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Posts Tagged ‘By Annette Kingsbury’
Group that sought to influence ’09 Hills election fined
Written by Annette Kingsbury
Wednesday, 03 August 2011 22:20
4 Comments

A group that mailed flyers to voters right before the 2009 Rochester Hills City Council election without registering as a campaign committee has been fined nearly $8,000 by the Michigan Department of State.

After a June 7 administrative hearing, Taxpayers for Accountability was found to be in violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. The law requires that anyone who spends more than $500 to influence an election must file paperwork as a campaign committee, including disclosure of donors. TFA never did so, registering instead with the IRS as a 527 group, which has different rules.

TFA’s attorney, Mike Bosnic, argued that the campaign literature was protected issues advocacy and therefore not covered by state law. The judge disagreed. The group now has 30 days to appeal or submit the required paperwork and pay the fine.

Rochester Hills resident Lorraine McGoldrick filed the complaint, pursuing it for two years as it made its way through the system. She said she was happy with the decision, if not the fine.

“It was what I was expecting from the merits of the case,” she said. “The late fines should have been closer to $18,000.” She said she expects TFA to appeal.

Bosnic, said the case is far from over.

“This is a four-quarter game. We’re probably in the first quarter,” he said. “It’s got to work its way up.” He said the appeal could be filed in circuit court in either Oakland or Ingham County. Because state law allows 60 days for the appeal to be filed, Bosnic said he may seek an injunction to avoid a conflict with the order to comply within 30 days.

TFA’s chief officer of record is Andy Porter. The mailing listed an Auburn Hills post-office box as the group’s address. The mailing targeted then-incumbent city councilmen Erik Ambrozaitis and James Rosen, calling them “the No Slate,” including their photos and saying “Say no to the No Slate.”

The judge found that the wording crossed the line by advocating the defeat of specific, clearly identified candidates. By doing that, the judge ruled, TFA became a campaign committee. The flyers cost $3,888.

Ambrozaitis was defeated in the 2009 election, losing his seat on council. On Monday, voters chose him to run against Mayor Bryan Barnett in this year’s general election. Rosen retained his seat and remains on council.

McGoldrick, who once ran for city council, said she pursued the complaint because “I’m an advocate. I’m comfortable as a citizen that people follow the rules. When I ran for office, I read those rules. … When that flyer was sent out, I knew it was wrong. … People shouldn’t get away with that kind of tactic, which hurts fairness in the community.”

McGoldrick originally took her complaint to then-Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson. By the time of the hearing, Johnson had been elected Secretary of State. Bosnic tried to compel her to testify at the hearing, but she declined. He said that’s still an issue for him.

“We’re still within the purview of the Secretary of State; that was one of my issues,” he said. “I don’t want to cast aspersions on anyone. … The approach the Secretary of State has taken with this case is far different than the approach they’ve taken in any other case. So draw your own conclusions.”

McGoldrick called the focus on Johnson “ridiculous.” “I have every right to visit my elected official,” she said. “This went through two Secretaries of State, not just one. So you can’t blame Ruth without blaming (her predecessor) Terri Lynn Land.”

McGoldrick said she’s hoping the case has a positive effect on this year’s election.

“If we don’t have a negative flyer going out to candidates that aren’t part of slate politics in Rochester Hills, I’ve had a huge personal victory,” she said. But she won’t be satisfied until the donors behind the flyers are put on the record. Her attempts to get the IRS to follow up have so far been unsuccessful.

“We may never know; that’s my biggest fear,” she said. “My biggest hope is that it stops happening. I was hoping to prove to our citizenship that the complaint process works. …

“The voter does not understand our personal responsibility to monitor and gate-keep elections.”

By ANNETTE KINGSBURY

Rochester Media

 
Cement plant gone, South Street ready for its encore
Written by Annette Kingsbury
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 22:06
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Things are changing in Rochester’s South Street neighborhood along the Clinton River. It’s been happening for a while, but tucked as it is beneath the south Rochester Road bridge, it’s easy to miss.

Zoned industrial, the area was home, until very recently, to an unsightly cement plant. But the neighborhood is cleaning up and trending toward what city officials are calling a “quality of life” area. With an update of the city’s master plan just getting underway, the planning commission will guide the metamorphosis.

Chairman David Gassen said the area is ripe for redevelopment.

“I think it’s going to be very different in 20 years,” he said. “I certainly think we’ll be looking way out into the future. That area’s going to play an important role in the development of downtown. Development is going to fund it.”

Though industry came first, you could say the Clinton River Trail set the stage for recreation in the neighborhood in 2003. A few years later, new residents began moving in with the opening of brownstone-style condominiums on Mill Street.  The river and trail were a big part of the attraction.

Leisure-oriented businesses have moved in, one by one, including South Street Skatepark, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and, more recently, Wet Noses Pet Camp, which is now planning to expand. Next up is a new Goldfish Swim Club at the eastern, unpaved end of South Street. It just received the blessing of the planning commission and plans to open by winter.

Robert Wineman, a spokesman for the swim club’s owner, said customers from Rochester already flock to the company’s Birmingham site.

“We know there’s an audience; we’re not speculating,” he said. “As far as the South Street district, it’s actually perfect for us. We don’t need the Main and Main location. … We’re going to be building a building in a part of town that is regentrified, to put it nicely.” 

The city currently allows recreational uses as a special exception in industrial zones on a case-by-case, if the planning commission approves.

“In general we’re open to anything,” Gassen said. “Some things have come forward that are not a perfect fit.”

Approval requires a paved road, so the coming of the swim club means the unpaved eastern section of South Street will be paved, most likely through a cost-sharing arrangement known as a special assessment district.

“We’re going to finish the paving, we’re going to put a new water main in,” said Nik Banda, Deputy Rochester City Manager and Director of Economic Development.  A second special assessment for sidewalks and lighting would come next, he added.

“First things first. We’re just trying to connect it all together.”

Though the area feels cut off from downtown Rochester, South Street is really only steps away via the trail or Walnut Boulevard. To add another option for cross-access the city, at its own expense, extended Mill Street to Second Street.

Since Banda was hired, he’s been steering potential businesses to South Street, which he called “good, affordable land.”

“You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that area is ripe for redevelopment,” he said. “Now’s the time to start some planning.”

One good place to start may be on the west side of the bridge, along Diversion Street. A total of 11 adjoining acres, literally the gateway to South Street, could be for sale, Banda said. It’s in the river’s floodplain but, “There’s ways to mitigate floodplain,” he said.

There will still be room for industrial-type businesses. One start-up Banda is talking to is in the clean energy business.

“We’re talking about geothermal, little plants down there,” he said. “Right now we’re looking at everything.”

By ANNETTE KINGSBURY

 
Stolen signs found, more go missing
Written by Annette Kingsbury
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 16:19
1 Comment

Just when it seemed like the great sign caper had been solved, more campaign signs were stolen this week in Rochester Hills.

Last week a number of candidates for Rochester Hills City Council said their signs were stolen or vandalized after being placed on supporters’ lawns. Incumbent Councilman Martin Brennan, who is not a candidate, made a police report after the signs of several candidates were vandalized on his lawn. He was still steamed Monday night, when he brought a sign that had been sliced into pieces to the city-council meeting and made a plea for civility.

“We all have our candidates we want to support, but we want to have a clean election,” he said. “This just isn’t becoming of Rochester Hills. We may have our issues, we may have our disagreements. But I don’t think we need to resort to stealing signs, vandalizing then, resorting to that kind of behavior. We really have too much class for that. I hope in the future we can cease and desist from this kind of stuff. Let’s have a clean campaign from now until November.”

Just by chance, council candidate Dee Hilbert, who was among those whose signs went missing, solved the mystery. While campaigning on Independence, she came upon a recycling bin full of campaign signs. She made a police report, and when police contacted the residents, they learned that the signs—about 150 belonging to various candidates—had mysteriously appeared on their lawn. The residents, who have a teenage daughter, said they felt it was their daughter’s friends playing a prank, according to Hilbert.

Hilbert retrieved her own signs and contacted several of the other candidates. “It was very nice of Dee to let me know the signs turned up,” said council candidate Mark Tisdel. “I’m assuming the residents (on Independence) are not the same individuals that took the signs.”

However, that’s not where the story ends. This week Hilbert signs were stolen three times from a supporter’s lawn at Royal Doulton and Tienken. Hilbert said the thefts occurred after the other stolen signs were found on Independence.

“People are watching,” the candidate said. “So if they get a license plate or identify anybody, they’ll be reporting it to the police. Because it’s against the law.”

By ANNETTE KINGSBURY