Primary Responsibility of Ludington City Hall

[XLFD]

On February 28, 2011, Exactly one year ago, the City Council of Ludington passed an ordinance that allowed the City Manager to issue a letter of trespass to deny access to public facilities to anybody that the City Manager gauged as a threat to City security.  The next day, a letter of trespass was issued to me. 

I run for City Councilor last year, being permitted to enter City Hall early in the year after getting written permission.  Later on in the year, I get ignored by the City Manager three consecutive times to gain access to the City Hall in complete accordance with the Letter of Trespass for election activities, including a "Candidate's Forum".  My attorney contacts the City Attorney to negotiate the withdrawal of the Letter, but is rebuffed and rebutted.  I never get permission to vote at my polling place that happens to be the Ludington City Hall. 

I petition the County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola for an investigation as concern criminal violations of Michigan election law.  For some reason, his investigation focuses a lot more on baseless suppositions against the complainant than the actual complaint.  Not a big surprise; but the MSP officers investigating the complaint never bothered contacting me to let me know the investigation was over, or get any supplemental information beyond my original sketch of a complaint.

Anyhow, my talk with them said the City's neglect to allow me to vote could lend itself to a civil suit more than a criminal suit, as intent to disallow me the vote would be hard to prove.  I would grant them that, but they also assured me the City was unaware of them having effectively blocked me from being able to vote, and would have extended me that right if I would have asked John Shay for it.  City Manager John Shay does not have the power to decide whether I can or cannot vote!

 

So with the Michigan Primaries coming up, I looked forward to the City notifying me that I had the ability to enter my polling place to vote.  On Monday there was nothing in my E-mails, nothing in my mailbox that allowed me that right.  I sent out the following letter to my federal representatives (Stabenow, Levin, and Huizenga) and Governor Rick Snyder (with some modifications for each) that explained my disenfranchisement because of an unconstitutional local policy.

 

I am writing to you on the eve of the Michigan primaries that are to be held tomorrow, voting occurring in cities and townships across the great state of Michigan. I wish to take part in the vote, but I have been disallowed to do so by a group of people that are in positions of power in my little city of Ludington, midway up the coast of Western Michigan.

I run a local political watchblog that throughout its tenure since 2009 has been exposing some of the questionable practices of our City, County, and regional governments. I had posted a series of articles on our local Downtown Development Authority's ethical lapses, including a mid-February 2011 post which rankled the Chairman of that organization, leading them to petition the City Manager, John Shay, to devise a means to "punish" me for my use of the City's informational webpages and the regular FOIA requests that I made to investigate possible wrongdoing.

 

I was given a "Letter of Trespass" for the Ludington City Hall and Police Station, which said I could not enter those places without first getting written permission from the City Manager. If I didn't I would be guilty of the misdemeanor of trespassing and would be arrested on the spot (a copy is included). Later on via an FOIA that cost me nearly $20, I found that the City had filed a police complaint without my knowledge on me over "linking to a city webpage" that was publicly available to anyone, and a memo to all officers to arrest me if I violated the Letter.

 

I was never alleged to have done anything wrong, although it was said someone on the staff had felt threatened and intimidated by me. Not that I had done anything at City Hall or the Police Station other than get and pay for FOIA requests since 2008, all without incident. The action was to intimidate me from investigating more.

 

My place that I am registered to vote happens to be the Ludington City Hall. I had petitioned the City Manager to visit the City Hall three times in order to run for City Councilor. I was frequently hampered by my inability to enter the City Hall without threat of arrest. A candidate forum was held in October 2011, and the City Manager ignored three pleas from me and three from my attorney in Sept. and Oct. to enter the City Hall to participate in it.

 

Election day came and even though the City Manager, Clerk, and Council knew that I resided in the ward that needs to vote at City Hall, I never received any written permission to. Despite the six pleas of the previous months, there was no way I could vote. I fail to qualify for an absentee ballot, and if I stepped foot on the City Hall premises I was told that I would be arrested.

 

I asked the local prosecutor to investigate the aspects of this disenfranchisement as it pertains to MCL 169.932 (1)(a). The prosecutor used the local MSP from Hart to investigate, and seriously botched the issue. Documents I have received from his office seem to indicate that, and I am in process of getting the investigation report from the MSP. After relating my initial complaint to the prosecutor, I was never contacted except to say he had started an investigation. The investigation had closed, by the time I contacted them in early December. However, I was told by the MSP Fellowes that the City had claimed it an oversight and that they hadn't known about my dilemma. Leading one to believe that it would be corrected, or at least to not happen again.

 

Which brings us to this primary. I am registered to vote, I am willing to vote, but I can't go to my polling place without being under the threat of arrest for stepping onto the property, as I have not yet received written permission to vote. Have I pleaded with City Manager Shay to vote in this primary as I and my attorney pleaded with him before the November election? Why should I, no one else has to, and his lack of responses to my previous requests make me not bother with wasting my time doing so.

Besides the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 11 says:
(a) No person acting under color of law shall fail or refuse to permit any person to vote who is entitled to vote under any provision of this Act or is otherwise qualified to vote, or willfully fail or refuse to tabulate, count, and report such person's vote.
(b) No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote.

 

The City Manager's policy, passed by the City Council of Ludington, uses the color of law to impose the ban on my right to enter a public place which just also happens to be my polling place. They use the intimidation of arrest, the threat of enjailment to enforce this disenfranchisement of my rights, whether to vote or to attend any public Open Meeting that takes place at City Hall.

 

In section 12, it has a penalty for those who would deprive those who act under color of the law to deprive suffrage: (a) Whoever shall deprive or attempt to deprive any person of any right secured by section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 or shall violate section 11(a) or (b), shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

 

I realize you are a Federal legislator, not a Federal jurist who may rule on this in the future. But I hope for and pray that you can help me regain some of my rights that have been taken from me by City of Ludington officials by helping me in whatever way you can. Whether it is to do some serious fact-finding in this case, to reveal the truth amidst the complexities, or whether it be to help me with getting some of these issues resolved (though a court solution looks necessary).

 

[RobbyK]

Willy,Aqua,

I'll talk Lisa's advice, and not really care what you think.

XLFD,

Seriously, think about it, you have letters to the AG, you've gone to the State Police and talked FED - and probably others - all who have the resources to do IP addresses, at a minimal, they can find out who is on here posting. None, who have any stake in Ludington or its Govt. Possible "Obstruction of Justice" is a major offense, get real. You need to be concentrating on your task at hand. I truly hope your friends are helping you monetarily too, instead of just egging you on, everyone like s a good fight until it hits their pockets.

You guys are going to turn out to be your own worst enemies. Loose lips sink ships and big mouths just tend to piss people off, it surely doesn't get them in your corner.

Do you read ANYTHING from people you don't agree with? I recommended petitions, I recommended that you take a less aggressive stance towards people you disagree with here, I looked at your "brief" and honestly, while its full of knowledge, its overloaded from what Ive seen in other ones Ive read online.I would want to write something that's going to keep his attention and not make him skim through it.

Ive given you positive ideas and some constructive criticism, but you cant see that. Ive even agreed on some points.

Does it make me feel comfortable? NO, but apparently as I said before, maybe you're not getting your info out to the right forum.Did you ever consider (I know hindsight's 20/20) having an attorney make your FOIA requests? The Paper - prior to alienating them? You seem to have a loyal following, has Aqua, Willy or Marty made any for you, or are they just leaving you on point the whole time? (you don't need to answer these, just food for thought)

You said before that the City attorney wanted to talk to you. Why not? You don't seem to realize that you're YOUR OWN attorney, with that comes the frills of sitting down in meetings with them TOTALLY off the record. Nothing the others are entitled to should be denied to you. You can go there just to enjoy the coffee and listen if you like. Hear what they say, it might give you better clues of their attacking points. If they throw out any threats you can leave. It never hurts to see what they're offering. You had your depo with them, Why didn't you assert yourself, as a real attorney would have? Your entitled to nothing less than if you were an actual attorney IE - in depo - MR. W or whoever it was, its time for a break. You weren't a hostage, and in the eyes of the Court, you have as much authority as any other attorney. Did you Object to any questions? Did you say "asked and answered" to any repetitive questions? If you don't object to some things, they can become un-appealable. Just opinions. None of this is meant to be legal advice - children should not use these methods at home without adult supervision - just things I'm thinking.

Like I said, you need to get this info to a bigger forum with less antagonism.

[Willy]

Wow. How about that. An actual winning run. How many runs will it take to win? My goodness you use some really big words. I'm glad you finally are able to use the myopic word. I don't think you work for Attorney Wilson. He only hires smart people.