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Former judge urges change
To the editor;
I have been a resident of the
Plymouth community and Colony
Farms subdivision for the past 27
years. It wasmy privilege to service
Michigan for 28 years as a city
attorney, as a state representative,
as a court judicial attorney and as a
WayneCountyCircuit Court judge.
During that public service, I
gained in-depth experience in con-
stitutional law and the protection
of voter rights. I am sending this
note regarding the Aug. 7 election
becausewe have the opportunity to
make a positive change in our
townshipboard of trustees.
In this election, we have a
chance to elect a new treasurer
and four new trustees. It is essen-
tial that we nominate and elect a
new treasurer. In recent years, our
present treasurer has dominated
the votes of the township board.
Most recently, he has steamrolled
the unlawful actions of the board to
deny the constitutional right of
Plymouth electors to vote on saving
our fire andEMSprotection.
In the recent past, he has
demonstrated a shocking lack of
personal control in dealings with
officials and employees of our
township. He has physically
assaulted one of our elected offi-
cials in the Township Hall. On
another occasion, without cause,
he has created a public spectacle
by berating and threatening our
A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
8
July 26, 2012
It took a firestorm of public
opinion and enough bad publicity
to crack even the hardened shell of
arrogance of Plymouth Township
officials, but the League of Women
Voters were allowed to host a can-
didates forum in township hall last
week.
The township hall was filled to
capacity with voters of every per-
suasion and the candidates who
opted to appear were all support-
ed by some members of the audi-
ence. Those who chose to stay
away clearly demonstrated one of
the serious problems with the
incumbents in Plymouth Township
today. It is our strong opinion that
the only reason for an incumbent
candidate to shun ameeting of this
type, hosted by a non-partisan,
informational group, is a serious
reluctance to be questioned about
issues or a blatant attempt to avoid
demonstrating their lack of knowl-
edge of issues.
We really don't know the real
reason incumbent Kay Arnold
chose not to appear to face the vot-
ers, we only know what some of
her supporters said. That was that
she could not appear at the meet-
ing when she was of the opinion
that the township policies did not
allow a group like The League of
Women Voters to use the building
for this type of meeting. Despite
the opinion of the township attor-
ney who reviewed the permit
application of the League and a
review of the minutes back in 2008
when these “policies” were dis-
cussed by the board, Arnold
allegedly felt she should not
appear in such an “unsanctioned”
forum.
We find that argument weak,
ineffectual and downright insult-
ing to the voters and to Arnold's
supporters.
Arnold is the longest-serving
member of this board. If anyone
should be setting a high standard
of conduct and demonstrating a
level of historical perspective, it
should be her. Yet she has, during
the past few years, failed to ques-
tion the conduct and decisions of
the administration. She has
offered no alternative solutions or
viewpoints, but agreed with what-
ever the current supervisor and
treasurer suggest or decide. She
seems to, like so many of the other
incumbents, feel that her position
is so secure with voters that she no
longer needs to be responsive to
their needs or questions.
Perhaps every decision Arnold
has made while on the board has
been the best possible one for the
community. We would find that dif-
ficult to believe, however, since she
was part of the cabal that agreed to
deny the public the right to vote on
the public safety issue. If she has a
compelling argument for those
decisions, why would she not show
up and tell people the rationale
Everybody is looking for some-
body to blame.
That's only natural, I guess,
when a tragedy like the shooting in
an Aurora, CO movie theater
strikes. Victims, their families and
bystanders can't fathom or accept
the magnitude of the horror that
comes so unexpectedly, so shock-
ingly. Maybe it's human nature to
look for someone to blame. But
seriously, many of the people in my
profession have taken this way too
far.
Look, I'm the first one to stand
up and scream that nobody needs
an assault rifle to tromp through
the woods trying to frighten Bambi
into surrender. I can't imagine any
reasonable need for one of these
death machines and yes, I think
they should be outlawed, banned
or at the very least more carefully
regulated.
But seriously, folks, does any-
body honestly think that stricter
gun control laws would have
stopped this man from his chosen
path of mass murder? Is there any-
body who really thinks that some-
thing like a three-day waiting peri-
odwouldhave deterredhim?
If so, you need to correct your
thinking. Nothing would have
stopped him short of institutional-
ization for his mental illness. This
guy is as nutty as a pecan tree and a
lotmore dangerous.
And what made him an even
more serious threat is his intelli-
gence. This guy plotted, planned,
schemed and researched. His intel-
ligence is the one thing everyone
interviewed about him remarked
on. This is a really smart man who
would have found a way around
gun control laws somehow. He did-
n't have any trouble getting his
hands on the chemicals and items
he needed to make the bombs he
booby-trapped his apartment with,
didhe?
No, gun control laws or the lack
of themaren't the issuehere.
Then my media friends "exam-
ined the influence of violent video
games" as a causative agent.
Really?You guys are really going to
go there? Well when you are doing
your research, how about you look
at the number of those violent,
super violent and disgusting games
that are sold and the number of
people who play them. How many
turned out to be mass murdering
sociopaths responsible for the
deaths of 12
innocent peo-
ple who were
watching
a
movie?
Don't
strain
yourselves…the answer might be
one, if anybody can even demon-
strate that James Holmes ever
played the games being blamed for
his disassociation fromhumanity.
By the way, I think those games
ought to be regulated, banned or
toned down, too, but they didn't
make thisFroot Loop kill people.
This morning, I hear that the lat-
est target of my much-maligned
media brethren is theBatman fran-
chise. Yep, now these astute
researchers into the human mind
have decided that maybe the comic
books, ooops, excuse me, graphic
novels featuring the caped crusad-
er, were the trigger for Holmes’
insane actions. After all, they say,
didn't Heath Ledger go a little bit
nuts when he was making the last
Residents inCantonTownshiphave a lot to be proud of.
That was one of the things that became very clear last
week during the candidates forum hosted in the township by
theLeague ofWomenVoters.
Candidates, with the exception of one who opted not to
appear, were polite, friendly, addressed issues in a positive
way and were examples of what public servants should be.
We admit, we did feel some sympathy for challengers who
are facing a board of incumbents who pretty much set the
standard for municipal management in this area. As we con-
sidermany of the othermunicipalitieswe serve, the standard
of professionalism and ethical conduct seems to be set in
Canton Township. We credit the voters for that. They chose
representatives who exemplify the meaning of public serv-
ice. These elected officials, unanimously, conduct themselves
in a manner fully in line with the election promises they
madewhen campaigning.
Supervisor Phil LaJoy, Clerk Terry Bennett and Treasurer
Melissa McLaughlin are unopposed in this election and we
think there is good reason for that. Where would any chal-
lenger find a issue to dispute with the record of exemplary
service they have provided to the township, during some cir-
cumstances that have tried the patience and ability of their
neighbors?
The remaining members of the board, John Anthony, Greg
Demopolis, Sayed Taj and Pat Williams are no less responsi-
ble for the current environment of cooperation and ethical
conduct displayed inCanton. While the incumbents are seek-
ing reelection, Taj is leaving the board to seek a term in the
U.S. Congress.
Former Supervisor Tom Yack has opted to return to the
political arena after his retirement and is now seeking elec-
tion to the board of trustees. We'd like to think that voters in
the township understand the long list of Yack's accomplish-
ments during his two decades as their supervisor and chief
officer. Yack laid the groundwork for professional conduct
and polite disagreement on issues, with never a hint of per-
sonal animosity. He found away to leadCanton through some
extreme circumstances, both in growth and then economic
downturns. Through any sort of turmoil, he was always able
to maintain an environment of patience, tolerance and
acceptance of other opinions and views. He listened to what
others had to say, took their opinions under advisement, and
without exception attempted to make the very best decision
possible for thosewho electedhim.
That atmosphere continued with LaJoy, who, like Yack,
demands professional and ethical conduct and dealings and
expects the rest of the board to act as professional adults who
may disagree about issues but understand that they all share
one priority: what is best for the community?
No matter who the voters choose next week, the founda-
tion laid by Yack and built on by LaJoy, along with Bennett
and McLaughlin and the current board members, is one of
such strength and resolve, it will impact the demeanor and
decisionsmade by those elected or re-elected.
When we take a long look at other communities where we
see infighting, power struggles, stupidity and even blatant
corruption, we cannot help but wish that each of them could
learn from the example officials of past years have set in
CantonTownship.
They have provided the kind of local governance and pub-
lic service every voter expects anddeserves.
An insult
to voters
See
Insult,
page 9
Letters
The only blame here is with
the man who planned and executed this
horrendous attack on
his fellow human beings.
”
Supervisor Phil LaJoy, Clerk Terry Bennett
and Treasurer Melissa McLaughlin are
unopposed in this election and we
think there is good reason for that.
”
Shooter is responsible for his own actions
Canton residents have chosen exemplary leaders
See
Letters,
page 9
See
Guilt,
page 9