Shelby Trustee Lisa Manzella Becomes the “Great Obstructor” As She Puts Political Friends and Special Interests Ahead of Taxpayers

Residents who watched the regular Tuesday, December 20th Board of Trustees meeting got a full and clear perspective of how some people will do anything to try and intimidate Shelby’s elected officials.  Viewers also saw, quite clearly, how a majority of Shelby Trustees understand that they work for the people — and not special interests pushing their own political agenda.

You knew it was going to be an interesting night when the issue of the township towing contract was placed on the agenda.  But before we talk about that, let’s discuss another issue that took center stage at the meeting:  the appointment of a temporary township clerk.

When clerk Terri Kowal announced she would be resigning to take a new job in Auburn Hills, it became incumbent on the Board to try and pick a successor.  According to township ordinance, the Board must vote UNANIMOUSLY to pick a replacement for vacancies on the Board.  This procedure was followed years ago following the death of long-time Trustee Kirby Holmes, Jr.  Failure to reach a unanimous agreement, the decision on a replacement must go to the voters.

The Clerk performs some valuable duties, not just at election time but all the time.  The one that impacts the most people directly is signing paychecks and overseeing the department to make sure it is being run properly.  This is why it is important that someone be selected to fill this position for the remainder of Kowal’s term.

The Board reviewed five candidates who were interested in becoming township clerk.  The Board conducted public interviews, which were televised on Shelby television.  One of those candidates, Richard Batchelder, is a familiar name to readers of the Inside Out.  Batchelder is the spokesperson for the “Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society”, also known as Save Shelby.  We have written that Batchelder is interested in a position on the township board, and would become a candidate on a forthcoming Save Shelby slate  in 2012.  Little did we know that Batchelder would show his hand early and throw his name into contention now.

When we watched the clerk interviews, we were shocked to learn that Batchelder, who was the first candidate interviewed, admitted that he received the questions early.  This gave him the opportunity to prepare for his “interview” early and read his answers.  When he was asked where he got the questions, he responded (evasively) that they were e-mailed to him.  Treasurer Paul Viar then asked where the e-mail came from, and it was obvious that Batchelder didn’t want to answer Mr. Viar’s question.  It was at that time that Trustee Lisa Manzella chimed in that she sent the questions to him.

So Mrs. Manzella gave her Save Shelby associate the questions ahead of time, hoping to improve his chances.  Even with this preparation, Batchelder gave the worst performance of all the interviewees.  Mr. Batchelder didn’t do himself any favors by reading scripted answers to questions. Besides, even with time to prepare, his answers were hollow, meaningless and mundane.

Perhaps this is why a few days later Mr. Batchelder withdrew his name from consideration as a Township Clerk candidate.  Nevertheless, look for Save Shelby spokesman Richard Batchelder to be among the candidates who will form a forthcoming Save Shelby slate for township offices in 2012.

So the five prospective clerk candidates were reduced to four.  Three of those candidates were put forth for consideration as a replacement for the resigning Terri Kowal at the Tuesday, December 20th meeting.

• One candidate, Fran Gillett, was nominated but failed to get a second.

• A second candidate, Stan Grot, was nominated and seconded, but the final vote for him was 5-to-1 (Clerk Kowal did not vote).  The lone dissenter was Trustee Lisa Manzella.

• The Board was presented with a third choice, Raquel Moore.  Mrs. Moore was nominated and seconded, but the vote for her was, once again, 5-to-1 (again, Kowal did not vote).  Once again, the lone dissenter was Trustee Lisa Manzella.

By ordinance, if the Board cannot come to a unanimous decision on a Board vacancy, the decision goes to the voters in a special election.  This election will cost our township $30,000, not to mention the additional strain and burden this needless election will place on the clerk’s staff during what is already expected to be a busy and tough election year ahead.

Trustee Paula Filar then recommended that Supervisor Stathakis be appointed to fill the clerk’s position, and perform statutory duties, until the Board developed a permanent solution.  This motion passed, opposed by (as expected) Trustee Manzella and Clerk Kowal.

Despite the expense on taxpayers and the time strain it will put on township employees, Trustee Manzella could care less.  Apparently, since her choice (Batchelder) was no longer in the race, she felt a need to try and obstruct the process.  So she was the lone voice against bringing closure to this decision.

So why did Manzella decide to become Shelby’s Great Obstructor?  Politics?  Did she carefully interview the candidates for clerk and make her decision based on the merits of the individuals?  Did she act out of concern for the township’s greater good?  Or did she have another more personal, and political, reason for voting against the prospective clerk nominees?

Immediately after the Board meeting, Mrs. Manzella posted the following comment on the Save Shelby Facebook page:

So, THAT is the reason!  Mrs. Manzella was upset that the Board was going to discuss terminating the towing contract with the Nightingales and so she was determined to hold up her vote on the issue of a replacement clerk in order protect the interests of the Nightingale’s and their coveted towing contract.

Instead of looking at the clerk candidates carefully, doing her research and then voting based on their qualifications and abilities, Manzella linked the vote for a clerk replacement to the township towing contract.  So Lisa Manzella, the person who always complains about politics,  played political games with her vote.  Was she saying that her vote is for sale — if the price is right?  Was the right price in this instance helping her Save Shelby associates by preserving a towing contract for the Nightingales?

So much for Lisa Manzella taking her responsibilities as Trustee seriously and making every decision independently based on the facts and merits of the case.  If this doesn’t stink of political paybacks and favoritism, we don’t know what does!

We also find it interesting that Mrs. Kowal would prefer an election to a Board temporary appointment.  She has always complained about the stress that elections put on her department.  Maybe she doesn’t care about the additional workload of another election since she is resigning.

THE ATTACK OF THE SPECIAL INTERESTS

Now, moving on to the other big decision that was made at the Tuesday, December 20th Board meeting: the township’s towing contract.

Supervisor Rick Stathakis put the towing contract on the meeting agenda after sending the Nightingales a letter stating four reasons why they were in violation of their contract.  As outlined by an article in the December 22nd issue of the Source newspaper the four allegations included:
• Failure to complete site improvements as described during the big process before the township contract was awarded.
• Failure to prominently display a list of towing charges, a list of storage charges and hours of operation.
• Failure to appropriately charge for services pursuant to the terms of the township contract.
• Failure to adequately screen all employees so as to minimize risk to the public receiving services.

These allegations were detailed in a report given to the Board by Russ Weipert, a former police officer with the City of Troy. Weipert was hired as a consultant too examine the police auction process and the township towing contract.  Following a report by Mark Nottely that the township needed to improve its car auction process, overseen by the Nightingales.

As expected, the Nightingales fanned out to attack.  To try and pack the meeting hall, they made phone calls, posted on Facebook, paid for political robo-calls to residents, distributed flyers and sent around e-mails to try and boost attendance.  They figured that the larger the crowd they could get, the better chance they would have of intimidating the Board.

Anyway, the meeting day came.  It was one of the longest meetings we have seen in a while, and yet it was a very well-run meeting — despite the rude and angry protests of those in the audience. When the facts against the Nightingales were presented, no one of their group came forth to explain what they did, or failed to do.  Overcharge the people?  No comment from the Nightingales.  Failure to improve the appearance of their site, which John Nightingale agreed to (on television) when receiving the contract?  No explanation.  Failure to charge according to the terms of the contract?  The Nightingales said nothing.  There was literally no effort by them to explain the contract, other than a family member asking why they don ’t have the right to charge customers whatever they want if they are called for a tow?

The list of those who supported the Nightingales was comprised of family members, friends, business associates and Save Shelby cohorts.  Despite their time and money trying to stack the room, they only managed to muster those with a personal or financial interest in the Nightingales keeping the contract.

The mud started flying, and the person who receives the “Bonehead Award” for the most rude behavior at the December 20th meeting was Marsha Nightingale.  Mrs. Nightingale yelled at the Board, calling them names and claiming that Supervisor Stathakis is not a Christian.  Really?  Mr. Stathakis is not a Christian?  We understand he is a Lutheran, and yet Mrs. Nightingale doesn’t consider that one of the many Christian faiths?

Mrs. Nightingale then went on to claim, without supporting evidence, that the Supervisor has been slapped with a sexual harassment complaint by a female township police officer.  Supervisor Stathakis said, emphatically, that Mrs. Nightingale’s accusation was totally untrue, yet Mrs. Nightingale persisted.  Obviously, taking a page from McCarthy’s book of dirty tricks, Mrs. Nightingale tried to change the subject from her family’s blatant contract violations to unfounded claims of sexual harassment.  Mrs. Nightingale has the right to her opinion, but she does not have the right to make up stories to support her personal views!

We have since learned that the so-called “sexual harassment” that Mrs. Nightingale raised is actually is a workplace complaint of unfair treatment by Supervisor Stathakis.  Apparently, Mr. Stathakis’s oversight (or perhaps failure to purchase enough baking supplies) resulted in more home-made treats being given to the fire department than the police department.  Since some police officers somehow thought that they were being treated unfairly by the shortage of desserts, they filed a “harassment” complaint against Mr. Stathakis.

When pressed by Mrs. Nightingale about this so-called “sexual harassment investigation”, Supervisor Stathakis said emphatically that there was no sexual harassment complaint and that “there would not be.”  Quite frankly, we believe Mr. Stathakis.  He then told Mrs. Nightingale that he was not going to tolerate her making such blatantly false statements, adding that he was not going to comment further.

Given the truth of what this “harassment” actually entails, we can understand why Mr. Stathakis did the right thing by not engaging.

Claiming, as some police officers have, that you are being unfairly treated because the fire department got more desserts than you did sounds extremely petty, and quite frankly makes the whole Shelby Township police department look stupid.  Apparently, by refusing to comment on the specifics of this incident, Mr. Stathakis recognized the ridiculousness of this claim and decided that he was not going to whitewash the entire police department because of the hurt feelings of a few who didn’t get enough desserts to satisfy their sweet tooth.

In the end, the Board of Trustees, and attorney Rob Huth, laid out four valid reasons why the towing contract with the Nightingales should be revoked.  Their attorney, Paul Kowal (husband of clerk Terri Kowal) tried to paint a picture that the Board was doing something improper by voiding the contract, but his legal charade was overridden by township attorney Rob Huth who said the township has the authority to determine whether or not a vendor has violated a contract.

Given the Nightingale’s failure to abide by the contract, the Board had no choice but to terminate the contract.  Trustee Doug Wozniak did a fantastic job of summarizing why the contract had been violated in terms that everyone could easily understand.

The vote to terminate the contract was 5-to-2.  The only two Board members who supported the Nightingales were Trustee Lisa Manzella, a long-time Nightingale/Save Shelby associate, and Clerk Terri Kowal, another Nightingale/Save Shelby associate whose husband has been hired as the Nightingale attorney.  It is clear that while Supervisor Stathakis, Treasurer Viar and Trustees Filar, Flynn and Wozniak understand their duties to stand up for the township, Mrs. Manzella and Mrs. Kowal see their duties as standing up for special interest groups.

Shame on Mrs. Kowal and Mrs. Manzella for turning a blind eye to contract violations in order to protect their political friends.  Their actions in this instance clearly show that, for Manzella and Kowal, political paybacks trump the greater good for Shelby Township taxpayers.

Until next time...