Thue for Tuesday

On Tuesday June 6, 2023, on the anniversary of D-Day, former Scottville City Commissioner Eric Thue made a courageous landing on the western shores of Lake Michigan, filing a recall petition with the county clerk going after the lead city commissioner, Mayor Marcy Spencer.  Commissioner Rob Alway was quick to put out a story later that day in his propaganda mill medium, likely getting a call from his fellow clowncilor looking for a little aerial support after the clerk notified her of the action, and Alway was more than willing to bombard the truth.  Riley Kelley of the Ludington Daily News would get a better recap of what actually transpired and what had went before:

You will notice that the three reasons given for the recall reflect some of the issues I had in my quo warranto filing back in January, almost immediately blocked by 51st Circuit Court Judge Susan Sniegowski under a seemingly intentional, erroneous application of the law.  Both articles fail to realize that the quo warranto is dormant but not dead.

Thue served my summons to both clowncilor Alway and Spencer then, and this honorable citizen has much more motivation than what's written on the petition to file this; much of this should be coming out as this process advances.  He has many allies; all want Scottville's leadership to rediscover it's moral footing and advance the interests of the people by following the rules placed in the charter for the city's success.

The Ludington Torch supports Thue's effort, and hope that at least 105 of the registered voters of Scottville will sign the petition.  But we also worry that the efforts of Mr. Thue and his allies may go for naught if the current regime adopts the following strategical tactic-- which would also make the quo warranto suit against Mayor Spencer a moot point.

The Queen's Gambit

The board has been set to allow Mayor Spencer to commit a meaningless sacrifice in order to remove the recall and quo warranto threats against her political career and allow her to not worry about reelection until 2026.  This is much like the Queen's Gambit in chess where both players move out their queen's pawn to the center of the board on their first move, then white pushes their queen bishop's pawn up alongside it, offering black the opportunity to grab a pawn.  

Taking the pawn is usually considered inferior to declining to take it by most masters, as white is often able to regain the pawn and develop a strong central presence.  In our Scottville scenario, the sacrifice being made by the queen would be for Queen Marcy to resign immediately from the commission. 

While this would dismiss both the legal (court case) and political (recall petition) efforts against her, it would leave her out of work, but only for a moment if the pieces are played correctly.  Kelli Pettit, resigned from her four-year term officially at the last meeting, and the commission is set to select her replacement at the next meeting.  Replacement councilors have been hard to find; the position of Susan Evans went unfilled by the clowncil due to no interested people applying.  It seems likely that might happen again as most Scottville folks see the clowncil as dysfunctional and actively avoid it.

But, Clowncilor Alway, after this next Monday's meeting, can write the saga of a freshly resigned mayor willing to come back and take the dare of being Pettit's replacement, and if three of the skeleton crew of remaining clowncilors seemingly loyal to Ms. Spencer (Alway, Darcy Copenhaver, Al Deering, and Aaron Seiter) agree, her position is unassailable for the next 3.5 years (barring another refreshed recall effort).

Alway is a lock for selecting Spencer over any other that might apply, Copenhaver and Seiter proved their obedience and sycophancy in last November's court intrigues, and Deering would be hard-pressed to contain his admiration of the scheme.  

A simple resignation, followed by a simple application for the open seat, followed by a routine vote to select the "most qualified applicant", followed by a second vote and second coronation for Mayor Marcy in just one year.  Bye-bye lawsuit.  Bye-bye recall.  Bye-bye partial term.  D-Day turns into Disappointment Day, and it's all legal.