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| Matt Hall with President Trump |
By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
A secretive plan to change Michigan Republican Party rules and strip delegates of the power to choose the Lt. Governor nominee is causing controversy.
The change will be debated by the MIGOP Policy Committee at a meeting Monday night, June 26th.
If passed, it would head to the full State Committee for final approval. (Emails of Policy Committee members are below, please reach out and have your voice heard ASAP!)
The possible change comes after Lt. Gov. Brian Calley faced fierce competition for the nomination two different times.
In 2010, he was challenged by West Michigan businessman Bill Cooper. In 2014, he battled Livingston County engineer Wes Nakagiri. Calley prevailed on both occasions.
State Committeeman Matt Hall is on the Policy Committee and has been leading the fight against the proposal.
"The State Party staff is now telling us that multiple unnamed state committee members requested the change preventing the delegates from having a voice in deciding the LG nominee," Hall said in a Facebook statement. "This is my third term on the committee, and I do not recall the State Party ever inserting a substantive rule change into the draft in this manner. The State Party has clarified that they are supposedly not endorsing this change, but now the burden is on the policy committee members to fight to get it out."
According to MIRS, Lt. Gov. Calley is also against the move while some close to Attorney General Schuette lean toward supporting stripping delegates of the power to have a voice in the LG selection process.
"Interestingly, the person most affected by the current system, Calley, wrote on Facebook today that he doesn't favor the change. Having competition forced him to ask precinct delegates for their support, which allowed him to recruit delegates to participate in the process.
"It was a healthy electoral process that made me a stronger Lt Governor. We won everything in 2014 and won the state again in 2016." Calley wrote. “The current process has worked well for decades and I see no reason to change it."
While not "rock solid" on the changes, Policy Committee member Judi SCHWALBACH of the 1st District said she sees a lot of sense in making sure that the gubernatorial nominee is paired with someone with whom he or she is comfortable.
If the party selects someone other than the nominee's preference, the party could be setting itself up for a bad arranged marriage-like situation where the ticket is picked apart for the candidates' potential differences on various policy positions.
"The Lieutenant Governor has to be on the same page as the Governor," said Schwalbach, an Upper Peninsula constituent relations director for Attorney General Bill Schuette."
State Committeeman Matt Hall is on the Policy Committee and has been leading the fight against the proposal.
"The State Party staff is now telling us that multiple unnamed state committee members requested the change preventing the delegates from having a voice in deciding the LG nominee," Hall said in a Facebook statement. "This is my third term on the committee, and I do not recall the State Party ever inserting a substantive rule change into the draft in this manner. The State Party has clarified that they are supposedly not endorsing this change, but now the burden is on the policy committee members to fight to get it out."
According to MIRS, Lt. Gov. Calley is also against the move while some close to Attorney General Schuette lean toward supporting stripping delegates of the power to have a voice in the LG selection process.
"Interestingly, the person most affected by the current system, Calley, wrote on Facebook today that he doesn't favor the change. Having competition forced him to ask precinct delegates for their support, which allowed him to recruit delegates to participate in the process.
"It was a healthy electoral process that made me a stronger Lt Governor. We won everything in 2014 and won the state again in 2016." Calley wrote. “The current process has worked well for decades and I see no reason to change it."
While not "rock solid" on the changes, Policy Committee member Judi SCHWALBACH of the 1st District said she sees a lot of sense in making sure that the gubernatorial nominee is paired with someone with whom he or she is comfortable.
If the party selects someone other than the nominee's preference, the party could be setting itself up for a bad arranged marriage-like situation where the ticket is picked apart for the candidates' potential differences on various policy positions.
"The Lieutenant Governor has to be on the same page as the Governor," said Schwalbach, an Upper Peninsula constituent relations director for Attorney General Bill Schuette."
>>>Below are the email addresses for MIGOP Policy Committee members. Please take less than 5 minutes and email them about your concerns over this horrendous plan!
jschwalbach@chartermi.net
holmes@hope.edu
mc1hall@gmail.com
ericmstonge@gmail.com
scott@bowlmail.com
fitz.victor@gmail.com
normshinkle@gmail.com
cdspjr@yahoo.com
jsakwa@noblerealty.com
wgordon1776@gmail.com
idamshelly@aol.com
tomisaacs11@gmail.com
ghowell@taylorbutterfield.com
mcbrown873@hotmail.com
__________________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
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jschwalbach@chartermi.net
holmes@hope.edu
mc1hall@gmail.com
ericmstonge@gmail.com
scott@bowlmail.com
fitz.victor@gmail.com
normshinkle@gmail.com
cdspjr@yahoo.com
jsakwa@noblerealty.com
wgordon1776@gmail.com
idamshelly@aol.com
tomisaacs11@gmail.com
ghowell@taylorbutterfield.com
mcbrown873@hotmail.com
__________________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
Yet another Power Grab from the MIGOPe/RINOs!
ReplyDeleteTELL THEM NO!!!
Let's Elect a REAL PLATFORM/CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN this time (Patrick Colbeck) and he'll suggest a worthy Lt Gov that we'll be Happy to get behind!
ReplyDeletemore: https://www.facebook.com/DraftPatrickColbeck
Agree totally!
DeletePower Grab? People who control the delegates, control who gets selected as Republican candidates for SOS, Lt Gov, etc. Not every state selects the Republican primary candidates with this method. County Delegates who promise to "Join my Team" get selected to go to State Convention and then vote for approved candidates. Maybe Republican Party Primary candidates for these offices should be elected in the primary, by citizens across the state. But that would take Power away from certain politicians, who have been planning for decades.
ReplyDelete10th District Voter
You are so right. It's hard to believe this still goes on. We have seen this first hand.
DeleteHmmm...sometimes County Delegates get bussed to the State Convention, for critical votes such as District Chair elections, which happen on Friday nights. Delegates are then bussed home before critical Party business on Saturday. Who pays for the buses, and who is offered a seat on the bus? Is this Bill really "stripping power to choose Lt. Gov nominee" from delegates or stripping power from those who control which delegates reach State convention? If a politician can "deliver" a sizable chunk of the delegates from their district, they wield influence and power, and can sometimes get themselves nominated for SOS, for example.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that your information is correct. Most delegates that attend Friday night, also attend Saturdays business. And if not, then those delegates that don't show up are replaced by alternate delegates, so what's the diff?? Besides, any delegate not 'offered a seat on the bus' could just as easily, get in their car and drive themselves to convention, so nobody controls which delegates reach state convention. Not by determining who rides on said bus anyways.
DeleteThanks Brandon!
ReplyDelete