Troy Government and Politics

Who Is Glenn Clark?

2012-01-31T20:15:00.007-05:00

Successful elections of people like Janice Daniels don't happen by accident. It takes careful planning, with strategic thinking and moneyed resources to win.

In other words, there have to be people behind Janice, supporting her, coaching her, and egging her on.

These supporters claim that they are simple "citizen activists," claiming to be political neophytes, simply roused by governmental abuse and working to take government back. They say they want tax money returned to the taxpayers, where the free market will decide it's use.

One of Janice's supporters who describes himself as a simple "citizen activist," is Glenn Clark. [WMV link, go to 1:20:54]

But who is Glenn Clark?

You can watch an interview with him here, where you could listen to him talk about his resume. If you don't want to waste a half-hour, he explains that he is no simple "citizen activist." He's a long-time political hack who has been:

The Board President of the Detroit Merit Charter Academy;
Policy Chairman of the Michigan Republican party;
Executive Director of the Michigan Christian Coalition, where he claimed to be a"pro-family lobbyist;
Second Vice-Chairman of the Michigan College Republicans;
State Chairman of the Michigan Teenage Republicans;
A member of the 2004 national platform committee delegate for the Republican national Committee, and;
Chairman of the 9th District Congressional Republican Party.

Most recently, Mr. Clark became the President of the Michigan chapter of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, founded by Ralph Reed. (For anyone not familiar with Mr. Reed, his association with the Jack Abramoff scandal is a good place to start.)

So is Mr. Clark as "small government, let the taxpayer keep their money" kind of guy?

Not quite.

First, the Detroit Merit Charter School is a member of the National Heritage Academies, a for-profit school management organization located in Grand Rapids. Where does the NHA get it's money? From the taxpayer, of course. Mr. Clark admits to being on the public dole at 1:33 in this interview.

And it's not the first time that Mr. Clark has helped himself to your money. While working as a political consultant for Paul Scott's failed campaign for Secretary of State, Mr. Clark received $13,000.00 [PDF, see pg. 03] for being a "legislative aide." [PDF link.] Joe DiSano, of Michigan Liberal, has been questioning the propriety of Mr. Clark's work for Paul Scott and asked the Michigan House to investigate.

Capcon, the news service from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, speculated that if Mr. Scott paid Mr. Clark taxpayer dollars to do campaign work instead of official legislative business, such conduct could constitute a felony.

But just what kind of campaign work does Mr. Clark do? Apparently, Mr. Clark specializes in techniques so vile that one of the campaigns he worked on became known as the "Macomb County Chainsaw Massacre."

You see, after the 2010 Macomb County Senate campaign, former state Rep. Kim Meltzer apologized for lying and using vile campaign literature against her opponent, Leon Drolet. (Meltzer accused Drolet of co-sponsoring a bill "that would have allowed sexual acts between homosexuals in public places, public parks and public restrooms.")

Who did Drolet blame for the nastiness of the campaign? Glenn Clark. Drolet was quoted as saying that Mr. Clark has a "long history of specializing in reckless, gay-oriented smears" and "McCarthy-like tactics."

Finally, as Chairman of the 9th District Republican Party, Mr. Clark earned a nasty reputation. Here's how the Two Guys Named Joe podcast, described Mr. Clark's tactics and financial conflicts of interest:

(You can listen to the complete podcast by clicking here.)

So when you see Mr. Clark at a City Council meeting claiming to be a "citizen activist" who wants small government, don't believe him. In fact, you should recognize him for what he is: A long time political hack, dedicated to using government for personal profit, advancing his agenda through lies and defamation, and responsible for inflicting Janice Daniels on this city.

Janice's Meeting with the Gay/Straight Student Alliance

2012-01-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

Due to popular demand, this is the complete recording of Janice Daniels' meeting with member of Troy High's Gay/Straight Student Alliance.

Who is Deb DeBacker?

2012-01-29T23:06:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like controversy to drive supporters to hide their associations.

In today's Detroit Free Press, an article appeared describing our Mayor as, once again, "controversial."

At the end of the article, an accountant, Debbie DeBacker, was quoted in support of the Mayor, saying Daniels is "doing exactly what she was elected to do. It's even what supporters hope will be a model for the state and the nation."

You could leave the article with the impression that Ms. DeBacker is simply a private citizen of Troy, happy with our Mayor and the controversy.

But not so fast. Ms. DeBacker is so much more than a private citizen in our fair city.

If you search the Oakland County election records, you'll find Ms. DeBacker's is a political operative whose fingerprints are all over our Mayor Daniels run for office.

First, you'll learn that Ms. DeBacker is a Republican Precinct Delegate, and has been since August 2010. [PDF, See page 32 of 33]. As a delegate, Ms. DeBacker campaigned against the millage to save the library.

Next, you'll learn Ms. DeBacker donated $500.00 the Troy Voter Guide, whose paperwork demonstrates that they supported Daniels, Henderson, Tietz, and Kempen in the last election. (Note that Ms. DeBacker is identified as a "housewife" and not an "accountant" for the purposes of the donation.)

The records further reveal that Ms. DeBacker is the creator and treasurer of Mothers Against Drugs in Troy, who, last year, funded a smear campaign against Neil Yashisnsky.

Finally, the records reveal that Ms. DeBacker is the Treasurer for Troy Citizens United, the political action committee behind the our Mayor and her run for office.

So the next time you see the name Ms. DeBacker in public, don't think of her as an "accountant" or "housewife." Think of her as one of the people responsible for attacking the library, working against responsible public leadership, and creating the disaster that is Mayor Janice Daniels.

UPDATE: An anonymous commenter pointed out some of Ms. DeBacker's more interesting opinions. First, Ms. DeBacker thinks your children should only read books published before 1965. Second, Ms. DeBacker thinks that the International Baccalaureate, a program designed to help students "develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world" is a Anti-American program, dedicated to undermining the "right to bear arms, limited government, natural law and most important, [and] God given inalienable rights."

Meet Gordon Schepke

2012-01-26T10:47:00.004-05:00

Meet Gordon Schepke. He's one of the three guys that Mayor Janice Daniels wants to appoint to the Troy Planning Commission.

How does anybody get so upset about a train station?

Thanks to Sharon at Keep Troy Strong for putting this video together!

Martin Howrylak: AWOL

2010-05-15T13:12:00.003-04:00

The Troy City Council held three special meetings on April 20, 26, and May 3 to discuss the restructuring of Troy city government. These meetings dealt with critical issues facing Troy, including the budget process and the eventual closing of important city services such as the library.

Unfortunately, Mr. Howrylak attended none of these meetings.

Why would someone repeatedly run and get elected to City Council and not attend any of these budget meetings at what is probably the most critical juncture in Troy's history?

Tea Party Perverts?

2010-05-15T11:06:00.004-04:00

I recently came across a "tea party" site with lots of photos. Most of the photos are of well-fed white folks holding up signs complaining about the government, taxes, the "big media", and so on.

But one particular photo did catch my attention. The protest in question was being held near the Somerset Mall in my hometown of Troy. This photo was of three underage girls who just happened to be walking along the sidewalk after doing some shopping.

It seems obvious that they had nothing to do with the tea party group and wanted to get the heck out of there. My question is why would someone take this picture of these girls? It seems beyond creepy to me. But that may be because I'm a father of girls myself.

The photographer in question is a Mr. Rondal Mullins, who hails from Southfield. I truly hope that in the future, he chooses his photographic subject matter in a more appropriate fashion.

City of Troy Election 2009

2009-10-19T09:20:00.002-04:00

Here is a good article about the upcoming election in Troy by Pastor Bob Cornwall. I completely agree that Maureen McGinnis, Will Molnar, and Dane Slater are the best three candidates for the council.

It's time to send the theocratic right and anti-everything folks packing, before they shut down everything that makes Troy great.

That didn't take long...

2008-04-21T20:58:00.003-04:00

Dave Lambert recently changed his blog. These changes including allowing comments to his posts. Of course, I began to take advantage of this to present an alternative point-of-view to counter Dave's radical religious right-wing Republican orthodoxy.

But, of course, it was too good to be true. Sure enough, Dave deleted my comment to this post praising Joe Knollenberg for his "CARTER Act" publicity stunt. Anyway, here's the comment I had originally posted (after I fixed a few spelling errors):

It’s hard to express in words how proud I am to be represented in Congress by Joe Knollenberg. He has the innate ability see past the trivial issues facing this nation and focus, like a laser beam, on what’s really important, like introducing the “CARTER Act” to Congress.

Many lesser people would prioritize the issues facing our country, state, and city differently. For instance, some might think the rapidly increasing price of gasoline and its related effects on prices for all consumer items might be a high priority. Others may think that the crumbling infrastructure, e.g., John R road in Troy, might be something that needs immediate attention. Many would consider the war in Iraq, with thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars spent, the most important issue of the day. Still others might give high priority to the rising cost of health care, the burgeoning national debt, plummeting property values, the recessionary U.S. economy, and/or global climate change.

But not Joe. He can see past these trivial matters to what really needs to be done, such as introducing a Bill that is the equivalent of giving former President Jimmy Carter “the finger”, despite its snowballs-chance-in-hell likelihood of passage. Like Dave Lambert so appropriately said, “hooray for Joe Knollenberg!”

Dave actually wrote to me offering to reinstate the comment if I rewrote "the finger" statement. I declined his offer because, frankly, it's really not that offensive. I can't imagine that Dave is really this bent-out-of-shape about such a statement, which leads me to doubt the sincerity of his offer.

The Creche

2007-12-22T14:51:00.000-05:00

Dave Lambert decided to post the comments made by Mary Ann Bernardi at a recent City Council meeting. Dave obviously agrees with Mary Ann in her crazy rant. Let's deconstruct it line-by-line.

I would like to share a recent experience. After attending the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Troy, I went to visit the crèche, which I found was out of sight, unlighted and difficult to find.

Some people are probably thinking, Troy has a crèche, i.e., a nativity scene? Well, actually no. A few years ago, a group of ultra-religious citizens were demanding that the City Council install one right in front of City Hall. Dave Lambert originally proposed that the city pay for such a display, but was voted down. Eventually, after a year of public meetings and debate, the City Council came up with a policy to allow private displays on city property in the courtyard between city hall, the library, and the police department.

So the crèche that Mary Ann is talking about is a private display, not owned by the city. There is no electricity available on the site, but batteries and solar power can be used. However, it appears that the private organization who placed the display decided against such lighting.

But Mary Ann is clearly lying about two things: the crèche is obviously not "out of sight" because she obviously looked at it and it's not "difficult to find" since maps to the private display areas are available on the website.

Standing in the dark, it seemed as if the Christmas story was being played out, all over again, in our city. It was as if Troy had said to the Holy Family, “You are not welcome here. We have no room for you.”

I wonder if Mary Ann is familiar with the term "hyperbole". She's obviously very practiced at it.

There is obviously a lot of room for "the Holy Family" or artistic representations thereof. In fact, not only has the city provided government land for such representations, but every private church, residence, and business is completely able to put up religious displays.

The message of Christmas is a powerful message of peace and love for all mankind and all the creatures of the Earth -- so much so, that during WWI, a British battalion and a German Battalion laid down there arms and celebrated Christmas together for three days before resuming their battle with each other.

If I was fighting in the horrible trench warfare conditions of World War I, I would have taken more than three days off to celebrate Christmas. My vote would have been for 365 days.

It is difficult to imagine why a symbol that represents such a powerful force for good should be tucked away in the shadows.

This is a question that should be taken up with the organization who placed the crèche on city property. They knew the conditions of the site and obviously didn't elect to utilize any battery or solar powered lighting.

Although completely unintentional, accepting such a wonderful gift from one of our local churches in this manner appears ungracious, and even disrespectful of the good intentions of the donors.

Again, the creche is not a gift to the city. It is owned by the church and they must clear it away when they're display period ends.

If the crèche were moved to the lighted area in front of city hall, secular decorations are already in place at the site to meet the necessary requirements. The crèche is lovely and the lighted Christmas trees in that area could illuminate it.

If the crèche were placed next to the Christmas Tree without additional religious and secular symbols or without giving other groups the ability to put up their own display, then, in my opinion, it would be unconstitutional (i.e., not meet the "requirements").

Fear that undesirable groups might place displays, or fear of litigation, should not deter us from our right to free expression of faith.

This is the statement that really got my attention. Who are these "undesirable" groups that might place displays? Jews? Atheists? Wiccans? Nazis? And what exactly makes these groups "undesirable"? My guess is that any group that Mary Ann doesn't agree with is "undesirable" in her world.

Our actions should not be predicated upon fear. Instead, our answer should be that we will not stand down to hate, or to tyranny. Instead, we will stand up for all the values that we hold dear, and for our right to be free.

Well, I agree with these statements, but I'm pretty sure that I disagree with Mary Ann. One value that I hold dear is the principle of separation between government and religion. For instance, the government should not endorse or otherwise support one religion (e.g., Christianity) over other religions (e.g., Judaism, Islam) or lack of religion (e.g., Atheism). It seems clear to me that Mary Ann and Dave want to use the government to promote Christianity merely because they themselves are Christians.

One of the best things that the city council could do this Christmas is to allow the crèche to be moved to the front of city hall. It would be a reflection of the true message of Christmas, and would express our gratitude for the generous gift bestowed upon our city by one of the local churches.

Again, the crèche is not a gift and is not owned by the city.

I have a simple question for Mary Ann and Dave: what is so wrong with keeping government absolutely neutral in religious matters? What could possibly be the harm to you?

Thou shalt not criticize Republicans...

2007-12-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

On his blog, Dave Lambert reports on a Detroit News article about citizens who are upset that their local access cable channels (which televise city council meetings and the like) are being moved to digital broadcast instead of analog broadcast. This means that people without digital cable will not be able to watch these channels unless they upgrade.

Dave places blame for this squarely on "Comcast and AT&T" and the "lame duck legislature" who took local control away from the communities.

What Dave doesn't mention is how Troy's representatives in the legislature voted on this legislation. There's a very good reason for this. Those representatives were Republican (Bob Gosselin and Shirley Johnson) and Dave is a Republican. And Dave wouldn't want to make fellow Republicans look bad! Instead, he blames it on "lame ducks".

Hey Dave, why not just be honest about who voted for this change?

Why?

2007-12-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

I created this blog for two reasons:

I want to comment, from time-to-time, on various things that interest me in Troy politics and government. I want to especially highlight the influence that the ultra-religious conservative right currently has in Troy and the effect of that influence. For example, take the Hooters debacle of 2006-7 where the Troy City Council held up transfering a liquor license to Hooters on purely reasons of ultra-religous morality.
I want to provide a forum for myself (and others) to comment on the sometimes ridiculous postings on Dave Lambert's blog. Dave gets a lot of hits on his blog (probably less now since he changed his Hooters vote and quit the Council) but doesn't allow comments.

I doubt anybody will actually read much of this blog, but it's a fun hobby for me and more rewarding then stamp collecting...