11th District State Senate Race in Macomb County

**wash_man** · July-30-10, 08:42 PM

Does anyone here live in this district? According to the papers, it's the hottest contest in the state Senate. It's also getting very nasty:http://www.freep.com/article/2010073...-Macomb-County

I live in this district. Gee, what a mess.

**5speedz34** · July-31-10, 02:01 AM

I am registered to vote in the district and I am a precinct delegate at my parents address. Although I live in the city and go to Wayne State it is my permanent address. Quite frankly I'm not surprised it's typical republican politics that goes on in the exurbs. The amount of racism an far right idealogy out there is what makes me truly hate the place and lust for life in Detroit. The only reason I haven't registered to vote here is because I'm a precinct delegate, although I'm up for reelection next week. If I don't recieve it again I will be registering in Detroit come time to vote in November.

I know kind of a long response but the short of it is I'm not surprised.

**Searay215** · July-31-10, 06:02 AM

I live in this district.....One word describes Kim Meltzer....Slug!! She is useless and I hope she gets in to trouble over this.....there is so much that can be said about Kim.....but let dead dogs lie. Good bye Kim!!!....I do not support any other canidate as they are ALL Useless Liars!!!

**Don K** · July-31-10, 08:04 AM

What a slimy little b***h! This is exactly why those silly laws discussed in the other thread stay on the books - votes to repeal them can be twisted into votes for public sex, votes against god, etc., by a weasel of an opponent.

BTW, there's plenty I disagree with Drolet about, but he's consistent about not getting government involved in people's private lives. His speech opposing the Michigan Marriage Amendment when it came up for a vote in the state House in 2004 was sincere and heartfelt. Were I [[god forbid) a resident of the 11th, I would vote in the Republican primary this year just so I could vote for him and try to defeat Meltzer.

**wash_man** · July-31-10, 02:00 PM

I met Kim Meltzer a few days ago. She had some good points. I nearly always split my ticket in the general election and vote Republican in the primary. My strategy is this: a Republican is a sure thing in this district in the general election. I at least want a say who that will be. I am going to vote for Cox for Gov. because I think he'll get trounced in the general election. I'll leave it up to sensible Democrats to nominate the best gubenetorial candidate and vote for them in November.
As I said, I met her a few days ago. I went to one of her events. I asked several questions that raised eyebrows amongst her supporters. The entire event had a racist undertone. It was appalling. I felt like I needed a shower when I got out of there! I'm now starting my own one-man mini campaign. Today I'm printing "Don't vote for Kim Meltzer" signs and placing them in my car windows. I am driving it to church tomorrow morning, getting there early, and parking near the door so everyone will have to walk by it. Some of the participants the other night are my fellow parhisoners. I'm also making a similar sign for my front yard. I also live less than a mile from my polling location so I'm thinking about parking the car within the allowed limits from the door early in the morning, then walking home and taking another car to work.
BTW I did some research and I am quite certain that she is cheating on her property taxes. She moved out in October 2009 to establish residency in a rental home in the 11th district. All to avoid facing Carl Marlinga in the Democrat friendly district where her home is in Clinton Township. She has yet to rescind her primary residence exemption on the home she owns, which you are required to do on property that is not owner-occupied. She is saving being charged an additional 18 mills of taxes this year. I calculated her tax savings via this deceit to be $1585. I forwarded by research conclusions to her opponents and told to do whatever they want with the information. On Monday, I'll be contacting the Clinton Township assessor's office to let them know they have a tax cheater to investigate.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I guess you know how I feel about her. The latest stunt is just unbelievable.

**Jimaz** · July-31-10, 05:02 PM

Apparently I'm in this district too. I don't know much about the history of these candidates since I've only lived here for four years. I am studying for this election though.

The negative campaigning caught me off guard. I wouldn't think it effective but maybe it is. We received one angry mailer with a conspicuous spelling error. That was amusing.

**MCP-001** · July-31-10, 05:29 PM

Of all the races going on right now, the 11th District is right behind the Governor's race in how messed up things can get.

You had someone field a candidate under the name of Zack Brandenburg [[against a field with a candidate named Jack Brandenburg). Zack Brandenburg dropped out the day after he turned in his paperwork and people started to want interviews.

Then you had Jack Brandenburg flip-flop back and forth on his involvement in the MCRI. This brought up old charges of making sexual comments against Jennifer Gratz, the Exec Director of the MCRI by Brandenburg a few years back. To top things off, Brandenburg's top lieutenant Brian Pannebecker jumped into the fray and got caught in a huge lie about Brandenburg's involvement which blew his credibility right out of the water.

And now you have the "infamous" flyer, courtesy of former Michigan Christian Coalition Exec Dir. Glenn Clark. He a sneaky little weasel who still clings to his ultra-religious views and still hates Leon like you wouldn't believe for his position on a number of issues.

'Nuff said on that.

wash_man, the principals were aware of Meltzer's "move" before the beginning of this race. I would still recommend having a chat with the assessor's office. I'd also recommend dropping a line to the local media to see if they want to tag along. It should make for interesting viewing.

**Jimaz** · July-31-10, 05:41 PM

Oh and thanks for the article, wash_man. I hadn't read that one.

northern Macomb County -- one of the state's most conservative districts

That certainly doesn't describe me!

Yeah, the outright lying backfires with me. Even if a candidate is lying about someone I loathe, I just can't vote for someone who would lie to me. Lying is just a sneaky substitute for making campaign promises.

**wash_man** · July-31-10, 06:28 PM

Another note from my meeting with her and one of her campaign staff...I was prepared with an Excel spreadsheet of her campaign contributions. I also had a copy of the questions she answered for the Detroit News "Voter Guide". One of the questions was: "Are you accepting PAC funds? How will your campaign be funded?" Her response: "NO. It is self funded with additional support from my constituents." I pointed out that nearly 8K of the 75K she has collected [[I'm rounding off numbers by memory, but they're close) was from PAC's. She said "Yes, we accept PAC money, what's the problem?" I said "Then why did you answer no?" Her: That must have been before I accepted any. I pointed out that she accepted her first PAC money in March. She said, "I don't know, I guess I can't explain that one." She walked away. I asked her campaign staffer, Pam Weiss, why they claimed that it was self funded with additional support from constituents when they have accepted over 32K from donors outside the district, including Matty Maroun, and Matty Maroun Jr. for $1,000 each. She looked me right in the eye and said "Wow. You did your homework" but offered no other explanation. She [[Pam) then said "Our two opponents also take PAC money". I said "I'm not talking to them right now, I'm talking to you". She then walked away and joined Kim in another discussion with another group and left me standing there.
I can feel my blood pressure rise as I recollect this discussion! BTW, I had a small digital recorder in my pocket and recorded the entire meeting!

**wash_man** · July-31-10, 06:32 PM

One more thing...[[I apologize, but this really has me fired up!) I thought about the media, but I think it is too late. And since I'm not a tax attorney [[or any kind of attorney lol!) what if I made an error? I certainly can't handle a libel lawsuit.

**MCP-001** · July-31-10, 06:39 PM

I wouldn't worry about that.

They'll look at what you've got. If they like it, they'll run with it.

If not, then you'll know right away.

If you do decide, I'd recommend that you do it quickly.

After 5:00pm on Monday, there won't be one reporter who will return your phone call due to the closeness of the election and the "newsworthiness" of the story.

**wash_man** · August-01-10, 07:56 PM

I did some "campaigning" today. I also made a T-shirt with of the crossed-out portrait sign on the front and the "Do Not Vote for..." sign on the back. All have been great conversation starters as I meandered around northern Macomb County. I got a few dirty looks too!

**Jimaz** · August-01-10, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by wash_man

I did some "campaigning" today. I also made a T-shirt with of the crossed-out portrait sign on the front and the "Do Not Vote for..." sign on the back. All have been great conversation starters as I meandered around northern Macomb County. I got a few dirty looks too!

Okay, that's good.

Some improvements [[probably too late) might be larger, more visible signs [[a friend once filled his truck bed diagonally with such a sign) and some simple means of conveying why one shouldn't vote for the candidate, like a web site with an easily-remembered URL that explains the details.

Hat's off to your initiative!

**wash_man** · August-01-10, 09:36 PM

Jimaz, I agree it's kind of amateurish. I don't know how long you've been participating here but I've mentioned on other posts that I lost my job almost three years ago. I now have one, but I am earning about 75% less! This small campaign of mine had to be very cheap. I spent less than $10 on everything. If there was more time before the election, I would have invested a little more. It's the best I could do given the budget constraints.

**Jimaz** · August-01-10, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by wash_man

Jimaz, I agree it's kind of amateurish.

That can be a plus. That can come across as a genuine grass roots push rather than the contrived push. With so much suspicion in the air, the real thing carries more weight.

Best of luck in your future endeavors too.

**wash_man** · January-15-11, 03:30 PM

I started this thread back in July when Leon Drolet sued his Repblican primary opponent Kim Meltzer for slander. I thought he might really follow through with it. It looks like he just did it for publicity. I've been following the court schedule, keeping an eye on this. Here's what it says today:

01/14/2011 ORDER SIGNED: FOR DISMISSAL W/OUT PREJ FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR EARLY DISPOSTION SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE [[CLOSE)

I thought Leon might grow a pair as big as Kim's and follow through. Since they both lost in the Primary to Jack Brandenburg it must not matter to him. It might have helped put an end to negative campaigning in the future.

[[Sorry, the link to the original article has expired at the freep)