87th District & Fire the Senate updates

And then there were three...

The latest in the continuing saga of the candidates for 87th District State House seat has another new development.
Rumor has it that former Hastings Mayor Frank Campbell has decided to put an end to his run. Campbell reportedly has told friends and supporters he was preparing to file for his candidacy last week, but reconsidered because of lack of the kind of support he expected.
What started as a five-person race for the right to succeed term-limited Gary Newell has been trimmed to three with the recent news that Mark Doster has bowed out. That leaves only Brian Reynolds, Susan Vlietstra and Brian Calley as the remaining three known candidates, but some won’t rule out the possibility former Barry County Board Chairman James Bailey will throw his hat in the ring.
But why are there no other candidates from Ionia County. Is it because no one wants to mess with Calley, the chosen one?
For my summary about the three remaining announced candidates, check out these links: Brian Calley, Brian Reynolds, and Susan Vlietstra

Unicameral rides a roller coaster

The Unicameral Michigan's Fire the Senate movement has been on a roller coaster ride.
Spokesperson Joe Lukasiewicz has reported its “ups” are enthusiastic responses from ordinary citizens and polls showing between 57 and 66 percent support if the issue qualifies to get on the November ballot. The “downs” are the deliberate tactics by politicans and most corporate media to ignore the petition drive, thereby keeping information from the public about its very existence. Of course, the reason is very simply that the fewer people who know about, the greater the likelihood it will fail to get enough signatures.
The Grand Rapids (VanAnDeVos) Press and Kalamazoo Gazette, and other metro dailies, have refused to publish any stories about the drive, which one would think would make good copy because of its “David vs. Goliath” appeal. There are others who ignore or laugh, even Michigan Radio, which recently did a piece on ballot issues, some of which no longer exist, did not mention the effort to abolish the State Senate.
Money is a problem because, as the website says, Unicameral has no “sugar daddy,” no well-funded out of state lobby to put up the bucks. The media refuses to take a grassroots effort seriously, unless it has a billionaire financier. Any takers reading this blog who would like to help out?
There are plenty of urban myths:
1. Some say it’s a Democratic Party issue, yet the Allegan and Calhoun County Dems have rejected it, as did the state party a year ago. The Unicameralists insist it’s non-partisan.
2. Some still cling to the belief Our Founding Fathers meant state governments to have two houses just like in Washington D.C. Lukasiewicz says he’s tired of giving the civics lesson about the federal model having 50 states with two senators each and the other chamber is based on population. There is no such difference within each state, by law the two state chambers are based on population.
3. Some still cling to the misguided notion of checks and balances. Back to ninth-grade civics: Checks and balances are supposed to be between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, not within the same legislative branch.
4. Some say they want to keep their representation in Lansing. I’ve got news: They don’t represent us, they represent monied special interests. So cut ‘em from 148 to 110.
5. Others still yet insist lobbyists will become more powerful if there are fewer legislators. Totally irrelevant. The number of lobbyists will be reduced only by campaign finance reform and changing the term limits laws, not by keeping the same number of legislators.
State Rep. Glenn Steil Jr., son of the man who led the charge 14 years ago to give us term limits, now wants to increase the maximum years lawmakers can serve and he has acknowledged we can live with fewer legislators. His bill suggests reducing the House from 110 to 60 and the Senate from 38 to 20. Former House Speaker Rick Johnson has endorsed the plan.
Steil, when he introduced his bill, immediately was put on Channel 8 TV’s Rick Albin’s “To the Point” to explain himself. Yet no major media has asked Lukasiewicz or Unicameral to appear. Why not?

Let’s take back our government. Fire the Senate!