Campaign "Friendraiser"

Jim Howell, candidate for the Saginaw Circuit Judge position being vacated by  retiring Judge Bill Crane, will be holding a  "Friendraiser" on March 30th. The event will begin at 5:30pm and run to 7:30pm, at Thirsty's Bar in State Lanes Bowling Alley, 5707 State St, Saginaw.

This is a campaign event asking for "Big, Small, or Not At All Donations" and Jim will be providing the hors d'oeuvres.  There will be a "Happy Hour" cash bar so you won't get too thirsty.  Of course, Jim would appreciate donations, but he would also appreciate your presence, just to get acquainted.  So come and share your thoughts with Jim or ask any questions you may have on his run for circuit judge. Please RSVP to howell4judge@yahoo.com, though RSVPs are not required.

You can find more information on Jim Howell and his campaign at http://www.jimhowell4judge.com/.

Taxed Enough Already

A great example of how the administration in Lansing has not been serious about cutting the cost of Michigan's government can be seen in how we pay our public employees.  Compensation for Michigan's private sector citizens decreased by 10.3% between 2007 and the third quarter of 2009, meaning that most Michiganders are earning less today.  But one subgroup is actually paid more: government employees! State and local government employee compensation increased by 5.5% during the same period.  For comparison, federal employee compensation is up even more, by 7.5%.

So, when Governor Granholm and state lawmakers hiked the state income tax by 12% and the state business tax by 22% back in 2007, it  meant more money out of your shrinking paycheck to make fatter paychecks for Michigan's government class.

Of course, this year Governor Granholm has proposed a state budget  which includes another state employee pay increase!  To help fund this, she is pushing a plan that would lower the sales tax from 6% to 5.5% but extend the tax to a whole range of new purchases you currently  don't pay sales tax on: thousands of services. If passed, this sales tax extension would take another $550,000,000 out of citizens' pockets in 2011 and transfer that money to Lansing.

Friday, March 12th saw seven Saginaw County Republicans file to run for county commissioners.  At 9:00am, at the County Government Center, 111 S. Michigan Ave., in Saginaw, Republican incumbents Ann Doyle, Ron Sholtz and Pat Wurtzel, along with Republican challengers Jim Graham, Tim Kelly, Kirk Kilpatrick and Ben Ritter, formally filed their campaigns with the county clerk.  Incumbent Dennis Krafft is also filing for reelection, but was not available Friday.

These eight Republican candidates expect to form the core of a new conservative majority that will work diligently to shrink the cost, size and scope of Saginaw County government at every level.  They will work tirelessly to transform Saginaw County from a model of civic anxiety to one of civic pride, cooperation, accomplishment and trust.

You can find out more about the incumbents at the Saginaw County website: http://www.saginawcounty.com/Commissioners/Default.aspx.