Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganWant To Vote in The Michigan August 5 Primary? Today Is The Last Day To Register!
Monday , 7, July 2014 Candidates, Community Leave a comment
The Michigan primary election is on August 5 and the last day to register to vote for the primary election is today. The primary election not only gives Michigan voters the opportunity to vote for the candidates within the political parties they want to run in the November general election, but this year the August 5 election also has an unusual ballot measure to vote on. Usually these are saved for the November election, when more people come out to vote. This is the only ballot proposal on the August 5 ballot and will be listed as Proposal 1.
The measure, if approved, would repeal the personal property tax (PPT) and replace the revenues local governments would lose without the PPT with a portion of the state use tax. In 2012 Governor Rick Snyder signed a new law to eliminate the personal property tax on small business, claiming it was vital for job creation in the state. Unfortunately, there was no provision for how local municipalities would make up the loss of revenue from the phased out tax. Proposal 1 would affect ten separate state senate bills currently on hold to continue phasing out the PPT. According to the Michigan state constitution, changing the tax laws require citizen approval. If Proposal 1 is defeated on August 5, then the PPT phase-out will stop.
The state use tax is a 6% tax in addition to the sales tax levied on purchases made out of state either through catalog or over the Internet. This is the tax Proposal 1 would substitute for the loss of revenue from the phased out PPT.
Senator Gretchen Whitmer has come out in opposition to Proposal 1 stating,
“Where is that shortfall going to come from? There’s a likelihood that it will come from the same groups that are applauding the fact that now it will make them whole.”
She is concerned that the loss of $300 million in revenue will create more problems for the state.
Whether registering to vote in person at the polls in August or by absentee ballot, the deadline is today. When you go to the polls you will have to provide some form of picture ID, or sign a waiver before receiving a ballot. For more information you can call the Secretary of State’s toll free number at 888-SOS-MICH (767-6424). Please take a few moments of your time today and register to vote.
Meet the Candidates State Senate District #35: Glenn Lottie
Sunday , 6, July 2014 Candidates Leave a comment
Glenn Lottie is running for State Senator for the 35th district. The 35th district includes Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee, Wexford, Kalkaska, Missaukee, Roscommon, Clare, Osceola, Lake and Mecosta counties.
Glenn Lottie is a resident of Brethren. He’s a retired electrical engineer with a BSEE degree . His civic and political experience includes 8 years serving as Manistee County Commissioner. He also served as district president of the Manistee United Way. He is a veteran member of the Spirit of the Woods Conservation Club.
The issues Mr. Lottie is most concerned about include education. He wants to make teaching a profession without the current stressful testing and evaluations meant to penalize teachers based on how well students take a test. He also wants to make per-pupil funding equal throughout the state, so all districts get the same level of funding. Charter schools need to be put under the same regulations as public schools, and updates to curriculum that provides students with the skills they need to succeed once they are out of school. Lottie also wants to see more regulations for fracking, requiring that the companies reclaim the water they use instead of dumping it into the ground full of toxic chemicals. Most interesting of all, Glenn Lottie believes that if our state legislature is only going to work part time hours, they should be compensated with part time pay. He suggests the current minimum wage.
Glenn Lottie wants to be a voice in Lansing with an ear for the people of the 35th district. We deserve someone who will work in the state senate for us, and not for special interests or the deepest pocket. On November 4, vote for Glenn Lottie.
Michigan’s Rest Areas Soon To Be Sponsored By Private Companies
Tuesday , 1, July 2014 Community, Environment Leave a comment
The cost of Michigan’s rest areas and welcome centers are too much for the Michigan Department of Transportation to maintain through state funds, so in an effort to help pay for their upkeep, the state will offer corporate sponsorship for sale. Michigan has 64 rest areas and 14 welcome centers that in the future will display corporate logos and advertising. MDOT also looks for ward to these companies paying for other rest area and welcome center services.
The sponsorship will provided needed money for operations and upkeep of the rest areas and welcome centers, while also paying for new services such as wi-fi access, and electronic kiosks that would provide information for travelers. Vending machines are already handled by the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons Business Enterprise Program and that would not change with the new corporate sponsorship. The company sponsoring the rest area would not be able to put signs out on the roadway, but they would be able to have displays in the rest area and welcome center.
Michigan roadways already contain corporate signs, logos and advertising liberally throughout the state. MDOT believes having private companies sponsor rest areas and welcome centers would be beneficial to the state, because some states already do it. What do you think? Leave a comment and give Up North Progressive your thoughts.
Meet The Candidates: State Senate District #36 Joe Lukasiewicz
Sunday , 29, June 2014 Candidates 2 Comments
Joe Lukasiewicz is running for Michigan State Senate in the 36th district. This district includes the counties of Presque Isle, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda, Alcona, Iosco, Arenac, Gladwin, and Midland. He lives n Greenbush in Alcona County. He is a lifelong resident of Northern Michigan, where he lives with is wife. He has four children and three grandchildren. Lukasievicz has worked factory jobs, held management positions, and worked in both the private and public sector. Joe Lukasievicz has been a small business owner and worked for the federal government. For three years his work for the US Department of Defense required him to work in Germany. When he retired from his job in the federal government, he was a team leader and instructor of logistic systems.
Lukasievicz also has extensive political experience. He was the Executive Director of Reform Michigan Government Now, a nonpartisan ballot initiative organization to reduce inefficiency and requiring more transparency and accountability in Michigan government. He also served as the Executive Director of Unicameral Michigan, which was a ballot initiative on reducing redundancy and the size of Michigan’s legislature by creating a single house, like what exists in Nebraska.
Joe Lukasievicz believes that Michigan’s employment problems have not been remedied by the current government in Lansing. In the 36th district, many counties still suffer with double digit unemployment. Lukasievicz believes it will take the efforts of public and private sectors including tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and retail business to address the problem. Education of course is the key to boosting employment. Joe Lukasievicz knows efforts to defund and eliminate public school through charter schools and online school options are meant to cripple education in Michigan, not improve it. Education that focuses on children rather than profits is crucial to rebuilding the state’s economic recovery.
Lukasievicz also believes Michigan must do more to protect our natural resources. The 36th district has many state and county parks, forests, shoreline along Lake Huron, and inland rivers and lakes that need to be protected. Dealing with invasive species such as Asian carp threaten indigenous species and will cost the state billions to sport and commercial fishing industries. Lukasievicz also believes that hydraulic fracturing should only be allowed in Michigan if the energy companies fully disclose all of the chemicals used in the fracking fluid. Joe Lukasievicz will fight in Lansing for the 36th district to make sure management of natural resources remains above partisan politics and exploitation for profit.
If you want to learn more about Joe Lukasievicz or volunteer to help his campaign, you can visit his website and follow his campaign on Facebook. On November 4, vote for Joe Lukasievicz for the 36th district.
Republican Standards: Felon On Parole Running For Michigan State Legislature
Saturday , 28, June 2014 Candidates Leave a comment
Republican Jordan D. Haskins is running for Michigan’s 95th state house district which includes the city of Saginaw. Jordan Haskins is also a convicted felon in two states and has a rap sheet that goes back to when he was 15 years old. The Michigan Republican Party says the parolee can run for public office as a member of the GOP if he wants to and represent the people of the state’s 95th legislative district. There are no rules in the state barring people with criminal records from running for office.
Haskins’ rap sheet includes breaking and entering and larceny, but it’s possible his recent convictions are the most bizarre. The Republican candidate liked to break into cars, disconnect the ignition wires, then engage in a sexual fetish called cranking. Cranking is where someone breaks into a car, then masturbates while watching the car owner try to start the car with disconnected wires. Haskins preferred trying to start the car himself.
Once his criminal record became known the endorsements he counted on for his campaign dried up unfortunately. He says nothing will stop him from running however. He knows a lot about the criminal justice system and prison and he believes those experiences will make him an excellent state representative for the Republican Party.
The convicted felon believes he has much to offer the people of the 95th district of the Michigan State Legislature from the experience of his past mistakes and regular parole officer visits that will be finished a few weeks before the November election. He won’t let any of that stop him from fulfilling his promise of running for office as a proud member of the GOP.
Grand Traverse Academy’s Cleaning Up Their Act: The Continuing Story of Dr. Steve Ingersoll
Friday , 27, June 2014 Dr. Ingersoll, Section 16 Leave a comment
In a closed session on Friday the board for Grand Traverse Academy informed their new management company, Full Spectrum Management LLC, to make sure that none of the employees hired by the new company were “too closely tied” to former manager Dr. Steve Ingersoll. Ingersoll was indicted in April on felony fraud charges and still owes Grand Traverse Academy over two million dollars in prepaid fees.
The only issue with this request to the new management company is it’s owned by Mark Noss, who is also an optometrist in Traverse City and Steve Ingersoll’s partner. Noss is another promoter of IVL and his name is all over the center that teaches it downstate. There is also the issue of some of Noss’s family serving on the school board. Will these people resign to also comply with the board’s request?
This is an odd request to make, unless there is concern with the GTA board that some of the felony charges against Ingersoll could put their charter school under more scrutiny. Bay City Academy is also more than likely being looked at closely, especially with the sudden departure of Superintendent Schrock in January. Because Ingersoll and Noss are the creators of IVL and Icon Curriculum Mapping, will they stop using these things as well?
Considering some of the family and business connections between the board, the school, the management company and the optometry practice Ingersoll’s schools all use as part of the curriculum, removing all of the close ties will be a very big hassle for Grand Traverse Academy. It seems that this latest in a long line of closed door board meetings have more than just running a school to worry about.
Up North Democratic Candidate Events Today and This Weekend
Thursday , 26, June 2014 Candidates, Community Leave a commentDean Vanderstelt will be at White Lake Municipal Marina in Whitehall, Michigan for a “Greet & Grill fund raiser” this afternoon, June 26, 2014, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Minimum donation of $25, and you can purchase a ticket at the location or online
Betsy Coffia is holding a volunteer orientation on Saturday, June 28, beginning at 10:30 am at the Democratic Party Headquarters, 3671 Market Place Circle in B-160. That’s the Old Horizon Outlet Mall on US 31 in Traverse City
On June 29, 2014 Jerry Cannon will be in Manistee, Michigan for their Lawn Party fund raiser and Historical Home Tour, starting at 5:00 and ending at 7:00 pm. The location is Dempsey Manor, 506 Maple Street, Manistee, MI 49660. You can RSVP with Eric Polyak by calling (231) 384-8185 or by emailing Eric
Next week is the week running up to 4th of July weekend. Many candidates will be out marching in Parades and participating in holiday events. Get out and support our candidates.
Eclectablog yesterday published a late afternoon exclusive about the Snyder Campaign going secret squirrel on the Democrats. Or at least they tried. An intern named Taylor Grenawalt contacted the Mark Schauer for Governor campaign asking about working for them. Taylor forgot this is the age of social media, not Woodward and Bernstein.
Mash the link and have a good laugh with your morning coffee.
Have you ever seen a happier group of people? They’re giving each other a big group hug and flashing their brightest smiles at the camera. Just by looking at it, this picture could be one of many possible events. It could be an office party, a wedding reception or even a convention meet and greet session. Perhaps it’s a high school reunion and these folks are catching up and remembering all the fun they had. That’s the best guess we can make about the people smiling in this picture.
But who are these people and what are they really celebrating? This is a picture of a group giddy with happiness because Governor Snyder signed SB 618, the law that lifted the cap on charter schools in the state of Michigan. From left to right we have Beth DeShone of the Great Lakes Education Project, Gary Naeyaert and Mary Kay Shields of the John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, and Billie Wimmer from the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers.
More charter schools for Michigan and they couldn’t be happier. Now that we know charter schools in this state run by for-profit private companies cost Michigan taxpayers a billion dollars a year with no public oversight and very lax enforcement of regulations, are they still celebrating? The answer to that is likely ‘yes’.