61st District Updates

More dirty tricks. A robocall was made to some 61st district residents asking "liberal voters" to support Larry DeShazor in the Republican primary. The call cited DeShazor's 2006 challenge to Jack Hoogendyk, his alleged willingness to raise taxes, and his opposition to making English the official language of Michigan. The call did not have the required "paid for by..." message and it is unclear who is responsible for it. It is also unclear whether liberal or conservative voters were the intended audience. DeShazor has blamed unnamed "special interests" for the calls.

Larry DeShazor, Republican candidate for 61st District of Michigan House, decries campaign calls

Candidates campaign 3 days before primary

In Portage, Larry DeShazor and Margaret O'Brien, Republican contenders for the 61st District state House seat, both embarked early Saturday on what they both expected would be a 12-hour day of going door-to-door. David Yardley, the other Republican candidate, had his phone banks working at a feverish pace.

"As a candidate, I think you feel more urgency today than any other previous Saturdays,'' said Yardley, who was apologetic about a botched test of an automatic-calling system that inadvertently caused about 40 residences to get calls between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Saturday

Does Larry DeShazor support the RMGN court-hacking scheme?

WMUK News: Election Coverage

The "Reform Michigan Government Now" plan would make 30 changes in the state constitution. It would reduce the number of seats in both the House and the Senate and eliminate the jobs of some state Supreme Court justices and Appeals Court judges. It would also cut the pay of most elected state officials. That idea may play well with voters but O’Brien says the overall proposal is still a bad idea. She says it would limit representation in Lansing.

Yardley also opposes the "Reform Michigan Government Now" plan. He says some parts of the proposal are good, such as reducing the number of state government departments. But Yardley says the ballot question is far too complex.

Whether or not the proposal will actually appear on the November ballot is still unclear since opponents are expected to challenge it in court. But DeShazor says he supports the plan because it would reduce the size of the legislature.

Some Republicans and other critics say the "Reform Michigan Government Now" proposal is nothing more than a "Democratic power grab". That’s because the judges who’d lose their jobs are all in the GOP. But DeShazor says the proposal reflects the public’s deep dissatisfaction with the way business is done in Lansing.

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Other news:

Dave Healy...the next Fidel Castro!

So says Sue Commissaris. (See the letter second to the bottom.)