Shelby Taxpayers Gain the Upperhand in the Fight to Save Shelby Township from the “Save Shelby” Gang

Fresh off their duel recall defeats, elements of the Save Shelby crowd have come out swinging — recklessly mind you, but swinging!   These Save Shelby recall zombies are like the walking dead — just when you think they are gone, and it is safe to venture outside again, some more zombies spring up eager to put the “bite” on someone.

Former Save Shelby spokesman Tom Delise must be feeling dejected these days.  Since being cast aside as the recall group’s spokesman, Delise has become a man without a purpose.  He looks personally deflated and frustrated.  Could it be because his two recall attempts failed miserably?  Could it be because his complaints about the Shelby Woods North situation have gone sour? Could it be because his media honeymoon is long over, and people, even those who were initially sympathetic with him, now see Delise as an unreasonable voice of despair?

A majority of Shelby Township condo owners, as well as owners of single-family homes, now understand what the Shelby Woods North “controversy” is really all about.  The Board of Trustees voted to remove the restriction on rentals at the complex in order to keep the association alive.  If the Board had done what Trustee Lisa Manzella and Tom Delise wanted — NOTHING — then the entire condo complex would, by all accounts, have gone into bankruptcy and foreclosure.  How would that have helped the owners living there?  Further, would foreclosure and bankruptcy benefit Shelby Township?

In fact, if the Board failed to act when it did, then residents would likely be complaining about a rise in foreclosures in their complex.  They would likely be complaining about no maintenance, no grass cutting, no snow removal, no sprinklers, no garbage collection — NOTHING.  They would be condemning the Board for refusing to do what they could to prevent Shelby Woods North from bankruptcy.  Finally, there would likely have been recall petitions filed, by Tom Delise, over the Board’s turning a blind eye and allowing a township development to fail.

How would this benefit Shelby Township?

So what are Tom Delise and his handful of people who come to televised Board meetings voicing complaints about?  Association dues, lawn cutting, snow removal, water leaks, loose siding, window problems, interior mold, road cracks, loose or leaking gutters, an overabundance of bugs (mosquitoes, spiders, ants, etc.), weeds and burned out light bulbs on the buildings.  In addition, at the Tuesday, August 16th Board of Trustees meeting, some people even complained about a recent special assessment that was levied on all condo owners. 

So what do these issues have to do with Shelby Township?  What should our elected officials be doing to intervene on these issues?  Nothing!  These are all private issues facing these private condo owners which deserve to be dealt with privately.

A vast majority of the complaints we are hearing resemble issues that most often come from dwellers of an inner city public housing complex where the city is the landlord.  Is Shelby Woods North our township’s public housing?  Are Shelby Township taxpayers the condo association’s landlord?  Do Delise and others view it as public housing?  What will Delise and his handful of complainers do when the developer is no longer the association?  Once the association has a certain number of units sold, the co-owners must take over and run it.  When the owners have to operate and maintain the association, who will they complain about?  Will they keep demanding that the township help with their issues forever?

Early on, we were lead to believe that all Shelby Woods North condo owners were united in their support of the recall.  That turned out to be false.  We were lead to believe that all condo owners are dissatisfied with the condos and want out.  That is also not true.  We were also lead to believe that Tom Delise had the unwavering support of his fellow condo owners.  That is the biggest untruth of all.

Case in point.  Check out the following blog entry to a recent Shelby Utica Patch story about the Board of Trustees revisiting the Shelby Woods North consent judgment.  This Delise diatribe appears near the end of the comment section — check it out yourself:

Why Tom Delise feels a burning desire to attack his fellow condo owner “Dan” is weird!  Delise hasn’t liked having his views questioned, and yet the guy has the nerve to attack a fellow condo owner.  You would think Delise would try to present a united front, but sometimes an individual’s thirst for attention trumps a need for unity.

After attacking our Shelby Township Supervisor and Board of Trustees (except Trustee Lisa Manzella and Clerk Terri Kowal) for two years, Delise has apparently decided to launch a new civil war.  Why is Delise so angry that other Shelby Woods North residents feel differently about the association?  Does Delise secretly want public tax dollars used to maintain his private complex?

Shelby Township Treasurer Paul Viar, one of the primary targets of Delise and his fellow recall zombies, recently suggested that the Board send building inspectors to Shelby Woods North to examine this situation and investigate resident complaints.  Treasurer Viar’s point was that if something illegal has been done there, then the township MUST do something to correct it.  However, if the concerns are shown to be overblown and exaggerated, then what?  Will the Delise cadre keep making demands?

Even this suggestion didn’t sit well with Tom Delise.  Is Delise afraid the inspectors will find that the situation at the complex is nowhere near what he wants people to believe?  Here is what Delise and others told the Shelby Utica Patch about sending township building inspectors to Shelby Woods North:

Tom Delise wants us to believe that he truly cares about Shelby Township.  Really?  By his own admission, he cares so much about Shelby that he wants to move out and come back (as a carpetbagger) to kick out sitting township officials at election time and then “never step foot in Shelby again.”  Okay Tom, now we know you true feelings!

Instead of trying to work toward a positive resolution, Delise is still attacking and attacking and attacking.  Delise is actually running around the township calling elected officials “criminals.”  He sure has guts, but what about brains?  Where is his evidence of alleged criminal activity?

Mr. Delise’s hatred of certain elected officials does not qualify as admissible evidence of corruption.  We all know times are tough and that Shelby Woods North co-owners are struggling.  Heck we all are!  Everyone’s property values have fallen — but is our Township Board to blame for the real estate/financial collapse?  Tom Delise says absolutely yes — but what do you think?

Condo ownership is great for those who understand what it is all about, but condo living is not for everyone.  Mr. Delise and others who are trying to ruin their Association to prove some strange point, are prime examples of people who should not live in a condo because they don’t accept the premise of condominium living.

Drive through Shelby Woods North sometime.  Look around.  You will see that the complex looks very nice, especially given what the development has been through.  Is it better than it was, yes.  Is it perfect, probably not - but what neighborhood or condo association is perfect?  However, the condition of Shelby Woods North today is far superior to what it would be had the Board not modified the consent judgment to remove the restriction on rental units along the freeway.  That is an indisputable fact!

Some Shelby Woods North residents wish the whole situation would quiet down so the co-owners can do what they have to do to get the association turned around.  Here are some comments we received from residents:

“I wish those who are complaining would stop.  If these people paid their dues and focused on positive things, we would all be better off.“

“Sure our property values have dropped.  But are we alone?  Of course not.  But what does this have to do to justify a recall or anything else?  I think the Board has done the right thing to give our complex a chance to survive, and for that they get labeled criminals.  That is embarrassing!”

“I enjoy living here.  Nothing that Tom and Tina say will change that.”

Shelby Woods North was, allegedly, the catalyst for the recent township recalls attacks.  However, this is more of an excuse than a reason.  It is worth pointing out that none of the recall petitions about Shelby Woods North were approved by the Macomb County Election Board as legitimate issues for recall.  NONE.  Further, the issues that some Shelby Woods North owners are complaining about are simply not issues the township should be involved with, and do not relate to Delise’s gripe about rentals.

The entire Shelby Woods North situation has morphed into a debate over whether public tax dollars should be used to pay for grass cutting, snow removal, water, special assessments and other condominium-related expenses.  And we all know the answer to that question, don’t we?

Speaking of recall attacks, Save Shelby supporter, and petition circulator, Ken Underwood has gone ballistic before the general public during two recent televised Board meetings.  Underwood, who retired from the Shelby Township police department, objects to the costs of his taxpayer-funded pension being made public.  His venom is primarily aimed at Treasurer Paul Viar, but it is clear that Underwood doesn’t much care for the bulk of the Board.

Below are two YouTube videos which give you a flavor of how angry this man is that information about his pension has been made public by Treasurer Paul Viar.  The first video is Undewood’s first TV appearance when he told certain Board members to meet him in the “parking lot” after the meeting to continue the “conversation” about his gripes against elected officials.

As you watch, take special note of his body language.  What do you think he wanted to talk about in the parking lot?

Then, apparently uncertain about whether his first intimidation speech worked, and perhaps getting a little negative feedback from his crass “parking lot” statement, Underwood made an encore visit at the August 16th Board meeting.  At this meeting, he once again lashed out against Supervisor Stathakis, Treasurer Paul Viar and Trustee Mike “sissy” Flynn.

As he finished his angry rant, Underwood started yelling at the Board.  Supervisor Stathakis asked the Shelby police captain who was sitting in the audience to escort him from the Board room.  Immediately after you could hear Underwood say “Captain my ass.”  Nice guy, huh?  Would you want to meet him in the parking lot, or anywhere else, for a “conversation”?

Shelby Township taxpayers applaud Trustee Mike Flynn for standing his ground against this bully.  Trustee Flynn is certainly no “sissy”, and he showed tremendous professionalism in his response.  Mr. Flynn tells it like it is, and it is very clear that Underwood and the Shelby police union don’t like it when people stand up to them.  They can’t control Trustee Flynn, and they know it.  So they are attacking Mr. Flynn in the hopes that he will back down.  However, as Mr. Flynn said, once again, at the August 16th meeting, he will not be intimidated by the unions or the special interests who are seeking to protect their power and entitlements.

Way to go Mr. Flynn.  KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

Finally, we conclude this post with a little humor.  We all have seen Nick Nightingale and his unrehearsed performances at the Board of Trustees meeting.  The guy LOVES face time on television.  Maybe he thinks his input adds credibility to the Save Shelby recall argument.  However, those we have spoken to simply see Nightingale’s explosive and unrestrained antics as just plain stupid.

Below is a YouTube video that was sent to us.  This clever video features Nick “Loudmouth” Nightingale at his best — attacking the Board with very little facts to back up his attacks.  If you are having a tough day, if you are looking for a good laugh, and if you are not Nick Nightingale, this will surely put a smile on your face.

BLAH...BLAH...BLAH.  Nick Nightingale truly is one of a kind (thank God).  His biggest enemy is himself, and whenever he speaks he exposes the real motivations and frustrations behind the failed recall:  unions seeking more pay, pensions and power, and special interests demanding more protections.

While we can laugh at how Nick Nightingale repeatedly lampoons himself on television, the joke (and the tax increases) will be on us if he and his forthcoming Save Shelby slate win positions on the Township Board.

THAT is certainly no laughing matter!  Just imagine, these are the same people who desperately want to control the Shelby Township Board of Trustees.  This is why all concerned taxpayers must work to Save Shelby Township from the “Save Shelby” gang.  We can’t afford that risk!

Until next time...

The Save Shelby “Liar Society” Is Recruiting Township Candidates Eager To Protect Special Interest "Entitlements" and Power

Obviously still stinging from their first recall defeat, and the lackluster support they have received from their second recall effort, Save Shelby (better known as the Shelby “Liar Society”) is refusing to give up.  What has become clear is that these people are so determined to seize control over our township that nothing — NOTHING — will stop them, not even a repudiation by a majority of township residents.

This ridiculous Save Shelby recall came up AGAIN at the Tuesday, August 16th Board of Trustees meeting.  Just when you thought these people would go away, the recall zombies keep coming back for yet another bite.

The group’s new spokesman, Richard Batchelder, came up at the end of the meeting to speak.  This confirms what we speculated previously, that Batchelder is the new chief propagandist for the Save Shelby recall zombies.  Who the group selects as their speaker, whether that be Tom Delise, Richard Batchelder, Lisa Manzella, or Nick Nightingale, really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that their self-entitlement song remains the same, and their animosity toward taxpayers grows stronger with each passing day.

Batchelder announced at the August 16th Board meeting that Save Shelby has abandoned its recall plans.  DUH!  How many times do you have to fail at something before you realize that you are losing and should quit?

Batchelder said that the recall would not work, especially given the $60,000 cost to taxpayers, and although the group has not ruled out a recall in early 2012, they were looking ahead.  This notion of moving on (more accurately, changing tactics) was first reported in the Shelby Utica News.  It was reported that the recall zombies finally, albeit reluctantly, decided to stop their recall.  Oh sure, they still want to control the township, but now they have a new plan.

Even though we have included a link to the Shelby-Utica News article, we will include some of the most interesting paragraphs in order to provide our sage analysis of the looming battle ahead.
____________

August 5, 2011
Shelby Township recall effort stalls

Deadline missed for November election 

By Brad D. Bates, C&G Staff Writer

The deadline for petitions to be filed with the county to enact recall elections for November 2011 against Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis, Township Treasurer Paul Viar and Trustee Mike Flynn was Aug. 5.

“It’s pretty clear at this point the recall never had a broad-based support among the majority of Shelby Township voters,” Flynn said.  “All along it was organized by a small number of financially motivated special interests, many of whom do not even live in Shelby Township.”

While the language that was approved July 8 is still viable until Oct. 6, if they are turned in at this point, a special recall election would not be held until January 2012.

“We had a substantial number, but just not quite enough,” said resident Richard Batchelder, who was working with a group called Save Shelby to collect signatures on the petitions, after the deadline passed.

“We had good support here; every fourth house we went to someone signed, but it wasn’t enough. Time wasn’t our friend.”

Batchelder said his group has not ruled out submitting petitions for an election that would fall in early '12, but noted they have to weigh the $60,000 price tag he said it would impose on the community to hold the election.

“Right now, we just have to think about whether or not we want to go forward or just wait and vote them out in the primary,” Batchelder said of possibly holding out until the township primary elections in August 2012.

“We’re going to keep Save Shelby together, though,” Batchelder added of the group that spearheaded the recall efforts.  “We’ll get some good candidates to run against these guys and be a watchdog group to keep them in line.”

_____________

Batchelder carried this same message with him when he spoke at the Tuesday, August 16th Board of Trustees meeting.  There was nothing new or truthful in what he had to say.  Just more of the same trashing and bashing of our “corrupt” elected officials that we have heard for more than two years now.   

They really are like an obnoxious party guest who won’t leave when the evening is over and everyone has gone home.

Reinforcing his message, Batchelder announced that the Save Shelby recall zombies are actively searching for candidates to run in the 2012 township primaries.  They want a slate of candidates who will support their position on so-called “good government” —  government controlled by special interests and unions and unchallenged by inquiring elected officials.

So who are some of these potential candidates likely to appear on a Save Shelby Slate?

First, there is Nick “the Loudmouth” Nightingale.  He came up to speak, AGAIN, at the August 16th meeting.  Nothing really relevant from him, AGAIN, as he spoke.  He ranted and raved from the podium, AGAIN.  He trashed our elected officials, AGAIN.  He was rude and obnoxious, AGAIN.  He showed no respect for our Trustees, AGAIN.  And, Nick Nightingale was escorted from the room by a police officer, AGAIN, for his shocking lack of decorum.

We encourage readers to check out our previous posts about the Nightingales, including our May 17th Inside Out that points out their possible real agenda.

Nick has ranted that his family is being unfairly criticized over the recall.  Actually, when you consider that the Nightingales have been chanting RECALL for more than two years, criticism of their actions is fair.  In fact, as reported in the Macomb Daily, this whole recall campaign for the Nightingales began more than two years ago after the Board voted unanimously to seek bids for towing services.  When you read the story we encourage you to check out the 241 comments which appear below the article.  These comments are, in some instances, more enlightening than Mr. DeFrank’s article.

Today, we hear that Nick Nightingale wants to serve on the Township Board.  GULP!!!  Ask yourself what his motivations could be?  If Nick Nightingale gets elected what will be his political priorities?  Towing or taxpayers?  Who will he stand up and fight for?  Taxpayers or special interests?

Next, there is Tom Delise, the old Save Shelby spokesman (who was replaced by Batchelder).  Yes, Delise is also a rumored candidate for township office.  We hear Delise wants to become a Trustee and kick out a true champion of taxpayers, Trustee Mike Flynn.

Delise made his public speech at the Tuesday, August 16th Board meeting.  During his rambling remarks, Delise complained that unions in Shelby are being unfairly treated.  Delise, himself a union member with the United States Postal Service, further declared that unions deserve everything they get.  WTF!!!!

Delise is a strong union advocate who thinks that he and his fellow union brothers should get whatever they want, regardless of the costs their demands place on our township.  Sorry Mr. Delise, but a majority of taxpayers strongly disagree, and believe that taxpayers deserve every dollar we can save, especially during these tough times.

Delise and his union buddies may agree that higher pay and pensions are good for the union, and may agree that unions should control everything they touch.  However, these demands end up stripping money and economic freedom away from taxpayers, an overwhelming majority of whom are NOT union members.

Speaking of unions, we have heard that officials of the Shelby police union are thinking of running for township office.  They would, undoubtedly, have the financial backing of the police union PAC.  What do you think they would make a priority if elected?  Paychecks, pensions and power for union members, or the pocketbooks of the people?

Finally, since Richard Batchelder is the new Save Shelby leader, perhaps he is positioning himself to run on a forthcoming Save Shelby Slate.  Since he, too, has drank the Save Shelby kool-aid, his priorities would likely not jive with most township residents.  So who is Richard Batchelder?

Richard Batchelder worked for the Shelby Township Fire Department for 25 years.  He retired, in the year 2000, at the age of 47.

During his last three years working for the township, Batchelder earned an average of $89,098.  Currently, he receives an annual payment, financed by taxpayers, of $55,918.  He gets health care benefits, plus he receives a yearly $1,000 bonus.

In the eleven years he has been retired, Shelby taxpayers have generously paid Batchelder in excess of $790,000 in retirement benefits.  Yes, you heard correctly!

How many of you are able to retire at age 47 with a guaranteed pension (for life) plus guaranteed lifetime health care benefits?  How many of you, working in the private sector, even have a defined benefit pension?

In his defense of the recall campaign, Batchelder claims Save Shelby had good support but simply ran out time.  By his own admission, “every fourth house we went to someone signed, but it wasn’t enough.”  One house out of four equals 25%.

Admitting that you (allegedly) have support of 25% of residents means that you do NOT have support from 75% of residents.  Unless our numbers are wrong, 75% beats 25% every time.

Batchelder said that despite two failed recalls, he is going to keep Save Shelby together.  He brags that the group will recruit candidates for the township primary elections in 2012.  Is this a way for the recall zombies to try and force their 25% special interest agenda on the other 75% of residents?  What do you think?

The 2012 elections will certainly be interesting.  The choice facing voters will be: a conservative Board that has taken successful steps to protect essential services, cut spending and not raise taxes; or, in the words of township resident Stanley Kramer, as reported in the July 7th Inside Out, “something different” — perhaps a more liberal township board that is more open to higher spending, higher taxes, and higher employee pensions and perks?

Can we afford the risk of what the Save Shelby difference will mean to our township and for all township taxpayers?

Regardless of who gets the blessing of Save Shelby, the group will continue to spread lies, make up stories and distort the truth for their selfish reasons.  How do we know they will do this?  Because they have already done it repeatedly with lies about DARE, crossing guards and other issues.  It is true that some bad habits are impossible to break.

If Save Shelby gets their special interest candidates elected, here are some things to consider:
• Will the Save Shelby Slate get tough with employee unions on cutting township spending, or will they simply roll over and give the unions everything they demand in order to stay on good terms and avoid future recall threats?
• Will the Save Shelby Slate try and reduce budget-busting jackpot union pensions, or will they simply go along to get along and keep giving the unions higher pensions?
• Will the Save Shelby Slate support competitive bids for contracts, like towing, or will they give in to special interests and hand out contracts to their friends and supporters without bids?
• Will the Save Shelby Slate support taxpayers, or place the needs of taxpayers second to the demands and desires of special interests?

Now that we all know their end game — controlling the Board of Trustees and taking power away from taxpayers — we need to prepare now for the election fight to come.

Shelby Township’s future hangs in the balance in 2012.  The choice is between re-electing conservative elected officials who refuse to be intimidated, who challenge the status quo, and who have brought about successful budget reductions without cutting essential services, or risk electing a more liberal Save Shelby Board backed by special interests who support higher spending, who reject budget reductions, and who will put special interest demands and “entitlements” ahead of taxpayers.

One reader even wrote saying that, in her view, the choice facing Shelby in 2012 is between elected Trustees who oppose tax hikes, and their Save Shelby challengers who think tax increases are fine and dandy as long as unions and special interests keep getting everything they “deserve.”

The 2012 elections will be important, make no mistake about it.  Will we continue down the current path of progress, or return to the days of higher spending, higher taxes, sweetheart union contracts, and no-bid township contracts? 

Rest assured that the Inside Out will do our part to explain where the candidates for Shelby Township office stand on the issues.  We will point out which candidates for office are Save Shelby special interest candidates who want to save Shelby for themselves, and which candidates have a record of wanting to truthfully save Shelby from higher spending and higher taxes.

The political lines have been drawn.  As a concerned taxpayer, which side are you on?

Until next time...

Trustee Lisa Manzella Will Forever Be Known As Shelby’s Most Notorious Political Prevaricator

Lisa the Liar truly shines in “Liar Society”
— Entertainment bi-weekly magazine —

Shelby Township Trustee Lisa Manzella has a new title of dishonor: Shelby Township’s top political prevaricator.  That distinction was awarded to her because of the pathological way she conducted herself during the recent township recall.  Trustee Manzella, in her desire to get rid of township elected officials she doesn’t like, displayed a disappointing love affair with false information.

Whenever she gets caught lacking forthrightness (which is, unfortunately, quite often) “Lisa the Liar” complains that she is being picked on by “evil” people.  She loves throwing mud in all directions, and then gripes on Facebook about being treated unfairly when residents start throwing some mud back her way.

Manzella’s mantra of misinformation was a focal point of the recent Save Shelby recall attacks.  This is what prompted a reader to send us the movie poster featured above.  We encourage all Inside Out readers to scroll back and read for themselves how much misinformation was spread by Lisa Manzella.  It is truly shocking when an elected official believes that the best way to serve our township is to spread lies and misinformation to the general public in an effort to create chaos and confusion.

The biggest obstacle that Lisa Manzella has faced, and continues facing, is HERSELF.  In Lisa‘s word, no fact is safe from the Liar Society.  For some strange reason, she doesn’t understand that when she spouts off in public, especially to the press, her words and rants become fair game.  She thinks that she can say whatever she wants to whoever she wants, and we are just supposed to stand still and take it.  Fighting back to defend the truth is deemed inappropriate by Lisa Manzella.  In her small world, lies trump truth every time.

The Manzella/Save Shelby Campaign of Pathological Lies About DARE and School Crossing Guards

Perhaps of all the misinformation battles that Lisa Manzella has engaged in, her repeated lies about  DARE and school crossing guards was the BIG LIE that eventually came back to bite her in the A$$.  Manzella (and others) falsely claimed that Supervisor Stathakis and Treasurer Viar were responsible for “eliminating” DARE.  Didn’t she realize that the facts about this would eventually come out, and she would be exposed as a fraud?

Anyway, in our April 22nd INSIDE OUT we reported how the Save Shelby recall group was following “Lenin’s Law” to bolster their attacks.  While we won’t to rehash the entire DARE debate, our April 22nd post included a detailed explanation about DARE and what actually happened.  We encourage you to forget all the BS you may have heard by those circulating recall petitions and get the facts for yourself.  When you do we believe you will see how the Save Shelby recall zombies tried to play us as fools.

This is also where we included an e-mail Lisa Manzella sent to other Board members complaining about DARE:

A similar DARE theme emerged on the now-defunct Save Shelby website — we wonder who they got their information from?  Here is what the Save Shelby website printed as point #8 of their list of reasons that Supervisor Stathakis and Treasurer Viar should be recalled because of a ZONING vote:

THE STATEMENT ABOVE ABOUT DARE BEING CANCELED IS AN FLAT OUT LIE!  THE PROGRAM IS STILL IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACHING KIDS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF DRUGS.  

We wonder...could disinformation and lies like this be why the recall zombies decided it would be better to shut down their Save Shelby website?  After all, they had been discredited on DARE and many other issues raised on their recall website, and by continuing their lies they had become an embarrassment to themselves!

When you think about the layers of lies that Manzella’s Liar Society engaged in, it is quite clear that these people got lost in their lies.  The circle of lies came back around and, as a result, Shelby residents have been enlightened to what the recent recall was really all about.  Many residents who signed petitions likely did so under false pretenses, as they were spoon fed a campaign of lies about issues unrelated to the recall petition.  The sad reality is that when you tell a lie often enough, and have township police officers participating in such a campaign, people will believe it.

Residents were repeatedly (mis)lead to believe, by Manzella and her fellow Save Shelby recall zombies, that because the township eliminated DARE in the schools, in exchange for that the Utica Community Schools flipped Shelby taxpayers the bird and forced us pay for crossing guards.  Manzella (and others) blamed this crossing guard issue on Supervisor Rick Stathakis, and this was one of their “20 talking points” used as they walked door-to-door seeking recall petition signatures.  

Lisa Manzella told everyone that this crossing guard situation was unique to Shelby Township.  She faulted the Supervisor for showing poor leadership.  Her Save Shelby recall zombies claimed this action ended up costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenses.  In their world view, if the township had not eliminated DARE, then everything would have been fine.  Manzella even said, as noted in her e-mail above, that because the township ended DARE, Shelby residents ended up being “saddled with crossing guard situation.”  Crossing guards we spoke to about this said they felt betrayed by Lisa Manzella.

Once the DARE disinformation crusade began, in an effort to dispel all the erroneous information, it was explained at length that the crossing guard decision was one the UCS made to trim costs.  It was purely a financial issue.  Despite Manzella’s rants to the contrary, this decision had nothing to do with DARE.  It was an independent decision made solely based on UCS financial pressures.

It was also pointed out, even though the recall zombies refused to listen, that crossing guards are (by statute) a municipal responsibility and that the UCS were doing cities and townships a favor by paying for guards in the past when they had the money.  However, now that times are tough and everyone is cutting costs, the UCS

These are the facts, but apparently the Save Shelby recall zombies didn’t give a damn about facts.  This information fell on deaf ears.  Facts and truth would not deter Save Shelby from their mission: trying to discredit Supervisor Stathakis over DARE.  Their attacks backfired!

Despite Manzella’s statements that Shelby was alone in this crossing guard situation, we have learned that this was NOT unique to Shelby Township.  In fact, as reported in the Macomb Daily on Monday, August 1st, our neighbor Macomb Township is also paying the costs associated with crossing guards.

So, using the Manzella/Save Shelby logic, perhaps a recall campaign should be initiated against those Macomb Township officials who “saddled” their township with crossing guards!  Heck, if recalling Shelby Township officials over a zoning vote because they are paying for crossing guards is justified, why not apply this theory to Macomb?

Lisa the Liar was dead wrong on the DARE/crossing guard issue.  No one can justify what Manzella did to distort this issue for her own selfish reasons.  However, what is worse is that Manzella apparently gave residents, including the recall zombies, incorrect information in an effort to trick them into supporting the recall.  Whether she did this deliberately, or out of stupidity, doesn’t matter.  The fact that she did this at all reflects poorly on her character as a public official.

We have heard that a few residents who came forth to support Manzella’s lies about DARE/crossing guards, and thus the recall, have since learned a valuable lesson about getting too close to Lisa Manzella.  These residents got burned.  If they have learned a lesson we say good for them.

It now appears that the Save Shelby/Nightingale/Manzella/Police Union recall, a campaign that seemed to begin with a special interest bang, ended (imploded that is) with a whimper.  When all was said and done, the Save Shelby “Liar Society” could not sustain their campaign of deception forever.

They most definitely could not fool all the people all the time.

Until next time...

The Shelby Recall Zombies Lose AGAIN In Their Hunger For Control

When the Save Shelby recall zombies lost their initial recall due to a lack of valid signatures, the recall was, by all accounts, dead.  Political expert Mark Grebner of Practical Political Consulting, who assisted with the counter-recall campaign, said the recall failed due to many factors — including FRAUD.

Obviously, this defeat didn’t sit well with Trustee Lisa Manzella and the Nightingales.  So, the recall zombies decided to regroup and try what everyone, even those outside politics, considered impossible: doing their whole recall all over again.

Bringing a dead recall back to life is what earned these people the label RECALL ZOMBIES.  You know, rising from the dead to protect their entitlements.  We first used this description in our June 29th INSIDE OUT and the title stuck.  Several readers wrote to say how perfect this label was for people who were obviously bent on destroying our democracy for their personal greed.

The Save Shelby recall advocates tried, and LOST BIG.  One recall zombie admitted afterwards (in a private conversation) that “the recall was a shot in the dark and we really didn’t expect all the work.  It was tougher than we were promised it would be and some people got fed up.  The message was not really clear, even for those who were getting signatures.  Honestly, it was a mess.”

After the loss, and despite the “mess,” the recall zombies were mad as hell.  They were going to get their way somehow.  When Trustee Lisa Manzella conned resident Tom Delise into filing his petitions again (the identical petitions that failed to garner enough signatures) we were surprised to hear that Delise took the bait.  Common sense says if you fail once, why try to do the exact same thing again?  Even a two-year-old learns that if you get hurt doing something once, you don’t go and do it again!  However, common sense has never been a characteristic that describes the recall zombies.

Especially trying to do in one month what the group couldn’t accomplish in six months.  Delise either didn’t see the error of his ways, or he bought what the recall zombies were selling.  Delise filed the identical petitions again and they were approved again.

After the recall petitions were approved (for a second time), the group tried to put a positive spin on this.  Mr. Delise went on Facebook and told the recall zombie army that he was going to do the whole recall again.  Why?  Delise said because it was necessary and it would be much easier the second time around.  Really?  Says who?  Political consultants will tell you that recalls are tough enough once, but trying to do a failed recall a second time is just plain stupid.

Despite the conventional wisdom about recalls, the Save Shelby recall zombies had a message:
“Who cares what consultants say, they are wrong and we are going to prove it!”

As the first recall petition effort stalled due to a lack of volunteers, the Nightingales and the police union intervened and took charge.  They did some of the work and hired people from outside Shelby Township to do the rest.  What about Delise?  Sure, he was the recall petitioner of record and was the public face of the recall.  Delise may have thought he was in charge, but the Nightingales and the police union were actually calling the shots.  Delise was USED — plain and simple — by special interests with a darker political agenda.

Since Mr. Delise and his people did such a fantastic job the first time, when the second round of recall petitions were filed and approved, the recall zombies decided to keep Delise at arms length.  Was his public persona hurting their recall?  Delise filed the second wave of petitions (at the urging of Trustee Lisa Manzella) to get the ball rolling, but that would be the end of his involvement.  The recall zombies decided it was time to move on and put a new public face on the recall.

Enter Richard Batchelder.  Mr. Batchelder, a retired Shelby Township firefighter, is also a member of Shelby Township’s Sidewalk Committee.  After being crowned the recall spokesperson, Batchelder got to work.  As reported in the July 12th Source Newspaper Batchelder immediately went on the offensive in support of the recall zombies, again trying to put a positive spin on this whole “mess.”

“We’re better organized and things are going much faster this time,” said Richard Batchelder, a spokesman for the latest recall effort.  The group now has until Aug. 5 to collect 6,318 valid signatures and have them turned in to the Macomb County Clerk's Office.

“We didn’t do our homework last time,” Batchelder said.  “We’re much better prepared this time.  I don’t think we’re going to have any problem collecting enough signatures to get this on the November ballot.”

When these recall zombies lost the first time around, there excuse (according to Batchelder) was they “didn’t do our homework.”  Now, since they failed again to meet the mandated August 5th deadline, what is their excuse going to be?   “Our dog at the homework?”

Regardless of your personal feelings about the recall, we can’t help but feel sorry for Tom Delise.  Here is a guy who felt he was doing the right thing and who, in the end, got screwed by others.  He was made to look like an utter fool.  Delise has been used by Trustee Lisa Manzella and her recall zombies.   Some may even call Delise a political patsy.  Delise agreed to become the public face of the recall, and his face is the one that ended up with egg on it.  If we were him, we would NEVER support any scheme that Trustee Lisa Manzella, or any of the other Save Shelby recall zombies, hatched again.  Why should Delise subject his reputation to further ridicule?

The Save Shelby/Nightingale/Police Union recall failed miserably.  They failed, initially, to get their petitions approved.  Then, when they did get the petitions approved (after filing more than 50 petitions), they failed to get enough valid signatures to force an election.  Finally, when their recall petitions were approved for a second time, they failed to meet the required deadline.  Even though Mr. Batchelder bragged that they would have no problem collecting enough valid signatures by August 5th to force a recall election this November, they completely missed the mark.

So what did the recall zombies prove?  What was their point?

One point that becomes crystal clear from this is that those maligned political consultants who said it couldn’t be done were correct after all. 

Recall threats have been a noose around the necks of taxpayers for more than two years now.  In addition to Supervisor Rick Stathakis and Treasurer Paul Viar, Trustee Mike Flynn has been a repeated target of the recall zombies.  Why do they hate him so much?  Maybe because Mr. Flynn can’t be intimidated?  Maybe because Mr. Flynn is a true conservative fighting against liberal spending?  Could it be because Mr. Flynn opposes special interest demands on elected officials? 

Trustee Flynn talked about the recall in a recent editorial.  The comments first appeared in a blog on the Shelby Utica Patch website and were reprinted in the August 6-7 edition of the Source Newspaper.  For those who may have missed Mr. Flynn’s editorial, we encourage you to check out the links above.  We are also reprinting Mr. Flynn’s editorial below:

Guest column: Where do we draw the line on political debate in Shelby Township? 
 By MICHAEL FLYNN

For those of you that missed the July 19 Shelby Township Board of Trustees meeting, it was yet another example of how far some special interests will go to maintain their stranglehold on our collective wallets. 

By now, most Shelby Township taxpayers realize what the issues facing us are - and they are not unique to our community. We are seeing it happen again and again all over the country at the state, federal, and local levels. The party is over. The balloons are all popped and we are out of cake and ice cream.

We are in a recession. Property values have plummeted, people are unemployed, and underemployed on a level not heard of since the days of Jimmy Carter. What does this mean? It means lower revenues for all governments: federal, state, and local. It means, like most of us have already done in the private sector, it's time for government workers (and their special-interest allies) to tighten their belts and to do without cake and ice cream for a while. 

However much like the obnoxious party guest who refuses to leave at the end of the night, these folks think they are entitled to even more of a good time, all at taxpayer expense. This attitude was perhaps most prominently displayed when a retired Shelby Township Police officer approached the podium and directed his comments at Shelby Township Treasurer Paul Viar. 

As many Shelby residents know, Mr. Viar has been an outspoken critic of the unsustainable pension and benefit packages currently being funded by township taxpayers. He has also suggested that his failure to support these lavish (in many cases) payouts may be the primary reason for many of the recent recall efforts against him and other reform-minded board members (including myself). Would the township police union (85 percent of whose membership live outside Shelby), and a disgruntled towing contractor care about a zoning issue? Why would a trained police officer three times his size, and 25 years his junior need to have a "conversation" with Mr. Viar in the township parking lot? 

Like most issues in politics, the real answer always comes back to money. For government workers, it means finding a board who will vote to continue pay/benefit packages far out of line with private-sector equivalents, even if it means massive tax increases for you and me. For the disgruntled contractor, it means finding a board who will never put their contract out for bid - or else! 

What's the "or else" you ask? Quite simply, it's intimidation, it's recall threats, it's mob rule. Why? Because it works. Previous boards (and some members of this current board) have been perfectly willing to keep feeding taxpayers to the wolves, as long as they promise to eat them last. That may be good for getting re-elected, but it's bad for taxpayers - eventually you run out of taxpayers. 

That's what brings us back to today's Shelby Township. Reformers like myself and Mr. Viar will not be silenced by threats of recall, or other intimidation tactics. Our job is to watch out for the taxpayers, not government unions or other special interests. They work for us, not the other way around. These are our tax dollars and the people of Shelby Township decide how that money is spent. The taxpayers and their representatives deserve better than a choice between higher taxes or threats to "meet me in the parking lot."

Michael Flynn is a Shelby Township trustee.

The Inside Out discussed Mr. Underwood’s conduct in our July 25, 2011 blog.  If you missed our editorial, or the Board of Trustees meeting that started it all, we encourage you to check it out yourself.  Past meetings can be seen by going to Shelby Township’s website, scrolling down to Board of Trustees (on the left) and then clicking video on demand.  Check out the Business from the Floor section at the end of the meeting.  Or, if you prefer, you can check out Mr. Underwood’s actions and statements on YOUTUBE.

Mr. Underwood certainly has the right to free speech, but telling anyone to meet you in the parking lot to continue a conversation after the meeting ends is nothing short of a threat.  When you watch this exchange, ask yourself if this is simply Mr. Underwood’s beliefs, or is it reflective of a much larger sentiment.  Considering that Mr. Underwood is a retired police officer who is angry about public exposure about taxpayer-funded pensions, and considering that the Shelby Township police union is upset by Mr. Viar’s revelations about taxpayer-funded pensions (which the Board is trying to change), could this perhaps explain why the police union was so heavily involved in circulating recall petitions against Mr. Viar?

Until next time...

P.S.  A couple of noteworthy developments:

• The Save Shelby website, the one loaded with misinformation and lies used to support the recall, has been shut down.  Nevertheless, we have all the website’s screen captures that will help make for a fascinating exposé in the future.  The website was used to distribute false information, and was also used to help solicit money for the recall.

• The Save Shelby Facebook page remains up, however there has been no activity on it since Marsha Nightingale condemned residents for failing to support the second recall,  and since Trustee Lisa Manzella compared Treasurer Paul Viar to journalist Andy Rooney.

• The police union PAC “Shelby Do the Right Thing”, the PAC that we theorized would be used to finance the recall, has been dissolved.  See letter above.  Looks like their grand plan backfired, or at the very least didn’t work out quite they way they hoped it would.  

You see, Shelby Township residents are not as stupid and disconnected with what is going on in our township as these recall zombies believe.