It’s not often that a candidate for office reveals themselves to be such an incredible [expletive deleted] as Macomb County Commissioner and MI-24 State House candidate Steve Marino, 27, has this week. A tracker sent to a “coffee hour” held by Marino recorded him making some amazingly outrageous comments, largely related to his time as a lobbyist for Delta Dental […]

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, shown here sweeping up horse manure, has led an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in Michigan elections by fighting to uphold a ban on the option to vote a straight-ticket in our elections. The legislation, passed by our GOP-dominated state legislature, was a blatant attempt to harm Democrats’ chances given that one-half of all voters […]

See update below. Last month, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum wrote a piece for Eclectablog about Attorney General Bill Schuette’s crusade to ensure straight-ticket voting is banned forever in Michigan. In her essay, Barb explained how, at its core, Schuette’s effort is little more than an attempt to disenfranchise voters in our state. After a 3-judge panel of the 6th […]

As part of the Code of Laws of the United States of America – 39 U.S.C. § 3210(3)(a) to be specific – “It is the policy of the Congress that the privilege of sending mail as franked mail shall be established under this section in order to assist and expedite the conduct of the official business, activities, and duties of […]

The following guest post was written by Barb Byrum. Barb is currently the Ingham County Clerk and is a former State Representative who served three terms in Michigan House of Representatives from 2007-2012. She is currently running for re-election to serve a second term as the Clerk of Ingham County. Byrum grew up in Onondaga, Michigan, a small rural town […]

Human memories are fickle and fade, but the Internet never forgets. And that may cause deep regrets someday for politicians in Michigan who have hitched their wagons to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. It’s been true for many months that every week Trump somehow finds a way to stoop to a new low. Since the start of the Democratic National Convention, however, […]

The following guest post was written by Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. Enjoy. As Michiganders, we should all be concerned about the way […]

If you’re a politician commenting on the tragedy in Orlando, Florida where the lives of 49 people were extinguished by a madman with a semi-automatic weapon, do us all a favor and do NOT include the phrase “thoughts and prayers” or any iteration of it in your reaction. Thoughts and prayers are like a tissue paper vest when it comes […]

This afternoon, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, with no apparent sense of irony or sarcasm, sent out an email titled “An historic night for Michigan”. He was referring to the previous evening when Republicans passed “bailout” legislation for Detroit Public Schools that has inadequate funding for DPS, harms children by putting unqualified, uncertified teachers in their classrooms (illegal in every other […]

The following guest post was written by my friend Jen Eyer, Vice President of Vanguard Public Affairs. Jen has spent many years in the world of journalism and most recently managed the newsroom for The Ann Arbor News, part of the MLive Media Group. You can read her full bio HERE. This piece was first published at the Vanguard Public […]

“Sit, dog. Sit. Good legislator! Have a check.” NOTE: This post has been updated to clarify the changes that have been made with regard to collective bargaining contracts. In the dog training world, dogs are often trained using delicious treats. When a dog does what it’s told to do, it gets a treat as a reward. Then, over time, the […]