I will update everyone on the city attorney petition later with full details and documents but for now its important to counter the lies and defamation by democracy-suppresser-advocate and anti-voter rights mayor Nathan Triplett. Nathan has personally attacked me falsely again and again as if he has some fetish for it, but I will not idly accept his bullying and falsehoods. I will however take the high road and refrain from personal attacks of the childish nature hes belching. And I will give you the facts: In court today, the Judge rejected many of the unlawful tactics used by the clerk to invalidate the petition. The judge actually reversed 85.7% of the clerks errors, and also did not rule on at least 35 signatures we can also prove the clerk is wrong on. The Judge ruled the committee was 38 short, when the clerk claimed 267. Do the math, and its 3 signatures short. And even that is not counting the unprecedented disqualification of 110 signatures due to non-notarization, which other city clerks, like Lansing, and Traverse City, do not require. If those were counted, wed be above the limit by between 72 and 107, and on the ballot. This is a technicality. In fact the TC clerk confirmed today in writing that notarization is not required. The City of Lansing also does not require it….so exactly who does, Nathan? The court also rejected 87 registered voters who signed twice, which is debatable, so we could also be considered even 194 over. There is also an open issue on the clerks analysis not totaling the number of signatures turned in, in other words, those voters may already be there and are not being counted (and this may be up to 62 signatures). There is no dispute that we submitted almost 1,600 registered voter signatures, well over the 1,322 required, but the clerk used technicalities to disenfranchise the voters of East Lansing…..and Nathan Triplett is on the side of advocating to disenfranchise you, hes personally attacking me while Im representing 1600 registered voters, hes misrepresenting the petition as all about me and not the community, and hes showing contempt for all those people and all the People in East Lansing. Typically people who engage in ad hominem attacks lack real substance in their argument. This is unbecoming of a mayor and an attorney. Instead of taking the side of the voters, both Triplett and the clerk have gone out of their way to suppress the vote and deny ballot access. They could have done the opposite but he CHOSE to take the side of being anti-democratic. We continue to offer to sit down with the clerk and discuss the 35 voters the court didnt rule on (which are likely valid), and find the other 3 voters we would need to have this on the ballot. Given that the clerk made ERRORS on 233 signatures, it is very likely those 3 voters are in there. That is without even asking the Court of Appeals to overturn the 110 notary disqualifications, which contrary to Tripletts lies, is not longstanding Michigan law, its novel and a question of first impression. CHALLENGE TO TRIPLETT: Prove me wrong on that by showing all the clerks who require it and how long they have done so! So, contrary to Tripletts lies about this lawsuit being frivolous, the court overturned 85.7% of the clerks unlawful disqualifications that Triplett supported, ruled that several of the clerks categorical disqualifications were unlawful, and weve now prevented the clerk from ever using these unlawful tactics against anyone else, which in and of itself, is a victory for the democratic process. Clerks are now on clear notice not to engage in these unlawful tactics. If Triplett is going to act so belligerently and personally attack his constituents instead of debating the merits, people in this town will not only enact this city attorney petition most zestfully, but well kick Triplett and any other do-nothing politician out of office and make sure they never return. That being said, we are now searching for replacement mayors for Triplett and will likely be launching a recall campaign against him if he does not resign. I am deeply disturbed by Tripletts misrepresentations about our efforts to protect ballot access, and his personal attacks about seeking to remedy denial of first amendment rights by court action. The right to advocate against the government when your rights are denied, and to have a remedy, is an important part of American jurisprudence, and Tripletts contempt for the rights of ordinary Americans shows how dangerous his anti-democratic political philosophy can be to American values when those like him who stand against civil liberties are in office. History is replete with voter suppression of women, minorities, and other disenfranchised groups, and lawyers and brave clients have been responsible for many of the civil rights victories toward equal suffrage and electoral rights in our countrys history. For Triplett to stand on the wrong side of history is troubling. Ill further remind East Lansing voters that Tripletts response to getting city attorney financials was that everyone would have to FOIA-it…demonstrating his lack of commitment to open government and transparency. Triplett supports the merging of government and private business to engage in prosecution and to exercise the legal authority of the city and without enforceable provisions in the charter or code to have sufficient public control over this undemocratic agency. Youre the mayor dude-- show some leadership. In East Lansing the mayor doesnt do much, hes a figurehead; the city manager who is unelected runs the day-to-day business, referring to the unelected city attorney who works for a private business for guidance, and the clerk is also unelected. Come to think of it-- It doesnt get much more undemocratic than East Lansing, and Tripletts unveiled contempt for voters, ballot access, the right to judicial remedy and your day in court, and to have an attorney, is an attack on American values. For all the complaints about the lively excitement and personal dramas within the Lansing city council and the mayor, at least we know there is a pulse there-- and democracy is alive. Go a couple of miles East though and its a wasteland of undemocratic policies, systems, and government actors. We encourage all East Lansing voters to contact the clerk, the city manager, and council, and especially Nathan Triplett, and let them know if you are not happy with their actions and their willingness to use city resources to argue for the denial of democracy. We will continue to try and work this out with the clerk and are happy to sit down with the clerk or council. If the clerk wont sit down with us and mediate or Council wont put it on the ballot, we will likely file an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals. Over the next few days we will be further discussing the issue internally and with election law specialists as we consider mounting a case to defend the fundamental First Amendment petitioning rights of the People of East Lansing, the State of Michigan, and Americans everywhere. For those that dont know, I offered to Triplett to have a better relationship going forward a couple of months ago and shook his hand. He has not kept up his end of the bargain as a gentleman, and the lines are clearly drawn in the sand as to where we stand on transparency, democracy, civil liberties, etc. Im therefore asking for Nathan Triplett to man-up and apologize for saying, again falsely, that this lawsuit was frivolous and to explain how so if he doesnt. Nathan how does reversing 85.7% of the clerks claims not constitute a victory? You and the clerk refused to discuss the clear errors prior to litigation, and litigation was the only way to prove you 85.7% wrong. Triplett has yet to make any statement in support of voter rights or ballot access throughout this process. I am also calling for his resignation from City Council and his censure by the Council for these irresponsible and anti-constituent comments, and removal from the mayoral position if he does not resign. Ive attached Nathans belligerent and insulting statement as a picture and the link is here. screencast/t/FLYl3Wg9NJV Im also requesting that the local Democratic party and the ACLU condemn Tripletts anti-democratic behavior. Forever yours as a Constitution-Loving, First-Amendment Protecting American democrat, Jeffrey A.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 22:52:46 +0000
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