The candidate forum held on the night of July 23, 2014 had a lot of promise.  Headlining the interest was the four candidate field for 51st Circuit Court Judge, with two contended-primary county commissioner seats, and various ballot proposals and millage requests. 

Unfortunately, the forum was being held by the usual heads of the local newspaper and the chamber of commerce, and so what the night amounted to was a couple of hours of propaganda and softballs.  Softball questions to the candidates and one-sided looks at ballot issues, to be exact.

John Walker, editor of the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) and Kathy McLean of the Ludington/Scottville Chamber of Commerce moderated the event by leading off with three non-candidates to talk about local and state issues on the ballot.

Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett effectively covered the same ground Ray Hasil did at the last Ludington City Council meeting, explaining why 9-1-1 dispatch services were losing money and needed the new .14 millage increase (for six years) to offset those revenue losses.  County commissioner candidates Chuck Lange and Wally Taranko also urged the passage when they had time to speak later on. 

Kathy McLean then went on to tout a website that advocated passing State Proposal 1 (http://strongandsafecommunities.com/) while explaining it in a somewhat convoluted way, insuring us that it wasn't a tax increase. 

Karen Nielsen of Ludington Mass Transit Authority (LMTA), the dial-a-ride, then told us how badly more funds were needed to offset the expenses that were growing, by upping their millage by .25 mills. 

This was the night's propaganda.  Three people take one position on these proposals, those positions are for a tax hike, for a tax shift, and for a tax hike, respectively.  A lot of times, people vote down tax hikes and shifts; for fairness, why did we not hear from three well-spoken individuals who oppose the three measures? 

Someone could have told the audience that LMTA and central dispatch need to live within their means, the people they would be taking that money away from have to, after all.  They could have touted reasonable alternatives and solutions.  The reason Ms. McLean could not adequately explain State Proposal One is that it is a complex proposal, and one that has reasoned opposition from the right and the left.  Either one could have probably made her sermon look rather foolish.

This propaganda is to be expected from the newspaper and chamber, both of who are fans of growing government whenever possible.  But then we got down to the softball game for the evening.  State Senator Ray Franz, PM Supervisor Candidate Jennifer Doggett and County Commissioners unopposed in the primaries introduced themselves to the public with the exception of Tom Posma, who was absent.  Posma will face Alden Maleckas in the November election, so they may yet square off in a future debate. 

Susan Boes and Wally Taranko squared off for the District One seat which Joe Lenius retired from.  Both touted their previous work for the community in an experience showdown.  Wally should be running as a Democrat based on his four year record as Ludington councilor, always raising taxes and restricting property and civil rights.  More experience isn't always better experience. 

Steven Hall and Commissioner Mary Nichols then took the podium, and Mary seemed to be the aggressive and hungry one as she discussed wind turbine issues like higher setbacks and stuff Steven said in the COLDNews.  Mr. Hall effectively said the COLDNews did not quote him entirely right.  Welcome to the club.

Attorney Ryan Glanville then came out to explain the position of Circuit Court judge and what they do and don't do, before the four Circuit Court judge candidates came out, all nicely dressed.   

The four candidates Susan Sniegowski (SS), Paul Spaniola (PS), David Glancy (DG), and Craig Cooper (CC) introduced themselves.  In their introductions, PS, DG, and SS all did well, however Spaniola's voice initially cracked before it moderated itself.  CC's youth and inexperience had him rambling a bit during the intro and losing his thought process.  This happened on other questions and made me think that he would have a hard time thinking on his feet while in the robes.

Question 1:  There seems to be a large number of domestic assault. Is the sentencing appropriate for repeat offenders? 

Question 2:  Describe your judicial philosophy?

Question 3:  Explain what type of impact a circuit court judge may have?

Question 4:  What are your feelings on plea agreements/sentencing agreements? What is the judge's role?

Question 5:  Who is your favorite fictional judge?

A five inning softball game.  Favorite fictional judge?!  You can find a summary of their answers to those questions here, but these are some lame questions beyond the second, which has already been asked to them before a couple of times this election cycle.  As the public was encouraged to do so, I submitted my own question regarding the situation wherein Craig Cooper represented the City of Ludington for nearly five months before his father, the judge of the FOIA case we had against the city, acknowledged that fact. It was a severe appearance of impropriety for that time, particularly considering the tactics Craig Cooper's law firm took in that period. 

But that's not a trite and meaningless question like the others were.  Besides they all chose the wrong fictional judge in my opinion, Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Here Comes Da Judge" beats all their choices:

 

All in all, one could say it was a waste of a pleasant summer evening, except for the fact that it restored my faith in the banality of the COLDNews and the Chamber of Commerce.

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Hi, I'm Craig Cooper, the son of a 40 year local circuit court judge, age, 29 or so, and I want papa's job. I am also very honest and am an Eagle Scout. I worked for the COL City Attorneys office, and don't know the meaning of conflict of interest/impartiality. Is that the best he can do? I guess the kid is trying, but, his lack of experience and obligatory expectations by his daddy, don't impress me. But his daddy or someone is sure spending a lot of time and money in signage across the county, by far, the biggest and most signage. I have seen Paul running a lot of recent, jogging for health. He's probably the best qualified if you consider the stress factor of the job, but, fairness and strong decision making are also critical. SS, she's not real, comes off as plastic, and she's surely got some health problems soon if she doesn't lose 75 lbs. or more. Having babies was of the utmost importance when she was Prosecutor. And then comes Glancy, not well known, but, he's had some very high profile assignments. I wish he had a bit more experience here in Mason County, not well known yet. And btw, his budget for political signage is lacking, I wish that someone, or himself, would advertise heavier, his signs are small, and make him look likewise. That's not fair, but could play an important factor in the end result. 

I must admit my own prejudices against these candidates, they all have very real weaknesses as regards their past public service, some of which I have elaborated on in this website.  But if I was just catching these people for the first time on Wednesday and basing my impression and vote on their stage presence, I would say that SS made the most positive impression with her carriage, answers and 'gravitas', followed closely by DG who came across as personable and quick on his feet.  When his young threeish boy eluded his mother and came running onto the stage, he reacted well to it, as he was gathered up, and CC continued answering the question, and the boy cried as he was taken further out of the action. 

PS would have impressed me with his claims of experience and somewhat moderate statements, but he didn't come off as judge-like in his delivery or thought processes.  He and CC sounded more like they were suited for prosecutor rather than judge.  PS said he was widely respected by his peers, fellow prosecutors, etc., but I've yet to see an endorsement on his literature which his campaigners handed out, have heard some attorneys say disrespectful things about him, so it comes off as boastful.  He also failed to mention any respect from the people, and I've yet to see it except for those with badges.

CC came off as the least qualified and oddest, yet his last name will get him enough votes to probably survive the primary from those who would like to see the tough justice torch passed from father to son, a demographic that is common in the county. 

Wally also comes off as a slippery politician. I didn't hear him reflect his actual record with city hall during his statements at all. Quite the contrary to his voting and actions on city council. If he's running as a Rep., he's so only in name, RINO! Sammy Davis Jr. had that Judge gig going for some time, funny yet today! How many remember what TV show that was?  Laugh-in with Rowan and Martin, also Goldie Hawn and company. 

Cooper is out because of him and his father's underhanded handling of X's court case by not revealing their relationship. Spaniola is to close and to buddy buddy with local politicians for my taste. I would be more supportive of Glancy or Sniegowski  if I was conviced either one would be fair and impartial in their rulings. These two are unknowns and may have a lot of positive potential for representing the Circuit Court.

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