Secrecy Defeats Democracy in Oceana County

[XLFD]

News

It has just been publicly disclosed that a candidate running for Oceana County Commissioner running unopposed this November after winning in the partisan (Republican) primary in August has been facing drunk driving charges after an incident that happened in early June. 

In the two month period before the primaries, the newspapers that covers Oceana County, operated by Shoreline Media, which also runs Mason County's lone newspaper the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews), offered nothing on this development (see August post Election Results Article), and have still not presented it.  The fledgling Oceana County Press finally learned about the incident and ran a story by Allison Scarborough today and reprinted below:

HART — Andrew Sebolt, who is running unopposed in the Nov. 4 election for a seat on the Oceana County Board of Commissioners, is facing a drunk driving charge.

Sebolt, 32, of 4124 E. Hazel Rd., Hart was arrested June 7 by the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office for operating while intoxicated, according to his file in 78th District Court. He posted 10 percent of a $3,500 bond, his file states.

The case is being prosecuted in Oceana County by the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office due to an apparent conflict of interest. Sebolt waived his arraignment, June 17, according to court records.

Sebolt’s attorney, Ryan Ramsayer, said he is confident his client will be vindicated. “I have filed a motion to have the case dismissed,” he said. Ramsayer is an associate counsel for Barone Defense Firm in Birmingham, Mich. According to the firm’s website, it exclusively handles drunk driving defenses.

A hearing to address Ramsayer’s motion for dismissal that was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 14, was adjourned on behalf of the prosecution, he said. The attorney said he has a “pretty good basis” for dismissal. “My client is presumed innocent, and he will be vindicated. We need to let the system work itself out,” he said. “A non-alcohol offense” could be the outcome of his case, he added.

Due to the appointment of the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office as special counsel, Ramsayer said reaching a “positive solution” has taken longer than he would have liked. “The wheels of justice move slowly,” he said. Now, a new date for a motion hearing is being scheduled, he said, and he’s anticipating that will not take place until the end of November — after the election.

Sebolt defeated longtime county commissioner Larry VanSickle, who is currently chairman of the board, in the primary election last August. Sebolt is seeking election to represent District 4, which includes the townships of Colfax, Leavitt, Elbridge and Ferry.

OCP was unsuccessful in reaching Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola for comment.

OCP received a tip from a reader about the case who said they “wanted to make a good decision among the candidates.”

http://www.oceanacountypress.com/2014/10/16/county-commissioner-can...

Analysis: 

Sebolt is not the typical type of politician that media would protect, being a member of the Tea Party. An unidentified  conflict of interest with the Oceana County Prosecutor's Office, apparently led to the reassignment of the case to Mason County's Prosecutor Paul Spaniola, who is a noted sympathizer for political officials in trouble and in suppressing open records. 

Sebolt's attorney has been great at gaming the process so as not to attract unwanted attention and postpone any court ruling until after the election when his client would then be a county commissioner. The Oceana County Sheriff's Office, under control of the county commission were the arresting authority and, unlike the City of Manistee Police Department did with arrest records of WSCC's President Charles Dillon, decided to keep their cards face down. 

In Dillon's case, it has been strongly rumored that bad blood existed between him and the Manistee Chief of Police, who live just a couple of houses away from Dr. Dillon in Manistee.  Andrew Sebolt seemingly has a better relationship between himself and the sheriff of OCSO, who soon will be hopeful that Sebolt does not take his deputy's actions personally.

So what we have here is probably an understaffed longtime local media in Oceana County being ignorant of the news, an upstart internet media group scooping them on this important story, someone accused of DWI since June who will become county commissioner by default unless someone gets a write-in campaign in by the end of next week, and a county that will get a commissioner who just may be dangerous even outside the commission chambers. 

If Sebolt's attorney is so confident that his client will be vindicated, why doesn't he divulge all the records that show his point to the public so that Joe and Mary Oceana do not hold their nose when they are practically forced to darken Andrew Sebolt's oval on the ballot?   I'm a Tea Party sympathizer, but would not vote for him since this incident shows that he is willing to hide public information at the people's expense.

Democracy cannot flourish unless the people are properly and honestly informed.  Maybe that's why the Ludington City Council wants to abolish democracy for the people of Ludington by taking their right to vote away from clerk, treasurer and even council positions?  They, Manager Shay, and the COLDNews acting in concert can make most citizens believe almost anything.

[AQUAMAN]

If Seymour has a downstate defense attorney that specializes in DUI's, it will look even better for him. Congrats. to Sebolt for a fight well fought. Hope he now can concentrate on the important matters of being a good county commissioner for Oceana.

[Willy]

I don't understand how the maker of the alcohol tester could have or would have somehow discredited their piece of equipment. I would think that, now, anybody using the tester could be challenged as to it's usage and accuracy. 

[AQUAMAN]

Is it possible that Haverdink no longer works for Datamaster? Could he have known about these defects when he did, or still does? It also wouldn't surprise me if the current unit in Oceana County is outdated, and/or defective, as our little bergs around here don't believe in updating frequently on important items like this very often.