out at us for bringing his hidden faults to the surface. In a story that aired on radio station WHMI today taking him to task for his all-expenses paid junket to Taiwan Mr. Ward made his false accusations. The reports said he’s frustrated with the alleged attacks.

He should be because he has no answer for them, and he’s saddled with his many missteps, questionable ethical lapses, and lousy record. He accused us of calling him a racist because of the Detroit school funding flap and his photo ID bill designed to keep voter turnout low and keep him in power. These are not personal attacks but simply pointing out his record and deplorable actions while in office.

Mr. Ward’s charge is simply false. See the post on 9/26 entitled “Ward again forgets his party controls the House and blames Detroit for problems.”

We accused him of playing the race card, and that’s a true statement we stand by. He twisted facts to try and say he proposed a budget line item for the state's 2007-2008 budget that would have gone toward increasing funding equity and more money would go to Livingston County schools that instead went to Detroit Schools. Also untrue, and typical of his divisive tactics of playing off the suburbs against Detroit to make himself look good.

The frustration comes because he has been called out on his twisting of the facts, and that’s a new phenomenon for Mr. Ward here in Livingston County.

As we have said before, we welcome Mr. Ward to refute anything that is written here. That has not happened. He can even do it anonymously.

I don’t know if Mr. Ward is “hiding cannibals and aliens in his basement.” I don’t even care, but what I do care about is he is not properly representing the people of the 66th District or trying to correct the problems facing our state and our residents.

McGonegal calls on Ward to come clean on junket(Correction)

BRIGHTON –A press release put out earlier today by Mike McGonegal, candidate for the 66th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, on banning lobbyist-paid junkets needs to be clarified.

The release said, “Currently, no legislation proposing a ban on lobbyist-paid travel is pending.” However, it has been discovered that House Bill 6017 sponsored by Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, would prohibit “a public officer from accepting a gift or reimbursement of out-of-state travel expenses from a person required to be registered as a lobbyist agent.” The Bill passed the House by a vote of 104-2 on Sept. 13, and it was referred to the Senate’s Committee on Government Operations. However, it will not be taken up until after the Nov. 7 election at the earliest.

McGonegal calls on Ward to come clean on junket

BRIGHTON – Mike McGonegal, candidate for the 66th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, said the voters deserve an explanation for why his opponent traveled to Taiwan at a foreign government’s expense when he says he wants to introduce legislation that would ban that very thing.

Last week, Gubernatorial Candidate Dick DeVos said in a story published in a Detroit newspaper he wants “Lansing legislators to follow his example and use their own dime, rather than lobbyist-paid junkets.” Chris Ward was quoted in the same story saying he has been trying to get “similar legislation in the House for years.” However, that does not ring true when his party controls the House; as the Majority Floor Leader he decides what’s considered on the floor and as the chair of the Committee on Oversight, Elections and Ethics he decides if it gets a hearing.

According to records filed with the Secretary of State's Office, lobbying firms and groups spent $27.9 million trying to influence lawmakers in 2005. Currently, no legislation proposing a ban on lobbyist-paid travel is pending. However, last October Rep. Steve Bieda, (D-Warren) introduced similar legislation that required elected officials to reveal the source of travel expenses, but it sits in Ward’s committee where he refuses to give it a hearing.

“This is typical of Mr. Ward saying one thing and doing another,” McGonegal said. “I know the people in the 66th District expect our government to be open and honest, and his record is anything but open and honest.”

Ward tried to justify his junket to Taiwan in August by saying it was ethical because the Chinese government does not lobby Michigan. Then Mr. Ward should tell the voters the real reason for the free travel.

“He needs to answer for his many ethical lapses, not just the latest one,” McGonegal said. “There is a pattern here, and right now we needs people in government that can restore trust and honesty in the government.”
* * *

Junket leads Ward to say do as I say not as I do

We have yet another example of the ethically challenged Chris Ward telling you to do as I say not as I do. It was revealed in the Sunday Daily Press & Argus that Mr. Ward took an all-expense paid trip to Taiwan in August.

This all came about after Dick Devos said in a newspaper article last week that he thinks government officials should not take trips paid for by lobbyists. See the link here, http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060927/NEWS06/609270314/1008.
Mr. Ward was also quoted in that article as saying he is trying to get legislation like that passed, but in reality he introduced it only so he can campaign as a reformer, knowing it has little chance of passing, even though his party controls both the House and Senate. In taking this vacation junket he’s doing exactly what he says he’s trying to ban. (See posts for 9/14, 9/5, 7/5 and 6/28).

This reminds me so much of the current scandal with U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned after it came out he was sending obscene e-mails to 16-year-old House Pages. Foley is the co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. He, like Mr. Ward, is trying to ban something he is guilty of. It makes you wonder if they are trying to draw suspicion away from themselves.

The funny part was not only was Ward quoted in the story, but so was the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, who have bankrolled Mr. Ward’s campaigns in exchange for him trying to sneak a bill by that would have required anyone who wants to order a bottle of wine in Michigan to go through them. That action led one veteran and respected journalist to say this about Mr. Ward’s alleged campaign finance reform:

“That is the moral equivalent of Monica Lewinsky opening a charter school of chastity. If Chris were in another occupation, he might have a mattress strapped to his back.”

Mr. Ward’s justification for taking the all-expenses paid vacation is absolutely ridiculous. He says Taiwan is a foreign government that does not lobby in Michigan or have lobbyists, so Mr. Ward says they cannot lobby him. He also claims, correctly, that the House does not set foreign policy. That raises the obvious question; then why the heck did you go at all? Did you bring back a commitment from a company to move to Michigan? No.

Taiwan is a province of Communist China, and don’t you think they have government officials whose only job is lobbying? They could even be called propagandists. For Mr. Ward to say the Chinese government does not lobby is ridiculous.

I guess we now know why Mr. Ward refused to support an amendment banning all foreign sources of contributions to political campaigns in Michigan last month (see our post of 9/18).

He claims a benefit of the trip is because there could be an opportunity to “…sell waste products from agriculture in Taiwan – animal organs, that is, that local ranchers might throw away but are considered delicacies in Taiwan.” I’m no farm expert, but I know of no “local ranchers” that slaughter their own herd and produce and package their own meat. Also, I don’t think slaughterhouses and packinghouses waste any part of the slaughtered animal.

State Rep. Chris Ward, not surprisingly, came out in favor of DeVos' ideas — how, then, did the Brighton Township Republican get a free trip to Taiwan in August?
Ward spent a week on the island off the coast of China, courtesy of the Taiwanese government.
He said a delegation of 12 state lawmakers, three each from Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, went on the trip, and visited business and government officials. Many expressed a desire to open up trade with the midwestern states, Ward said.
He didn't come home with any specific business deals, but said there is an opportunity to sell waste products from agriculture in Taiwan — animal organs, that is, that local ranchers might throw away but are considered delicacies in Taiwan. Ward forwarded that information to the state Department of Agriculture.
He also said Taiwan, like Michigan, is dealing with competition from China and trying to diversify its economy.
Is Ward contradicting himself by taking the free travel? No, he said, because the government of Taiwan doesn't lobby the Michigan Legislature, and the Legislature doesn't enact foreign policy.
"The line that's crossed is when it's a group that has the ability to lobby or impact public policy," Ward said. "We don't create foreign policy here in Michigan. I don't think there is an ethical problem whatsoever. If it was paid for by a group lobbying the Legislature, there would be a great deal of concern."
The other Michigan lawmakers on the trip were Republican Reps. Bruce Caswell of Hillsdale and Leon Drolet of Macomb Township.
Mike McGonegal, the Green Oak Township Democrat challenging Ward in November, questioned Ward's reasoning.
"This is the worst form of hypocrisy," McGonegal said. "No foreign government is going to pay for a junket without expecting something in return ... it doesn't pass the smell test."