BEWARE: The “Save Shelby" Attack Dog Is Getting Ready To Put the BITE On Taxpayers To Protect Their Special Interest Political Agenda

When does a so-called “watch dog” become an “attack dog”?  

That is what many Shelby Township residents are asking these days as they ponder a forthcoming Save Shelby Slate for the Board of Trustees in the 2012 township election.

The group’s spokesman, Richard Batchelder, publicly declared political war on the current Board during the August 16, 2011 Board of Trustees meeting.  On that day, Batchelder proclaimed that his group of malcontents would find candidates that would challenge our Supervisor and Board of Trustees in the August, 2012 election. He went further, proclaiming they would run candidates for township office and then serve as a “watchdog group” to keep them in line.

TRANSLATION: We will do whatever we must do to get OUR people elected and then keep the pressure on to make sure these candidates do what WE tell them — and ONLY what we tell them.

Running candidates for township office is certainly their right in a democracy.  As voters, and political junkies, we welcome the discussion over our township’s future.  The dialogue will be very interesting.  We can either continue down the current path of progress under Supervisor Stathakis and the Board of Trustees, to go “back to the future” with the Save Shelby gang.

ELECTION 2012 IS A CLEAR CHOICE

The 2012 Shelby Township election will be a referendum on our future.

• Do we want to maintain our current conservative Board of Trustees, or return to the days when high-spending liberals (disguised as Republicans) nearly ran our township into the ground?

• Do we want to continue on the current path of lower spending, lower taxes, and accountable and transparent government, or do we want to return to the days of higher taxes and fees, higher union pensions, no-bid special interest contracts, higher township spending and budget deficits?

• Do we want a Supervisor who puts taxpayers first, as Supervisor Rick Stathakis does, or do we want a Supervisor who will bow to special interests and union demands?

We welcome the forthcoming debate about which direction our township will go.  Shelby Township voters will be enlightened by what they learn about the individuals who receive the blessing of the Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society (aka Save Shelby), and shocked by what they will hear about the true Save Shelby agenda.  Taxpayers interested in saving Shelby Township will realize that a group slogan (Save Shelby) does NOT equate with actually trying to save and protect our township.

Make no mistake: Save Shelby could care less about saving Shelby Township.  They actually want to save their own futures and protect their own interests — at the expense of honest, hard-working taxpayers.

It’s time we all went back to the old standard: Believe nothing of what your hear, and only half of what you see — especially from the Save Shelby special interest gang!  We encourage taxpayers to do what we do:  Do your own research, sort through all Save Shelby’s hate-filled and spiteful lies, and make your own decisions.  More importantly, stop listening to those handful of people who only seek to divide the township and increase their own press buzz for personal, political reasons.

These people don’t care about you.  They don’t care about our township.  They only care about themselves and protecting their entitlements — be they township contracts, union pensions, or big spending programs.

For several months now, the Save Shelby gang has been engaged in a malicious and deliberate campaign of lies and smears.  The most recent outburst came from Marsha Nightingale, of Nightingale Towing fame, at the December 20, 2011 Board meeting.  When the Board voted to cancel the township’s contract with Nightingale - after it was shown that they overcharged taxpayers in violation of the contract - the Nightingale clan went nuts.  Marsha Nightingale capped off the attacks by accusing Supervisor Stathakis of sexually harassing a female township police officer.  Mr. Stathakis flatly denied the claim, yet Mrs. Nightingale persisted - without offering any facts to support her allegation.

This lie exposed the entire Nightingale/Save Shelby agenda for what it is: A BUNCH OF LIES.  By making such a wild accusation, without any supporting evidence, Mrs. Nightingale erased whatever shred of credibility remained for her and her Save Shelby group.

Should we be surprised that a Nightingale would spout such a lie like this?  Not really.  The Nightingales and their Save Shelby surrogates have been lying through their teeth for quite some time.
• They lied when they said Supervisor Stathakis eliminated the township’s DARE program.
• They lied when they claimed the township was forced to take on public school crossing guards because the DARE program was eliminated.
• They lied when they claimed Supervisor Stathakis has raised taxes (taxes have NOT gone up).
• They have lied claiming Supervisor Stathakis has increased township spending (spending has actually gone down significantly during his term).
• They lied when they said Supervisor Stathakis took bribes.  What they won’t admit is that this allegation was fully investigated by the Macomb County Sheriff and dismissed with NO CHARGES filed against Mr. Stathakis.  He was cleared of the allegation.
• Now, these people are lying about a sexual harassment violation against Mr. Stathakis.

Ask yourself this important question:  If Supervisor Stathakis did engage in unwanted sexual conduct with a female township police officer, and since sexual harassment is a crime, wouldn’t Mr. Stathakis have been arrested on the spot?  Sure he would have.  This shows just how dumb the claim is, and how stupid Mrs. Nightingale is to try and smear Mr. Stathakis in this manner.

“Truth be damned” should be the official slogan of the Save Shelby gang.  Led by their chief cheerleader Trustee Lisa Manzella, this group of malcontents will stop at nothing to tear apart our township.  Again, they don’t care about our community, they care only about themselves.

Case in point:  Save Shelby supporter Jeffery Berz has been on a crusade to try and destroy our Supervisor and our Board of Trustees.   Mr. Berz has posted a series of nasty (and untrue) comments on the Shelby-Utica Patch website ever since the Nightingales lost their towing contract.  Coincidence?

Not only that, but Berz took to Facebook (just like his idol Trustee Lisa Manzella) in an obvious attempt to try and stir up controversy for personal reasons.  He sent this note to Fox 2 reporter Rob Wolchek in an attempt to smear our township with a pack of lies:

In his desperate desire to smear our township, Mr. Berz is reinterpreting events and manufacturing facts to support his warped view of reality.

Let’s examine his claims in detail:
(1) Clerk Kowal was forced to leave because of bullying?  That is an absolute lie.  Mrs. Kowal resigned her Shelby position because she sought out, and received, another offer in Auburn Hills.  She left the township with lifetime health care benefits paid for by Shelby taxpayers.  She was not forced out - she voluntarily resigned to seek new employment.  She said it was a great career move for her and told other employees that she would be getting a pay raise.
 
FACT CHECK:  The reason Mrs. Kowal resigned from Shelby Township was to avoid competition in this year’s election, and risk losing her township position.  Mrs. Kowal had been on the Board for 21 years, and been Clerk for 15 years.  Her recent actions  — voting to give her daughter a promotion and $10,000 pay raise; lying about filing a police report in the so-called “banker box gate”; abusing her FOIA duties which resulted in those responsibilities being transferred to the Human Resources Department by UNANIMOUS Board vote; and hiring a private investigator (at taxpayer expense) to sweep the township offices and police department for illegal listening devices (none were found) — were bizarre decisions that Mrs. Kowal would be held accountable for at election time.  Faced with the prospect of competition this election year (she ran unopposed in 2004 and 2008), and given the fact that she had done some really dumb things lately that would become issues at election time, Kowal decided to hit the trail for Auburn Hills now while the offer was on the table.

(2) Firing the Towing Company.  Mr. Berz claims that the Supervisor fired the towing company.  NOT TRUE.  The Board voted 5-to-2 to take away the contract after it was proven that the Nightingales violated the contract and overcharged residents.  The only two who supported the Nightingales were Kowal (her husband is the Nightingale attorney) and Manzella (a strong Nightingale/Save Shelby supporter).  These two did not care that the contract was violated and residents were ripped off for towing work.  The only thing Kowal and Manzella cared about was protecting their Save Shelby associates.

As to Mr. Berz’s claims that Mr. Stathakis attacked the Nightingale family, that is also a lie.  Those who watched the December 20th meeting can clearly see how the Nightingales, their friends and business associates, were the ones doing the attacking.  Mrs. Nightingale was the star of the night, saying that Mr. Stathakis is not a Christian (a lie) and that he was being investigated for sexually harassing a female police officer (also a lie).

Finally, Mr. Berz said he can guarantee which company will get the towing contract now that it is being put out for bid again.  Really?  Since this going to be a Board vote, is anything really guaranteed?  Remember, it takes four votes to get a motion approved.

(3) Supervisor Stathakis Made Himself Interim Clerk.  Again, NOT TRUE.  The Board of Trustees voted 5-to-2 to give Supervisor Stathakis temporary statutory duties of the Clerk until a permanent solution could be worked out.  Mr. Berz is simply trying to find evil intent where none exists.

This vote was taken after the Board could not come to agreement on an appointee to fill Clerk Kowal’s vacancy.  The only holdout on the Board was Trustee Lisa Manzella — now known as Shelby’s Great Obstructor.  Manzella resisted any attempt to appoint a replacement.  What is worse than not voting is stating, on Facebook, that you held up your vote because the Board took the towing contract from the Nightingales.  Mrs. Manzella was willing to sell her vote for Clerk in exchange for protecting her Save Shelby associates.

We have since learned another interesting tidbit.  Manzella has been recruited by the Save Shelby gang to run for Clerk.  You heard correctly!  Trustee Manzella, the woman who hates serving on the Board of Trustees, wants to become Clerk.  She wants to force a special election (at a cost of $30,000 to taxpayers) because she thinks that she can get her group out to vote for her in a special election.  Is this the way an elected official should act?  Putting self-interest ahead of the greater good?

(4) Firing the Police Chief.  Mr. Berz claims Supervisor Stathakis fired the former police chief.  Again, NOT TRUE.   The Board voted 5-to-2 not to renew the contract.  Those who understand the issues realize that the chief’s contract was not renewed because he failed to show initiative and leadership of the department.  He also lacked any clear vision for reducing costs in the police department.  The Board wanted to go in a new direction and so the contract was not renewed.

As to Mr. Berz’s contention that the chief was fired because Mr. Stathakis took a bribe, that is a wild and inflammatory accusation.  The (politically motivated?) bribery claim was fully investigated by the Macomb County Sheriff and dismissed with NO CHARGES filed against Mr. Stathakis.  NONE!  Mr. Stathakis was cleared of the charges.  Despite this fact, Berz and his fellow Save Shelby attack dogs continue to spread this lie in an obvious attempt to smear Mr. Stathakis and detract from the many historic and positive accomplishments that he and the Board have done over the last four years.

(5) Shelby Township is a Dictatorship?  We encourage Mr. Berz to take a civics class refresher course or consult a dictionary for the definition of “dictatorship.”  Supervisor Stathakis is only one vote on the Board.  The Board votes and it takes four votes to get a motion passed.  Sorry Mr. Berz but that is not a dictatorship — that is DEMOCRACY.

The only thing that has “run amuck” in Shelby these days is the nasty personal attacks from Mr. Berz, Mrs. Manzella, the Nightingales and other associates of the Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society.  This group has one objective: POWER.  They will do anything to get it and keep it.

We hope that Rob Wolchek does investigate the towing issue.  Look at the records, the invoices, and how taxpayers have been railroaded.  We hope he digs into the motivations of those special interests and unions and exposes what is really going on.  That would make for great TV viewing!

BEWARE THE SAVE SHELBY POWER GRAB

One way they intend to keep power is by electing a Save Shelby Slate this year.  Word on the street is that the Save Shelby Slate is shaping up as follows:
Save Shelby Supervisor - Bob Leman
Save Shelby Treasurer - Brent Freeman
Save Shelby Clerk - Lisa Manzella
Save Shelby Trustees: Still undetermined as of yet.  We will let you know once the word is out.

The Inside Out predicted that this special interest group would run their own slate for the Board of Trustees in order protect their own personal and political interests.  Our psychic prediction has come true!  We will have much more to say about this Save Shelby Slate in the weeks to come.

In addition, to advance their big-spending, high-taxing, special-interest-loving agenda, the Save Shelby gang has hired a guy named John Johnson as their campaign manager/consultant.  Mr. Johnson is a lifelong Democrat with strong ties to Warren politics.  He ran the late Warren Mayor Ron Bonkowski’s campaigns.  Since Bob Leman once worked for the Warren Police, is this where the Leman-Johnson connection was initially formed?

John Johnson coordinated a nasty personal attack campaign of lies and misinformation against Macomb Township Supervisor John Brennan in 2008.  This campaign of deception helped Johnson elect his Democrat friend, Mark Grabow, Supervisor.  If you ask anyone in Macomb Township today (including many Democrats) they will tell you that Grabow was a HUGE MISTAKE.

Now, Johnson wants to bring his liberal Democrat, Warren-style, nasty political machine to Shelby Township by trying to get his (liberal Democrat?) friend, Save Shelby associate Bob Leman, elected Supervisor.

Shelby taxpayers need to be forewarned — a wave of nasty and negative attacks is on its way — courtesy of John Johnson and the Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society!

Until next time...