WEST MICHIGAN POLITICS

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Breaking: Ottawa County Prosecutor Considering Criminal Charges Against Spring Lake Township Clerk Carolyn Boersma For Stealing Yard Signs In Ferrysburg Mayor's Race

Boersma, right (Photo by Marie Havenga, Grand Haven Tribune)

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

WMP has learned that Spring Lake Township Clerk Carolyn Boersma and her husband have been accused of stealing campaign yard signs in a theft related to the Mayor's race in Ferrysburg. Charges have been pressed by the homeowner.

Sources tell WMP that Boersma's husband was busted taking signs on a trail cam, and police were subsequently able to locate the sign in the Boersma's vehicle before it could be disposed of.

Carolyn Boersma is allegedly an accomplice in the heist, along with her husband.

Boersma supports Ferrysburg City Council member Rebecca Hopp in the race against fellow City Council member Regina Sjoberg.

A few days ago, Sjoberg issued a Facebook statement about her signs being taken.

"Another sign stolen. We had one - with permission - near Lake Hills School," Sjoberg said. "This has been taken twice now. Nasty! It is unfortunate that I feel as though I have to watch my back at every turn. Vandalism, stolen signs, threats. I must be stirring up the hornets nest!"

With charges pressed, the case now goes from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office to Ottawa County Prosecutor Ron Frantz, who will have the final say on criminal charges being filed.

Stay tuned for further developments...

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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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Thursday, August 31, 2017

Chuck Yob Endorses Stan Grot For Secretary Of State

Chuck Yob speaks at a Michigan Trump Republicans event at Yoberosa (DarKen Photography)

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

Longtime Michigan Republican power broker Chuck Yob is endorsing Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot's campaign for Secretary of State.

Grot announced the endorsement in a Facebook statement Thursday afternoon.

"I am extremely honored to receive the support and endorsement of the former Michigan Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob," Grot said. "Chuck Yob is considered to be the Dean of the Michigan Republican party, personally I consider Chuck to be my mentor and a friend. Chuck is one of the most effective and influential leaders of our times in our Michigan Republican Party. Thank you Chuck for your friendship and your endorsement of my candidacy for Michigan Secretary of State."

Grot also announced the endorsement of Rep. Paul Mitchell, as previously reported by WMP.

"The very first endorsement for my candidacy for Michigan Secretary of State I received was, from our 10th Republican Congressional District Congressman, The Honorable Paul Mitchell," Grot said. "Paul Mitchell is a true conservative leader in Washington; he is very well respected and admired by his constituents. When Congressman Mitchell talks, people in Washington listen. He is representing our conservative core values and is working hard on our behalf. I am proud to call him a friend and appreciate his support and endorsement for my candidacy for Michigan Secretary of State. Thank you Congressman Mitchell."

Grot faces State Senator Mike Kowall, and MSU Professor Joseph Guzman in the battle for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State, which will be decided by precinct delegates next summer.

Grot, right, Mitchell, left

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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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Schuette Proxy Refuses To Vote Against Millions In Planned Parenthood Grants At SAB Meeting

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

A representative for Attorney General Bill Schuette recently refused to vote against millions of dollars in grants for Planned Parenthood at a State Administrative Board meeting earlier this month.

The vote was surprising given Mr. Schuette's pro life views. The representative for Lt. Gov. Brian Calley voted against the grants.

According to MIRS:

"A representative for Attorney General Bill Schuette chose to abstain from items on the State Administrative Board (SAB) meeting agenda...

There were $6.4 million in new grants proposed for Planned Parenthood, as well as a proposed $536,000 increase to an existing grant up for approval. Despite the abstention, those items and all other ones still gained SAB approval."

The "Michigan Pro Life" Facebook page expressed their disappointment in the vote.

"The pass-through money does not go toward abortion services. They are for family planning services and teenage pregnancy prevention programs...However, it is a shell game that allows them to spend other monies on abortion."

The State Administrative Board includes representatives for the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Transportation Director, and State Superintendent.

Though the state administers the money, it is not part of the Michigan budget, rather, it's federal funds that are used.

The vote was a reversal from the past: Schuette's office had previously voted against similar grants in December of 2015.

Robert E. Lee's Michigan Connection

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

Did you know that Robert E. Lee played a key role in the Michigan/Ohio border fight when he was a Lieutenant in the US Army?

The dispute over Toledo led to Michigan receiving the Upper Peninsula...

Check out this excerpt from the Chicago Tribune:
"It all began in 1755, when mapmaker John Mitchell misplaced Lake Michigan. When the Northwest Territory was created in 1787, the line that divided what eventually would become the states of Ohio and Michigan was drawn through the southern tip of Lake Michigan. But Mitchell`s map, on which the line was based, placed the tip of the lake farther north than it actually was. That line hit the west shore of Lake Erie north of the Maumee River and Toledo.

When Ohio petitioned for statehood in 1802, it selected the 1787 line as its northern boundary. But an old trapper appeared at the Ohio constitutional convention and told the delegates the map was wrong. A line drawn through the southern tip of Lake Michigan actually would fall south of the Maumee River, leaving Toledo in Michigan and depriving Ohio of an important natural harbor. The delegates hurriedly attached a proviso to the state constitution providing that if the line was south of the river it would be redrawn, placing it to the north.

Ohio was admitted to the Union in 1803, but Congress decided not to rule on the boundary question. Congress let matters ride until 1817, when two surveys produced different lines, one placing Toledo in Ohio and one in Michigan territory.
The disputed 468 square miles running between the Indiana border and Lake Erie was called the Toledo Strip.

Nobody cared much about the strip, which contained 80 families living in a quagmire noted as a breeding place for fevers and chills, until the early 1830s, when some developers realized that Toledo stood a chance of becoming a terminal for two railroads and the Wabash and Erie Canal.

Suddenly the swampy strip became a valuable piece of real estate. Michigan territory`s ``Boy Governor,`` 24-year-old Stevens T. Mason, and Ohio`s Gov. Robert Lucas squared off.

A new survey conducted by an army lieutenant named Robert E. Lee supported the Michigan line. President Andrew Jackson was said to privately side with Michigan, but he wanted Ohio`s electoral votes in the coming election.
As the situation grew more heated, Lucas sent a survey party to post signs along the Ohio version of the border. Mason sent in troops.

On April 26, 1835, the first skirmish of the Ohio-Michigan War took place when the Michigan militia collided with the Ohio surveying party.

The militia opened fire. The Ohioans took to their heels. Nobody was hurt.

Flushed by victory, Mason ordered his deputies to arrest an Ohioan, Maj. Benjamin Franklin Stickney. That action was to draw the first--and last--blood.

The major was the great-grandnephew of his famous namesake and he shared his forebear`s penchant for eccentricity. He had two sons, and they were named One Stickney and Two Stickney, according to the order of their birth.

On July 16, 1835, Joseph Wood, a deputy sheriff from Monroe County, Michigan, saw Benjamin Franklin Stickney and son Two in the swamps of the strip. Heeding Mason`s orders, Wood tried to arrest them. As Wood placed the heavy hand of the law on Two Stickney`s shoulder, the youth drew a knife and shouted, ``Damn you, sir, you have got it.``

With that, Two stabbed the deputy. The Stickneys then galloped to safety across the Ohio border. Wood, whose injuries were superficial, repaired to a tavern.

Throughout the rest of the summer of 1835, the Michigan militia threatened Ohioans in the strip.

Then Jackson pulled the rug from under Michigan by removing Mason as the territorial governor. Not one to miss an opportunity, Lucas devised a plan that would bring the Ohio-Michigan War to a close.

On Sept. 7, 1835, Toledo`s judges and court officials, escorted by a 20-man armed guard, sneaked into the city before dawn and convened the first Common Pleas Court of a newly formed Lucas County, Ohio. They named three commissioners for their new county, established Toledo as the county seat and adjourned to a tavern to drink an early morning toast to their accomplishment.

Lucas County eventually was recognized as part of Ohio. Congress offered Michigan the Upper Peninsula as compensation.
When Michigan gained statehood in 1837, Mason was elected its first governor."

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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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Kowall Consultant+Knollenberg Chief Of Staff Mike Murray Says President Trump "Deserves To Hang"

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

***Update***

An hour after this story, the Kowalls were scrubbed from the website, but their endorsement is still visible via Google cache...

Mike Murray, a prominent Lansing-based Republican political consultant, is under fire for controversial comments he has made about President Trump, including a post that seems to call for the President's assassination via hanging.

Murray, a proud "Never Trump" who works as the Chief of Staff to State Sen. Marty Knollenberg, also runs Murray Communications, a consulting business with clients that include State Sen. Mike Kowall, his wife Eileen Kowall, State Sen. Geoff Hansen, and State Sen. Bruce Patterson.

Murray Communications also touts work done for the RNC, the Michigan Republican Party, the Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee, Michigan Senate Campaign Committee, and others, such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The issue first surfaced when Neal Rohrs, a Knollenberg constituent, was upset with Murray over being called a "loser and a dumbass" for supporting President Trump.

Rohrs believes Murray may have been on state time when those comments were made.

Rohrs posted an open letter to Knollenberg on Facebook.

"An open Letter to State Senator Marty Knollenberg. Right before I was defriended and blocked, your Chief of Staff Mike Murray called me a Loser and a Dumbass for being a Trump Supporter during business hours on 8/22/2017,". Fair Enough, this is still a semi free country. I can't wait to receive the next Republican fund raising letter. I can't wait to find out who runs against you in the next election. I don't have to take abuse from a tax payer paid republican who works for you on a business day. I hope to receive a public apology from YOU and Your Chief of Staff. I have been a Republican Precinct Delegate for a long time and enjoy fighting against Big Government Republicans who don't support the voters in this great state!"

Below, Murray lays out 10 issues he has with President Trump in a conversation with Rohrs.

Unfortuantely, Murray's animosity against President Trump reaches far deeper levels. In other posts, Murray calls President Trump a traitor and says that traitors deserve to be hung.

He also says that Trump supporters are "sycophants," that the President loves Russia, and that he should be impeached.

Murray also says Trump is a "danger to the Republic" and is "damaging our country."

>>>Take a look at some of his comments below:

Make Hell Gay Again: Michigan "Mayor" Bans Straight People

Elijah Daniel, left, via Twitter

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

For just $100, you can be the Mayor of Hell, Michigan for a day, and earlier this week, the "Mayor" decided to ban straight people from the small town of less than 100 people.

Elijah Daniel, a YouTube comedian, used the opportunity to make a statement against President Trump.

He took the President's statement on temporary immigration restrictions, and re-worded it to make his point. What his point is isn't exactly clear, but the whole situation is so absurd, it's pretty funny when you think about it.

According to reports:

"Once he was in office, Daniel followed President Trump’s lead...

“My ban is a copy-and-paste of Trump’s Muslim ban, but with heterosexuals instead,” Daniel said, taking some rhetorical license.

His mayoral proclamation explains that when he was growing up, he was often told that homosexuals would go to hell. But “now the heterosexuals are trying to take that from us too,” Daniel wrote.

So, as mayor of Hell, he would establish “new vetting measures to keep radical heterosexuals out of our town.”

To make sure his words reached as many people as possible, he posted the ban on Twitter."

Wow...

You can't make this stuff up, folks, welcome to "Pure Michigan."

MSU Professor And Former Trump Michigan Co Chair Dr. Joseph Guzman Announces Secretary Of State Campaign

Guzman, right, meets with President Trump in the fall of 2016

By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)

Dr. Joseph Guzman, a Michigan State Professor who was a Michigan Trump Co-Chair and member of President Trump's National Hispanic Advisory Council during the 2016 campaign, has filed paperwork to run for Secretary of State.

Guzman was repeatedly attacked on campus for supporting Trump, but always stood his ground. WMP broke that story, which was picked up by numerous national outlets.

After President Trump won, Guzman was a top candidate for Labor Secretary, even going to Trump Tower in New York to discuss the position as one of four finalists on the shortlist.

According to Jonathan Oosting of the Detroit News:

“I think it’s vitally important we ensure the integrity of our voter systems, our election systems, and that we continue the progress (current Secretary of State) Ruth Johnson has made in customer service,” Guzman told The Detroit News, explaining his motivation for a run.

Guzman previously worked as first deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy in the Office of Financial Management and Comptroller, as deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force and as deputy director of the Department of Defense’s Biometric Management Office.

“I’ve had a lifelong interest in policy and public service,” he said when asked about his qualifications for secretary of state, a post that involves oversight of elections, vehicle registration and drivers licensing.

Guzman and his family moved to Michigan seven years ago. His three oldest children have gone to college here, and Guzman said he and his family have “really become Michiganders.”

Current Secretary of State candidates include Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot, and State Senator Mike Kowall.
__________________________________________________________________
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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