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Topic: Burton politics gone wild again-Wells for Mayor
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

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143475 Opinion - Michigan Courts - State of Michigan

May 1, 2013 ... codefendant Charles Smiley, the mayor of Burton (the Mayor), .... subdivision of
this state, or the United States to a public body, unless the.

http://courts.mi.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/Clerks/Recent%20Opinions/12-13-Term-Opinions/143475%20Opinion.pdf - - Cached - Similar Pages
Post Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:34 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Attorney Tom Pabst won this case after going to the Michigan Supreme Court. Whitman was the Police Chief of Burton. Burton had an ordinance 68C that paid specific officials annually for heir unused sick and vacation time. Smiley wanted to sidestep this payment without an ordinance amendment. Smiley and Whitman argued when Whitman went to the City Attorney to request payment. Smiley then declined to reappoint Whitman and the mud began to fly.
Post Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:47 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Channel 25 has featured the upcoming court hearing on the Paula Zelenko mayoral petitions. Wells alleges the person signing as circulator was not the person who obtained the signatures. This is a violation of Michigan law. Wells presented 12 affidavits of Burton residents who want their name removed from the petitions.

Wells did admit to the WEYI reporter that part of his goal is to force Zelenko to run as a write-in candidate. Wells said it would make it easier for his election bid.
Post Mon Jun 08, 2015 5:40 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

10 06/08/15 MOTION HEARING
ATTY COTTON FOR PLTF, ATTY
DOYLE FOR DEFT, ATTY KENNEDY
FOR INTERVENE PARTY AND ATTY
BELL FOR ADDED DEFT OF
COUNTY CLERK ALL PRESENT FOR
KENNEDY'S MOTION TO INTERVENE.
MOTION HEARD AND GRANTED.
MOTION BY DOYLE TO DISMISS
AND/OR ADD PARTY COUNTY CLERK.
MOTION DENIED. ORDER TO BE
FILED. COURT SET HEARING
DATE ON OTHER ISSUES OF TIME
LIMIT.
11 SET NEXT DATE FOR: 06/26/15 12:00 AM
MISCELLANEOUS HEARING
12 06/10/15 ORDER FILED AS TO MOTION ON
THE RECORD FILED
............................... END OF SUMMARY ..............................
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:43 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

I am told the court hearing to challenge Paula Zelenko's petitions grew more complex. The Genesee County Clerks Office was added, represented by Celeste Bell. Attorney Kennedy made a request to intervene.

Those who thought the case was a slam dunk as Paula Zelenko should not have signed he petitions when it was her husband who actually circulated them.

Wells probably missed he allotted number of days in which to file a complaint and said it was because of the time it took the Burton Clerk to complete the FOIA request. I believe the request was filled within the time frame allowed by the FOIA law.

The next hearing should be interesting as Kennedy is said to be quite persuasive and well researched on the issues.
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 1:02 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Danny Wells for Burton Mayor 2015

June 8 at 7:43pm ·
.


Danny Thomas Wells Sorry everyone for not posting after court but we have been back and forth on the phone up until now. Paula has brought in a $500.00 and hour attorney from Lansing and according to John Gleason he is the lead attorney for the Democratic Party. Amanda Doyle the City Attorney made a motion stating the City Clerk has no role in invalidating Paula's petitions which Judge Hayman disagreed with and moved on. Attorney Doyle then made a motion to have the case dismissed because I didn't file my complaint within the 7 days allotted by the state. We have followed every part of the process to a tee and have time stamped documents to prove it. We have been in contact with everyone from the Secretary of the State to Dave Foster at the Bureau of Elections to John Gleason and his staff at the County. We have kept tedious notes on all of our documents. Judge Hayman agreed that I didn't file my complaint within the 7 days because I had to file a Freedom of Information Act to get her petitions and they held them up past the deadline. According to Attorney Doyle the City Clerk did call me with ample time to file the complaint within the 7 days however me and my phone records disagree. Judge Hayman's opinion is that the 7 days only applies to the signatures of the nominating signees and not the signature of the circulator. The Judge has asked both parties to file a brief within 7 days showing case law otherwise. In this case we also believe the circulator does not apply as it is a misdemeanor to sign as the circulator if you did not get the signatures. We know that Paula did not get the signatures on 3 of her petitions and we have signed and notarized affidavits from the people who signed them that said she was not the circulator. By the way her attorneys have seen the affidavits so they know it too. I guess at this point their defense is "So what we broke the law but you didn't report it on time". Hopefully we will find out in a week where we go next and maybe by that time we will hear something from the State Police as they are investigating the criminal side. My Attorney Glenn Cotton and the rest of our team are confident we have made a great case. Thank you all for your support and we will keep you posted as we go along.
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 6:26 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Attorney Tom Pabst took the case of Bruce Whitman, former Police Chief of Burton versus The City of Burton and Charles Smiley, individually to the Supreme Court (Supreme Court Case No. 143475.

The jury gave a verdict in favor of Whitman's Whistleblower case (08-87993 CL- Neithercut) for $232,500 and attorney fees of $64,874.25. There was another judgment for $53, 981 against the City of Burton. Whitman received a judgment o $297,374.25 against Charles Smiley with interest.

Danny Wells was named on Pages 92a and 93a of he Appellant Appendix. Whitman discusses Wells as a councilman who gave total allegiance to then Mayor Charles Smiley . Whitman stated he told the Mayor "I would never want anybody to be totally allegiant to me. If I'm stupid enough to go off a cliff, I either want one guy trying to stop me or all of them standing and watching. But I certainly don't want them all going over with me. So I had a problem with that. The whole idea that anyone thinks they could be above you to the point where you must absolutely follow what they do, they are the law. In other words, I mean personally I was very offended by that and I ust never looked at the man the same since. "
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:10 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Page 59a -64a is a section of transcript in which Pabst while questioning Charles Smiley regarding the allegations Rizzo bribed Smiley and reassuring the judge he did not violate the order not to discuss the Abbey bribery case.

"We've bee watching on TV, it was for almost a year, Blake Rizzo making formal proffer under oath to the FBI saying that he bribed not only Abbey, but Smiley. So, there's my good faith basis,. I just didn't pluck it out of the air." 60a)
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:40 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Page 68a discussing a meeting with the Mayor with Chief Whitman and Officer Needham in April 2004, a week after the Mayor was pulled over for alleged drunk driving.

" (Pabst on Smiley) You know, I'm sick of the traffic cop situation. You guys ought to be filling quotas. Just go out there and start writing tickets. You know, we need money, just write tickets. And the Chief says wait a minute, quotas are illegal. You can't just ticket people because you want to raise money and you want a certain amount. He (Smiley)says don't give me that stuff, he says I don't care. I don't care if it is. If I ell you to go write quotas, you go write the quotas. The Chief says, well, that's not gong to happen that's not going to happen while I'm Chef of Police, okay? But the Mayor us livid, because he's got the courage you know, because he's got the courage to stand up to him and say we're going to follow the law, all right, and the Mayor didn't always follow the law, and that will be crystal clear to you." (68a)
Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:05 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

When Smiley was Mayor, he embarked on an ambitious home development program and used the excess Burton water and sewer funds to finance the developers infrastructure. When those funds ran out, the City of Burton issued bonds to cover the costs of the infrastructure for the developers.

When the housing crisis struck around 2008, the proposed subdivisions stalled and the sale of lots that were to repay the bonds didn't happen. The Journal did stories about the abandoned subdivisions and the problems they created for Burton.

In March of 2006 Jamie Curtis was featured in the Flint Journal editorial.

Water-Sewer Bill
Burton's new developments should pay for needed lines

New developers should pay the lion's share of the cost for proposed water and sewer lines in Burton. Fairness, and quite probably state law, requires this course, rather than the other options of jacking up rates of current utility customers, or spending millions fro the city's water and sewer reserves.

Doing either of these things amounts to sticking the wrong people with the bill for this new infrastructure, a prerequisite for more housing in the city's southeast section.

What's needed, as Councilman Jamie Curtis points out, is for Burton to boost its ridiculously low $500 or $1,000 fees for water and sewer tap-ins for a new home. This is thousands of dollars less than what other municipalities charge- amounts calculated to cover the cost of building water and sewer lines so homeowners and others not benefiting from this expansion don't subsidize the development.

Not only have the Michigan courts forbidden these subsidies from current ratepayers, in Burton's case they shouldn't be necessary. The residential developments a proposed sewer line would permit are in the very marketable Grand Blanc and Davison school districts.

But this part of Burton has exhausted available sewer capacity, and Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright forbids more growth without the new line. That prohibition could hold up future phases of he Winding creek subdivision and cancel the planned Sherwood Forest.

However, the problem would be easily fixed if Burton taps the right solution. Instead it seems the city's elected officials are focused on the wrong debate. Whether to hike water and sewer rates substantially or spend savings, when they should be husbanding these funds for repairs and upgrades of what they have.

Ultimately, we anticipate, Burton will be forced by the law to raise its tap-in fees so builders pay the full cost of infrastructure installed explicitly for growth. Anything less would leave the city open to a court challenge by those who would be paying someone else's tab.
Post Sun Jun 14, 2015 3:29 pm 
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