MIRS: Ruth Johnson Acted As Governor 20 Times In The Last 3 Years

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has acted as Michigan's Governor nearly two dozen times during the last three years, MIRS reports.

Johnson is in charge when Gov. Snyder and Lt. Gov. Calley are not in the state.

Johnson Paid For Filling In As Governor 20 Times In Past 3 Years:

"When the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor aren't in Michigan, the Secretary of State is put in charge. And according to the state Constitution, the SOS should be paid the Governor's salary on those days he or she fills in as chief executive."

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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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Mitchell Says Obama State Of The Union Shows He's "Out Of Touch With Reality"

Paul Mitchell

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Congressional candidate Paul Mitchell blasted President Obama's State Of The Union speech in a Facebook statement, writing "the President’s speech tonight shows just how out of touch with reality he has become."

Mitchell also said "I look forward to being on the floor of the House listening to a new Republican President leading this nation toward a brighter economic future, a stronger standing in the world, and greater security here at home."

Here is his full statement:

"The President’s speech tonight shows just how out of touch with reality he has become. He has no understanding of how businesses must make decisions to survive in a difficult economy. He touts how great the Iran Nuclear Deal is without recognizing that at this moment Iran is holding 10 American sailors and has recently conducted illegal ballistic missile tests. He touts an opening with Cuba while that country holds thousands of political prisoners. He says we are beating ...back ISIS while not even acknowledging the loss of 14 Americans to ISIS terrorists on American soil less than two months ago.

America needs clear eyed leadership from our President, but we are not getting it as the entitled political class continues to ignore the voices of the American people. The best part about President Obama’s speech tonight is it is the last State of the Union he will give. Next year I look forward to being on the floor of the House listening to a new Republican President leading this nation toward a brighter economic future, a stronger standing in the world, and greater security here at home."

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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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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

Julie Calley Will Announce Run For State House

Julie Calley, center, with husband Brian, son Collin, and Gov. Snyder

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Ionia County Commissioner Julie Calley will soon announce her campaign for State House in the 87th District.

The position, currently occupied by Mike Callton, was formerly held by her husband, Lt. Governor Brian Calley.

 According to Nick Grenke at the Sentinel Standard:

"The chairwoman of the Ionia County Board of Commissioners is expected to run for the Michigan House of Representatives next year.

Republican Julie Calley of Portland said she intends to make an official announcement in January. She will be running to replace Republican Rep. Mike Callton of Nashville, who was first elected to the house in 2010. His term will expire on Dec. 31, 2016.

“Our state has come a long way in the last several years, and I would like the opportunity to build on that momentum,” Calley said. “Being born and raised in Ionia County has been such a blessing, and I wish to give back to the community I still call home...”

Calley was voted the as chairwoman of the Ionia Board of Commissioners in 2015 and has served on the board since 2008.

“Our district demonstrates both a tremendous work ethic and common sense decision-making; elements which are needed at the state level. It would be an honor to carry our values to Lansing and serve the citizens of the 87th,” Calley said."

Julie Calley (Via The Sentinel-Standard)

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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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Courser/Gamrat Episode Of 20/20 Airs This Friday

Gamrat, left, Courser, right (Detroit News)

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

UPDATE: This Episode airs next Friday, 1-22, at 10 pm....

After a conversation with ABC News, WMP has learned that the episode of the popular newsmagazine show "20/20" featuring the Courser/Gamrat drama will air next Friday, January 15th at 10 p.m.

The scandal will apparently span the entire hour.

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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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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

Watch As Former Congresman Kerry Bentivolio Supports Gun Control

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

Former Congressman Kerry Bentivolio took to YouTube to show off his shooting skills to promote a recent gun training course.

The video beings with a mock newscaster asking his opinion on gun control policy...

Bentivolio recently made headlines for biking all the way to Washington D.C. to raise attention for Veteran's issues.

Check out the video below:

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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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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson

Attorney General Schuette Will Determine If Meekhof's New Senate Business Office Can Conceal Documents From The Media+Public

Schuette, left, Meekhof, right

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

A State Senator is asking Attorney General Bill Schuette to investigate whether Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof's newly created "Senate Business Office" is subject to public scrutiny via a FOIA request.

Meekhof is trying to keep SBO docs secret from the public and media. Senator Vincent Gregory says Schuette should weigh in. The AG's office confirms they will give an opinion on the controversy.

According to Emily Lawler at MLive:

"The Senate Business Office claims it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, but Sen. Vincent Gregory is asking Attorney General Bill Schuette whether that's actually the case from a legal standpoint.

The Senate Business Office, which handles administrative and business tasks for the Senate, was created (in early 2015).

The question of whether it is subject to FOIA came to the Lathrup Village Democrat's attention after some requests from members and constituents, Gregory said.

"We didn't know the answer. We had asked around and nobody seemed to know the answer, so we ended up sending a request to the Attorney General for his opinion on it," Gregory said.

The Attorney General can opine on legal matters, and his opinions stand unless overturned by new legislation or a court case. When an individual legislator lodges a request, the Attorney General can choose whether or not to opine.
Asked whether he planned to answer the request on Thursday, Attorney General Bill Schuette said, "We always answer everything. How I'll answer it has yet to be determined, so that's under review."

Michigan law subjects public bodies to FOIA, but does not mention the legislature. In a 1986 Attorney General opinion, former AG Frank Kelley determined that legislators were not subject to FOIA. In fact, they had been included in an earlier version and were stripped out. However, the attorney general opinion did not address whether the House Business Office or Senate Business Office were subject to FOIA."

Lawler's piece notes that Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof is trying to keep the publicly funded office's information secret, as usual...

"But the Senate Business Office is claiming it is exempt from FOIA and not releasing information to the public...

"Anything that we do with the public's money, how we spend it, how we do salaries and stuff in here, that stuff we publish. And we should," said Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive. "But I'm very very protective of our communication between constituents in our office. That has to be sacred."

Meekhof said that the Senate Business Office was properly exempted from FOIA, as it handles personal information.

"The business office deals a lot with people's health records and other things. Payroll, friend of the court stuff, all that personal stuff so I think they're probably in a good spot," Meekhof said."

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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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Rubio Campaign Blasts Selweski's Report On Ballot Access Controversy

Sen. Marco Rubio (Wall Street Journal)

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)

The campaign for 2016 GOP Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio tells WMP accusations over a "dishonest ballot access campaign" in a recent article from Chad Selweski are not true.

"Marco is a next generation conservative who is inspiring all segments of the party, especially young people, to support him," Rubio spokesman Caitlin Conant tells West Michigan Politics.

"Students for Rubio is an organic and important volunteer base that we are fortunate to have helping spread Marco's message, and in this case add to his grassroots momentum. Having students willing to travel to Illinois in January to volunteer to walk door-to-door to support Marco is in no way a negative by any stretch of the imagination," Conant said.

This comes after Selweski said that "the Rubio volunteer effort in Illinois failed to collect the minimal amount of signatures needed and then engaged in a last-minute scramble to recruit college volunteers from across the country. No, they were not paid for their work, but they apparently did receive compensation for their flight, hotel, meals and possibly a few other perks.

Here’s an email that went out from Jake Busby of Students for Rubio on New Year’s Eve:

Another less-than-transparent aspect of this campaign operation involves a simple question: Where did all the money come from?

According to Federal Election Commission records, Students For Rubio had $0 on hand throughout the year, through Dec. 31. Is the official Rubio campaign organization going to report these expenses? Did a Rubio superPAC foot the bill for this “volunteer” operation?"

FEC records seem to indicate the group actually has nearly $3,000 from their last report.

Students for Rubio is not officially affiliated with the campaign and is not a campaign organization. It started grassroots style on a college campus, and has grown since.

Selweski also wrote that "as for the near-fiasco in Illinois, Rubio’s campaign people reportedly filed all the necessary paperwork about one hour before the deadline.

So, how hard is it to avoid this drama, to get someone’s name on the ballot and provide a list of Rubio delegates in one of the largest states in the nation?

All the Rubio campaign had to do was secure signatures from 0.5% of registered voters in each of Illinois' congressional districts. In this case, they turned in 5,000 signatures representing support for their candidate in a state with 13 million people.

What’s more, in Illinois last-minute filings mean that those candidates are listed last on the ballot – a very big deal, according to strategists, when a large field is in the running."

However, WMP has learned campaigns apparently met the deadline strategically to be in the lottery for the last place.

As Chad noted, the last-on-the-ballot lottery position is seen as a positive in Illinois, where they recently changed the law to make sure that all candidates who file between 4 and 5 PM have the same opportunity to be entered into that lottery. So to be eligible, you *must* wait until then.

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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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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson