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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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There was a letter also printed in the CPSA Courier signed by Jackie Poplar, condeming Buchanan and Smith while showing support for Walling.
Posted on Sept. 27, 2011 by Crusader News Service Copyright©2011
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JAIL TIME DEMANDED
Bobby Johnson Demands Jail Time for
Flint City Council President Over Her
Walling Endorsement from Council Chambers
BY MIKE KILLBREATH
Crusader News Service
Publisher & Executive Editor
Flint City Council President Jackie Poplar has more troubles to deal with after criminal charges were demanded Monday night by political activist Bobby Johnson. He cited Michigan campaign finance laws that prohibit public officials from using city resources to promote or endorse candidates for public office. Johnson, a mayoral candidate for the 2011 race until endorsing Scott Smith last spring, insisted to city council members that Poplar should be removed from office and arrested for an incident earlier this year when she endorsed Flint Mayor Dayne Walling's re-election bid during a city council meeting.
Johnson said he does not support Mayor Walling or Darryl Buchanan in the upcoming Nov. 8 general election. They finished ahead of Smith in a seven-candidate primary field to get on the ballot. "I am not going away because I intend to keep fighting for residents," Johnson told council members.
Johnson's tirade was part of a "Storm City Hall" event he promoted with Smith on Facebook to get residents to show up Monday night to protest high water bills, high taxes and a lack of police protection. Smith told Crusader News Service via text that he had planned to go, but was confined to his house after he "threw his back out earlier in the day." Residents spent more than two hours parading to the podium to blast the mayor and council members for making cuts to public safety in a city that is now ranked by the FBI as the most dangerous in America for crime. Click Here for Residents Storm City Hall Story
Flint City Attorney Peter Bade made no comments about the demands by Johnson for removal of Poplar and no city council members reacted. The latest problem for Poplar follows a series of troubles for her since being elected to represent the city's 2nd Ward. Click Here for Story on Jackie's Poplar's Past Problems
F. Anthony Lubkin, Corporate Attorney for FAME NEWSPAPERS and AM ADVANTAGE, confirmed that Johnson is correct in his assertion that Poplar violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act by her actions. Lubkin said the council president spouting political views from the council chambers to endorse a candidate during an election campaign subjects her to criminal prosecution. Lubkin said Section 169.257(1) of Michigan Compiled Laws states that "a public body or an individual acting for a public body shall not use or authorize the use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, or other public resources to make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services."
Lubkin also cited a November 2006 opinion by former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land when she went a step further to clarify the intent of the state legislature's act. Her opinion ruled: "It is imperative to maintain strict government neutrality in elections in order to protect the integrity of the democratic process. State and local units of government and their elected officials and employees, share a heightened duty to safeguard public resources from misuse for political purposes. The (Michigan Campaign Finance Act) is only one part of the state's comprehensive statutory scheme that prohibits a public body from participating in political campaigns."
Government meetings are open to the public under the Sunshine Act's freedom of information statutes passed by the United States Congress in 1976. The law also requires sufficient posting for notification of government meetings, as well as certain advertising requirements within newspapers. The Flint City Council uses the Flint Journal for its legal notices and copies are available for the newspaper of record at the Flint Public Library. Johnson said minutes published for the meeting where Poplar acted illegally do not reflect what she said in the official record kept by City Clerk Inez Brown and published as required by the statute.
Johnson said he secured a CD of the proceedings to prove Poplar's comments from the telecast of the council meeting on Comcast Cablevision's Channel 17 public access station. He said he will ask for a legal opinion on whether or not Brown broke the law when failing to add Poplar's comments to the official record that was published as required by state law.
A similar case made national headlines last May when the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association protested such behavior as illegal. Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, stressed in her opinion that a Sunshine Act meeting is "not an appropriate place for campaigning."
"Ultimately, it's not a forum for campaigning," she said. "It is a forum for public business. It's really for dealing with the business of the agency, not the business of elected officials."
Jennifer Granholm, while serving as Michigan Attorney General, clarified election law disputes over prosecution in a December 1999 ruling that The "legislature has provided that county prosecuting attorneys shall, in their respective counties, prosecute all civil and criminal matters in which the state or county may be interested" by Michigan Compiled Laws Section MCL 49.153. Granholm's opinion added that "nothing contained in the (Michigan Campaign Finance Act) diminishes the authority of county prosecutors to prosecute crimes committed in their respective counties."
The county prosecutor for Genesee County is David Leyton. A request for comment was sent to him via e-mail, but his office has not yet responded. Lubkin said Leyton's office can bring charges only after a warrant is requested by a police agency.
Lubkin revealed that City Ordinance 2632 passed on May 8, 1978 by the Flint City Council states that "all persons and entities taking political action involving the Charter of the City of Flint shall be required to comply with Act 388 of the Public Acts of 1975, being MCLA §§ 169.201 et seq. and MSA §§ 4.1703(1) et seq., which is known as the Campaign Financing Act." Violating the ordinance leaves Poplar facing forfeiture of office and removal for cause, according to Lubkin, under Section 1-603(c) of the Flint City Charter adopted by voters in 1974. The section says: "Any resident of the City may petition an appropriate court to require the City Council to hold a public hearing on the forfeiture of an office if the City Council has reasonably refused to proceed."
Section 1-603(a) of the Flint City Charter says: "The City Council shall declare the forfeiture of the office of any elective officer or appointee and may remove for cause any person appointed to an office for a fixed term. In every case there shall be a public hearing before the City Council with notice published in the same manner as notices of proposed ordinances. A Council member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture may not participate in the resolution of the charge."
Section 1-603(b) says: "The position of an elective City officer or an appointee shall be forfeited if he or she: (1) Lacks at any time any qualifications required by law or this Charter; or (2) Violates any provisions of this Charter punishable by forfeiture."
Poplar's endorsement pitch for Mayor Walling came when she interupted Johnson during a May 25 public speaking appearance he made before the council. Johnson was critical of Mayor Walling and his administration over extending a towing contract with Complete Towing. Johnson also noted that the extension was never reported by the Flint Journal or any of the local TV stations, adding, "I just need to ask why?
The contract was extended after the city administration had attempted to get council approval for it two weeks earlier. Kevin Smith of Smitty's Towing in Burton spoke to the council then, along with his attorney, who was Lubkin. Smith told the council that he wanted to bid on the work and Lubkin pushed a plan by his client to save the city more than $300,000 annually. "We were also willing to let the city make money off the sale of cars after they are impounded and not picked up," Lubkin said. "My client lives in the city. He employs people in the City of Flint. Further, he has hired minority employees in a city that is perhaps 70 percent black, yet elected city leaders choose to do business with a company that apparently chooses not to hire minority employees."
Lubkin's lobbying resulted in a 5-4 vote to block extending the contract for four years. City Councilman Scott Kincaid argued that it was a good deal for the city to "lock in" a price for four years and led a 6-3 vote to reverse the decision two weeks later when Lubkin was not there. "I'm not sure what happened," said Lubkin, who insisted there was no rush to get a deal done except for political reasons. "My client certainly questions why there was such a rush to get an extension to a contract without opening it up to bids," Lubkin said. The contract was opposed by Mike Sarginson, Sheldon Neeley and Bernard Lawler. Councilmen Bryant Nolen and Delrico Lloyd reversed their no votes from two weeks earlier on the original 5-4 vote, allowing the contract to be extended when they voted with Kincaid, Josh Freeman, Dale Weighill and Poplar.
Complete Towing won a lawsuit against the city after former Mayor Don Williamson refused to pay for services and opened a city impound lot. Cultural Village Voice reported in May 2010 that the city-run operation generated $2.41 million in revenue, according to Williamson. The figure was confirmed by City Treasurer Doug Bingham, who said it was "actually a little more than that figure."
Mayor Walling and his top city administrator, Gregory Eason, disputed the figure during a heated debate eight months later at a meeting of the North End Block Club. Mayor Walling said Williamson's figures were untrue and said the city treasurer was mistaken to confirm it. He and Eason also denied then that 59 police officers were being paid for by grants when debating a laid-off police officer. The figure cited by the officer was later confirmed as accurate after he told Eason: "We will agree to disagree but my numbers are coming from the union president."
Johnson told council members Monday night that it "made absolutely no sense" to close the city-operated impound lot when it made more than $1 million per year in profit. Councilman Freeman made a brief comment after Johnson left the speaker podium, saying, "The city never made $1 million from the impound lot."
Budget figures obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request from the Ryan Eashoo Show on FlintTalkRadio.com confirmed the numbers reported by Williamson in the Cultural Village Voice story.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:59 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"Lubkin's lobbying resulted in a 5-4 vote to block extending the contract for four years. City Councilman Scott Kincaid argued that it was a good deal for the city to "lock in" a price for four years and led a 6-3 vote to reverse the decision two weeks later when Lubkin was not there. "I'm not sure what happened," said Lubkin, who insisted there was no rush to get a deal done except for political reasons. "My client certainly questions why there was such a rush to get an extension to a contract without opening it up to bids," Lubkin said. The contract was opposed by Mike Sarginson, Sheldon Neeley and Bernard Lawler. Councilmen Bryant Nolen and Delrico Lloyd reversed their no votes from two weeks earlier on the original 5-4 vote, allowing the contract to be extended when they voted with Kincaid, Josh Freeman, Dale Weighill and Poplar."
Kincaid was with Patton at the Greek Asumption Church Dinner fundraiser and they are said to be good friends. Eric Mays has said that Patton spent over $7,500 to finance the recall attempt of former mayor Williamson.
Did deep pockets influence the vote?
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:04 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Jackie Poplar was nearly kicked out of her bankruptcy before completion because of non payment issues. An attorney went to the hearing and pled "hardship" to give her more time to complete the bankruptcy.
Could this be why she was made council president as the president gets a modest pay bump. What other assistance was she given to help resolve her hardship issues.
I personally find it difficult to take what this woman has to say about the financial situation of the City when it is apparent her own household cannot manage theirs. She has been in bankruptcy protection since prior to her election until recntly this year.
Also, after listening to this woman speak, I cannot believe she wrote the Courier letter and I wonder who in the administration wrote it for her. |
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Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:43 am |
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