Senator opposes recall effort
To the editor:
A two-member panel from the
Wayne County Elections
Commission recently turned down
language to recall State
Representative Dian Slavens (D-
Canton). I applaud the panel for
their decision.
Representative Slavens and I
do not always agree on the issues,
and, oftentimes, we have voted at
odds with one another on bills
before theLegislature. But as elect-
ed officials, we have both upheld
our duty to vote on the legislation
beforeus.
While I firmly believe that a
recall process is an important part
of a representative government, it
should be reserved for cases of
malfeasance or unethical behavior
by our elected officials and not
invoked because a legislator has an
opposing philosophy to our own or
simply casts a vote.
It is unfair to taxpayers to spend
their money on recall elections
when an elected official does the
job that they were elected to do. If
we disagree with a lawmaker's phi-
losophy or voting record we can
work to vote them out of office at
the next election.
These recall election attempts
have done nothing but further the
partisan fighting and take attention
away from the real issues - creating
an environment that promotes job
One of the first things I ever
learned in this business was to
avoid “the appearance of wrongdo-
ing.”
A very ancient and extremely
cranky editor at theweekly newspa-
per where I cut my baby reporter
teeth laid out rules for my profes-
sional conduct that were never, ever
covered in any journalism or ethics
class. I thought she was nuts. She
thought journalismwas a noble pro-
fession.
I wonder what she would think
about what I'mabout to do.
She'd either tell me that even if
my motives were pure, there were
going to be people who thought I
was being self-serving andmisusing
my access to the public, or that as a
real journalist, I have an obligation
to point out misdeeds, or the
appearance of wrongdoing, when-
ever I see it. Talk about a moral
dilemma.
But, here goes.
In Wayne, there is a news-
magazine publisher seeking elec-
tion to the city council. This man
sells advertising personally into his
publication, visiting local business-
es and urging them to place ads in
his paper. If he is elected, this, to
me, and to the editors and publish-
ers who taught me about morals
and ethics, smacks of influence ped-
dling at best. I won't even go into
what it might be at worst, but there
is an ugly word that comes immedi-
ately tomind.
Think about it. A city councilman
who comes into your place of busi-
ness and “asks” you to advertise
with him----when you need city per-
mits, building permits, tax assess-
ments, fire inspections, electrical
inspections, parking enforcement
and police protection, all of which
this man influences when he sits at
the council table.
That ugly word popped into my
mind again.
When I first heard about it, I
thought the best course of action
was to shut up. After all, it is a dif-
ferent world, there is no hard evi-
dence, to date, that there is any-
thing inappropriate about it, and
my moral code of conduct may be
offended, but I don't make the rules.
Apparently, these days Rupert
Murdochdoes.
So I saidnothing.
See, this is the same man who
accepted legal advertising from the
new city clerk, who was also one of
his contributing writers, knowing
full well that hewas not qualifiedby
law to publish these notices. He
took them anyway and cashed the
city checks without any hesitation.
When confronted, he allegedly said,
“I wondered when they were going
to catchon.”
The fledgling city clerk claimed
that he had only followed the exam-
ple of his predecessor in publishing
the notices in the non-qualifying
paper. I chose to
believe him
even though he
had already
published several weeks notices
with our paper, which does qualify,
before he arbitrarily moved the
notices to the non-legal paper, for
whichhewas a contributingwriter.
Now, to be fair, the mayor and
the city manager put an immediate
stop to it when they were informed
of what was going on. The conflict of
interest and legal exposure to the
citywere very clear to bothof them.
And the new city clerk might
well not have understood, except
this all occurred in a city where
there was a very recent election
watched across the state about the
publication of legal notices. A city
where the voters decided that these
notices should be published as the
law requires, the way the law
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
S
EPTEMBER
8, 2011
Task force
deserves
community
support
Adversity is not necessarily your enemy, or so they say.
In the case of the Yankee Air Museum, the adversity that
struck in the form of a devastating blaze in the museum sev-
eral years ago was the impetus for some remarkable accom-
plishments.
Not only has the museum been rebuilt from the ground
up, but incredible memorabilia and aircraft attractions
added, all using donated funds and contributions.
They have a lot to be proud of and now, with the designa-
tion in July as an affiliate of the renown Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C., they are officially one of the
premiermuseumsites in the country.
When Chairman of the Museum Board of Directors Ray
Hunter said that this is an accomplishment of major signifi-
cance, he wasn't exaggerating the prestige and importance of
this accomplishment. Think of it. A Belleville facility that is
an affiliate of the keeper of the artifacts of our national histo-
ry.
The preservation of the history of aviation is an entire
division of the Smithsonian at the National Air and Space
Museum on the mall in D.C., and to be in the company and
an affiliate of such a prestigious and respected keeper of the
national records is a great honor and aweighty responsibility.
Aircraft and flight have played an incredibly significant
role in the history of theUnited States, from the planes flown
in combat during two World Wars to the supply and carriers
that helped form the basis for air travel and flight in our
country.
This designation from the Smithsonian comes with a great
many conditions and regulations. The rules and regulations
for the care and preservation of these historic aircraft and
many of the artifacts at the museum are stringent and pre-
cise. To have succeeded in the quest to become an affiliate,
theYankee AirMuseumhad to prove their worth and expert-
ise to the Smithsonian experts and historians and demon-
strate a level of skill and professional acumen in aircraft his-
tory that was extensive, to say the very least. Now, they must
continue to prove, beyond any doubt, that they are worthy of
the affiliation the Smithsonian name by adhering to the high-
est standards ofmuseumpreservation andhistoric accuracy.
We congratulate the Yankee Air Museum on this accom-
plishment and hope that the public throughout the area
understands and appreciates the significance of this designa-
tion. Like the move of the Concours d'Elegance to Plymouth
this year, this affiliation brings a level of prestige and recogni-
tion to the entire area. This is something of which every resi-
dent can and should be proud and raises the level of social
andhistoric significance throughout our community.
Once again, our congratulations.
This designation from the
Smithsonian comes with
a great many conditions and regulations.
”
Entire area benefits from museum affiliation
The investment banker in
Northville believes that he is
untouched by the criminal drug
ring operating inBelleville.
The housewife in Inkster is
unaware of the money-laundering
scheme that is going on in
Plymouth.
The doctor inWayne has no idea
that her family is impacted or
threatened by illegal drug sales in
Canton.
They all need to take a good look
around andbecome farmore aware
of one of the ugliest aspects of the
current economy in this area.
Crime spills over borders and
affects lives in ways that the com-
placent and arrogant might never
imagine. We are all affected when
crime statistics show that more
vehicles are stolen in our area and
therefore, the increased risk of
theft justifies an increase in our
insurance premiums.
Every one of us suffers the con-
sequences of illegal drug sales,
especially when, two or three steps
up the ladder, some of that money
goes to fund groups determined to
do great harm to our country,
whether by terrorist attack or fund-
ing insurrection. Whenmoney laun-
dering schemes in this area help
fund terrorist organizations, help
arm those in far away countries
doing battle with our troops in the
field, stopping that effort is the
responsibility of eachof us.
All that to explain the real and
necessary purpose of the Western
Wayne Criminal Investigations Task
Force, now operating in this area.
The task force has been in opera-
tion for some time, but only recently
instituted a new tip line that resi-
dents can call with information
about illegal or suspicious activi-
ties.
Callers can give their names and
particulars or remain anonymous;
the task force is only interested in
the validity of the information pro-
vided. If there is crime going on, of
any kind, theywant to knowabout it
so they can investigate and put a
stop to it.
These are law enforcement pro-
fessionals managed by a state
police lieutenant who has more
than two decades experience run-
ning some of the most high profile
investigations in the state. These
aren't lightweights, by any means.
These guys can separate the real
wrong-doers from those who are
simply in the wrong place and the
wrong time in the blink of an eye.
The reason the task force exists
is to protect the entire area from
crime that may be going on in a city
or township miles away. It all spills
over into other communities.
Maybe it is more difficult to buy
drugs inNorthville than Inkster, but
that's only if the buyer isn't willing
to make the drive. It may not seem
like the nice old woman at the cor-
The appearance of wrongdoing is strong
See
Ethics
, page 7
See
Letters
, page 7
See
Crime
, page 7
Letters