And A Third Discussion With Another Township Official

After the township board meeting Tuesday night, another board member approached me to talk about my opposition to them bringing back Lee Carpenter, the man recalled from the board by the voters.  This conversation didn't go any better than the other two.

When I left the meeting last night I was angry about this conversation, but today I am just sad.  The board member asked me about my comment I made online that I would not vote for any of the board members that voted to bring Lee Carpenter back into our government.  I confirmed I did state that. This member said they were sad that I would say that after all the work they have done to represent the residents of this township.  This board member claimed they are not like the rest of the board members, they are an outsider.  Sadly I feel that they are not an outsider any longer, they are now part of the clique that does not represent or serve the interests of the residents.

I stated there was no excuse for bringing Lee Carpenter back, that the township never made any attempt to find another person for the position.  This board member then tried to tell me that Lee was only brought back for a temporary "fill in".  I asked a fill in for what?  Until the 2020 election they claimed.  I told this board member that I was very snarkily informed by another township government member previously that Lee would be running again in 2020 to keep his position as township clerk. This board member last evening then snarkily said to me that I should then find someone to run against Lee Carpenter if I oppose him being there.  **NEWS FLASH**  It is not my responsibility to find someone to run and defeat Lee Carpenter to keep him out of a position he has no right to be in.  IT WAS THIS BOARD MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITY TO VOTE "NO" AND NOT ALLOW A MAN THAT HAD BEEN RECALLED BY THE VOTERS TO BE PLACED BACK INTO THAT POSITION WITHOUT THE VOTERS APPROVAL!!

This board member could have voted "No" on bringing Lee Carpenter back into our government.  That "No" vote would not have changed anything, they had the quorum to bring their buddy back.  That "No" vote though would have proven that this board member was truly there to represent and serve the Bridgeport residents.  If enough board members would have voted "No" to bringing Lee Carpenter back, none of this would be happening now.  If this or any of the board members don't have the backbone to stand up to the clique, then they are not the board members the residents need.   This board member implied that they only voted "Yes" for Lee because it was just temporary and it was the best option they had.  These township government officials never even looked at any other options.  They never even tried to find another person.   This board members excuse that they only voted for Lee Carpenter because it was a temporary fill in position does not pass the smell test either.  This board member voted "Yes" first in December of 2018 to appoint Lee Carpenter to the Zoning Board Of Appeals.  I have no idea what this board members excuse is for that "Yes" vote.  Once Lee Carpenter was recalled by the voters, he does not belong in any position in our township government. Period!

This board member also told me that they had talked to at least one other resident about one month before Lee was appointed on April 2nd as the township clerk, and that this resident agreed it was probably the best option.  This comment made me suspect that I was right in my assumption that they had planned on bringing Lee Carpenter back from the very beginning; either from the time that Darlene Miller officially turned in her resignation on March 5th or, possibly, before hand.  

The conversation with this board member started out I feel with first a guilt trip about why I am so uncooperative, when they have worked so hard for the residents; then it just went to BS, and I definitely felt it was hostility coming from them towards the end.  I was still on the fence about this board member until last night.  Now I feel they have definitely gone to the dark side and they have definitely lost any support from me.  

Another Discussion With Another Township Official, SMH

On Wednesday, July 10th, before the Bridgeport Township DDA board meeting started one of our elected officials stopped to have a talk with me.  Another township employee had the same kind of talk with me back in early May.  Both of these talks were about my opposition to the township bringing back Lee Carpenter, the man recalled by the voters in 2011, as the new township clerk in April of this year.  Both of these talks left me a little shocked.  I left that meeting today just shaking my head and asking if he really said those things?  My mother attended the meeting with me today and heard every word that was said and she is still shocked also.

The conversation started out normal.  He said he was hoping that perhaps he and Lee could sit down and have a meeting with me sometime. I wasn't receptive to that for several reasons.  I may not be able to recall everything that was said word for word but I will try to share as much of the conversation with you that I can.

One of the things he said was that he suspected I was getting information from people and he feels that information is wrong.  Actually I am not getting information from other people. I am not being influenced by anyone else in this township, not by the people they consider the "naysayers".  Someone asked me back in April who was the new township clerk after Darlene Miller retired.  My response was that I had no idea, I haven't been going to the meetings, haven't even been reading the emails from the township.  So I decided to find out who it was and when I found out in the meeting minutes for April that they had brought Lee Carpenter back I was upset.  I have been writing about it ever since, and those posts are my personal feelings and thoughts, and information that I am finding from old news articles and some of my own videos of past meetings etc... The only information I have been getting from "others" is their feedback to my posts that they are as upset as I am that Lee Carpenter has been brought back.  Some are more upset than I am.  This elected official and his other township friend keep telling me what a good man Lee is, but guess what, not everyone in this township feels that way about him.  Whether he is a good man or not is irrelevant.  The issue is that he was recalled by the voters, then brought back by his friends in the township government.  This is the point that the township government can not seem to understand as to why the voters are opposed to what they have done.

Another thing that was said was that I think this is some kind of conspiracy, plot or whatever by the township government in the handling of bringing Lee Carpenter back.  Actually I have been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt in this.  When I stand back and look at the whole picture though, step by step, it does look like some kind of conspiracy possibly.
Step 1 - Darlene Miller resigns as the township clerk and the township government never posts an opening for the position.  The township government did not appear to make any effort to seek out applicants for the township clerk position.  21 days after Darlene resigns, Lee Carpenter supposedly applies for the position.  3 days prior to that another township resident did apply but was not even granted an interview because she did not have prior experience.
Step 2 -  During my "talk" with the other township employee back in May, she admitted that they had a discussion before hiring Lee Carpenter and that they knew his being previously recalled would possibly be a problem with the voters.
Step 3 -  Today the township official talked about the lack of interviews and search for other applicants.  I believe his remark was "why interview 15 other people when we already knew who we were going to hire?". BINGO!!  It sounds as if they were only ever planning on hiring Lee Carpenter, and no one else but him.  This remark was one of the ones that shocked me.
Step 4 - After the township board approved the hiring of Lee Carpenter as the new township clerk on April 2nd, there was no official announcement put out by the township government.  I would have thought that announcement would have been in the very next issue of the Birch Run Herald.  Still no official announcement to this day that the board voted to bring back the man the voters recalled.

So does the lack of the township looking for qualified applicants for the clerk position, the acknowledgement that they knew Lee Carpenter being previously recalled would be a problem,  the fact that the township has never announced his hiring, combined with the fact that no profile page was put up for the new township clerk like there is for every other township official until July 9th, equal a conspiracy?  It sure could appear to people that the township had no intention of ever hiring anyone else other than their friend Lee, and that they were trying to keep it quiet because they knew the residents might get upset since they had voted to recall him from that very office.
What could be another possible theory for all of this?  That they are all just so totally incompetent they are not even capable of running the township?

Another part of the "conspiracy" discussion was about my comments that there may be some that voted for Lee Carpenter because he is "family" and/or "friends" with some of these township officials.  I said he voted for him because he is his friend.  He didn't disagree. The shocking part of that discussion to me was that it seemed as if he didn't see anything wrong with that. The friendship between Lee and these township government officials clouds their judgement in my opinion.

Another part of the discussion today with this official involved the recalls of 2010 & 2011 and the voters.  This part really boggled my mind, and really reaffirmed my belief that it is their arrogance that makes them so out of touch with the residents, so disdainful of the voters.  I believe it was during this part of the discussion that I tried to tell him that they do not see things from the voters point of view, they seem to be incapable of seeing that. The voters chose to recall Lee Carpenter and they had no right to bring him back. I feel the township officials truly believe the recall was wrong, that they were in the right. He was going on that it was all based on lies, the voters were basically hoodwinked.  Some comments he made I believe were "how many voters do you know that are really engaged?" "how many really care?" "how many really know what is going on?" "those voters almost recalled the entire board".  I can't remember every thing he said during this part because it truly upset me.  But I felt there was no mistaking the tone of his voice, his disdain for the voters of this township.  My mother says this was the most shocking part of the entire conversation, his unmistakable disdain for the voters.  I think that the township officials don't feel they have done anything wrong by bringing Lee Carpenter back because they feel the stupid voters were wrong in recalling him.

Another comment made multiple times by this official was along the line of "I can see that this is going to be an issue with you".   It is an issue with me, and one that I feel strongly enough about that I will continue speaking out against it until the 2020 election.  The voters recalled Lee Carpenter, the township officials brought him back against the voters wishes.  I think they will find that it is going to be an "issue" with other voters in this township also. 

I don't know if I am able to adequately relay the underlying tone I picked up during this conversation with the township official today. You would have to of been there and heard and seen it for yourself.  I left there thinking that talking to them is like beating a dead horse.  They will never understand how the voters feel and think, they are incapable of doing so.  They are so arrogant, so set in their ways, in their little clique up there, and they will never change.  It seems like they stick together, they watch each others backs, they don't want people that might be a threat to their little clique there.  The residents of Bridgeport need elected officials that will watch the residents backs, not each others backs. The only way for the voters to see any change in the direction of our township is to vote these people out of office. To be able to vote some of these people out of office we first need honest residents that will step up and run for election, residents that will actually serve their fellow citizens for the citizens benefit, for the entire townships benefit.

Here are my thoughts on the first "talk" that one of our township officials had with me about my opposition to them bringing Lee Carpenter back into our government.   My Personal Feelings

Bridgeport Township Clerk Profile Page - Confusion or Revisionist History?

The Bridgeport Township website has finally put a profile page back up for the township clerk.  It was removed around May 7th or 8th.  This profile page finally shows Lee Carpenter as the township clerk.  He was appointed to the position on April 2nd, 2019.  It took them awhile to get his profile page up. I hope other things don't run this slowly in the rest of the township government.  I took a look at his profile and noticed a big discrepancy.  Here is a screenshot of the profile page as of Tuesday, July 9th.

Link to his profile page on the township website: https://www.bridgeportmi.org/index.php/2013-02-01-18-52-47/administration/township-clerk.html


Does anyone else notice the glaring discrepancy?  Look at this statement -- "I spent many years as the Township Clerk and when I was not re-elected in 2008, I concentrated on renovating ball field’s all over Michigan."  According to this statement, it would appear that he was not the township clerk or even a member of the board from 2008 until he got appointed by the current board this April.  That statement that he lost his re-election in 2008 is inaccurate.  Let's review some facts and the timeline:

November 2008 --  Lee Carpenter won re-election as the township clerk.  It was a 4 year term.
Township elections in Saginaw County

 November 2009 -- In a news article it mentions "Township Clerk Lee Carpenter".
Bridgeport Township board doesn't act on police and fire millage

August 2010 -- A news article again lists Lee Carpenter as the township clerk.
Bridgeport Township supervisor seat to remain vacant until November election

May 2011 -- Lee Carpenter was one of the board members that was recalled by the voters. This article refers to him as the  "Now-former Bridgeport Township Clerk Lee Carpenter".
Accusations fly in wake of Bridgeport board recall

August 2012 --  Lee Carpenter ran in the election to regain his position as township clerk but lost.
More election results: Contested Saginaw County races

Lee Carpenters profile page is misleading in stating that he lost re-election in 2008; totally omits the fact that he was the township clerk and a part of this township government during all the troubles  during the years of 2009 & 2010, and that he was recalled by the voters in 2011.  It also fails to mention that he ran again trying to regain his seat as township clerk in 2012 and lost.  So according to his profile, which I assume was written by him, he wasn't present for any of the above events???

Is Lee Carpenter that confused?  Is he suffering from memory loss?  Is he attempting a little "revisionist history" to try and mislead the residents and voters in 2020 into thinking he wasn't involved in all that mess back then?  If he is that confused, suffering from memory loss, or being dishonest, then perhaps he is not the person that should be serving as the Bridgeport township clerk?
The way his profile page should read is "I spent many years as the Township Clerk until I was recalled by the voters in 2011."

I would suggest that the Bridgeport township government get the corrections done to update his profile more accurately so the residents don't suspect that it is an attempt to hide the truth from the voters.  It has taken the township government from April 2nd, 2019 until July 9th, 2019 to finally get a profile page up for Lee Carpenter.  Hopefully they will get the proper updates done to his profile in plenty of time before the election in 2020 in which the voters will be voting for the township clerk position.  Hopefully we will have more candidates run in 2020 for the board.

85 Days Later We Ask "Why"? They Ask "Why Not"?

85 days later and we are still asking why members of Bridgeport Township government would bring back a man, Lee Carpenter, that was recalled by the voters in 2011.  Are those government leaders just saying "Why Not"?  I believe it is arrogance by them that makes them think they can disregard the will of the voters in our township.
Definition of arrogance
: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions 

In conversations I have had with others regarding the past and currents actions by members of our township government,  the answer always comes down to arrogance.  Arrogance back in 2010 by them that helped start the recalls.  Here are the reasons listed for the recall of then Township Supervisor Patrick Gilles:

"The recall petitions listing the following allegations: 
- An Oct. 6 vote by Gilles to adopt a resolution to impose a 2.5-mill assessment without allowing a public vote; 
- Gilles refusing to accept public petitions requesting the 2.5-mill assessment be put to voters; 
- a Nov. 3 vote by Gilles to end a public hearing on the 2.5-mill assessment before the public could speak; 
- a Nov. 5 vote by Gilles to approve a deficit spending budget for 2010; 
- and a Jan. 5 vote by Gilles to spend township money to sue the 14 people who circulated petitions requesting a public vote."

It was arrogance shown by the supervisor and other members of that board and township employees, some of whom are still present, that led to those kind of actions by the board.  Suing the township residents that filed petitions seeking to have a millage increase put up for public vote?   It was outrageous!!  Arrogance times 1000%.  Lee Carpenter was there for all of this, current supervisor Augie Tausend was there for all of this, township manager Rose Licht was there for all of this.  These people are all still in our government and obviously their arrogance is still there.  And has that arrogance rubbed off onto the new board members, or is it just their ignorance of the past that allowed them to vote, twice, to bring Lee Carpenter back into our government?

Arrogance that makes them think there was nothing wrong with anything they did back then, not with the millage, shutting down dissent, suing the residents, and lets not forget their actions regarding the land and the bridge restoration.
Arrogance that made Lee Carpenter and Patrick Gilles think they could run for re-election back then and actually win; thankfully they were both defeated.
Arrogance that makes them think there is nothing wrong now with bringing back a man the voters recalled.
Arrogance that makes them think they can bring back a man recalled by voters and not face consequences for that.
Arrogance that makes them think they are superior to the residents/voters of this township.
Arrogance that makes them think that any resident who is upset with their decision to bring back a man that was recalled is ignorant, a naysayer, and is to be disregarded.
Arrogance that makes them think that they can try to blame a resident that chooses to speak out against their actions of bringing back a man recalled by voters for any trouble that might start because of their actions.
Arrogance that makes them think they can try to silence a residents voice again.
Arrogance that makes them think that by not announcing they brought back a man that was recalled by voters and removing the page for the position of township clerk from their website, that the voters wouldn't notice what they had done and could keep it quiet.
Arrogance that makes them think the township residents have just forgotten or don't care anymore about the troubles and abuses they committed in the past.
Arrogance that makes them think they "own" those seats on our township board and not the township residents that vote them into those seats.
Arrogance that makes any man think he has a right to sit as our township clerk even after the voters removed him from office and rejected him a second time.

85 days later and we are still asking "Why"?
85 days later and they still have not announced they brought formerly recalled township clerk Lee Carpenter back as the new township clerk.
85 days later and I wonder if they are just saying "Why Not"?  We will do whatever we want, we know better than you, and there is nothing you can do about it?
49 days since they removed the profile page from the township website for the township clerk and it still is not back up.  "Why"?

Here is a little review of the history and arrogance of our township board:

Bridgeport Township supervisor battles recall election, county clerk says ballots can't be altered with election eight days away

Bridgeport Township supervisor primary rehashes issues of 2010

Bridgeport Township supervisor seat to remain vacant until November election

Bridgeport Township resident files petitions to recall entire township board

Winchell to critics: Bridgeport Township recall allegations are 'community killing poisons'

Four up for recall in Bridgeport Township

Recall 'based on lies' was 'ridiculous,' says lone Bridgeport trustee avoiding ouster

Accusations fly in wake of Bridgeport board recall

 

Search For A New Township Clerk And How It Came To Be... Or How It Should Have Been

I suppose I should start this tale with a brief history:  Lee Carpenter was the Bridgeport Township Clerk from 1988 to 2000, and then again from 2004 until he was recalled by the voters in 2011.  He did run again for election for the clerk position in 2012 but the voters said NO.  I thought the message from the voters sounded like  "We sent you packing before, take the hint you are not welcome back".

Fast forward to 2019:  Darlene Miller had been a member of the Trustee Board since 2008 and she became the township clerk after the recall and had remained the clerk until she turned in her resignation at the March 5th Township Trustee Board Meeting.  Her resignation was effective as of March 13th, 2019.

Here is the news article in the March 13th, 2019 edition of the Birch Run/Bridgeport Herald about Darlene Miller's resignation:  just click on any photo here to see larger version

I was surprised to learn that Darlene Miller had resigned, especially before her term was up.  I was told by several people that she resigned because of the township's rule on nepotism/hiring of relatives.  A family member of hers was hired for a position in the township but could not have been hired if Darlene stayed on as township clerk.  I think the nepotism rules are a good thing and should be in place and I can see where they could also be expanded.  Here are the rules for hiring within Bridgeport Township:

When I found out that Lee Carpenter had been brought back as the township clerk I was upset as some of you may have noticed if you have been reading my blog.  I had not been attending any township or school board meetings in about one year so I was behind in keeping up with the news and events here.  After I found out that Lee Carpenter had been voted in/hired as the clerk at the April 2nd, 2019 meeting I started attending the meetings again.  I attended the May 7th township board meeting and after the meeting was over one of the people from the township government had a talk with me.  It was about them bringing back Lee Carpenter and my stand against it.  The conversation didn't go well and I walked away.  You can see what I had to say about this "conversation" in this blog post:  http://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2019/05/my-feelings.html

During this "conversation" I questioned their search for a qualified person for the position of clerk.  I thought it was said during this conversation that they had "posted" the position for clerk.  I was told that only two people applied, one of them being Lee Carpenter and that the other applicant had no prior experience.  I must have been mistaken about the "posting" for the position part.  I started doing some digging.  Assuming that they probably knew at least about the chance that Darlene Miller would be leaving before she actually turned in her resignation on March 5th, I went back through old editions of the Birch Run Bridgeport Herald.  You can find old copies at our local Bridgeport library if you are interested.  Bridgeport and all the other local townships in our area post their legal notices in the Herald, usually in the back few pages.  I went through the Herald editions from February 27th to April 3rd, 2019.  I could find no posting for the township clerk position opening.  The ONLY thing even closely related to it was the article from the March 13th edition about Darlene Miller resigning.

I sent the township several FOIA requests under Michigan's Freedom Of Information Act, pertaining to the posting of the township clerk position.  My request was for the following information:

I am requesting the following information:

1. The actual clerk position opening posting as it appeared for publication.
2. Information on where all the clerk position opening was posted, ie: local newspaper, the front door of the township offices, etc…
3. The date the clerk position opening was first posted and duration of time that the position opening was posted for.
4. If possible I would also like the names of any applicants that applied for the position and the dates they applied, and the names of any finalists that were interviewed for the position of Township Clerk and the dates they were interviewed.

The response I received stated that "According to the Michigan Township Association Rules it is not necessary to post the open positions of Board Members due to resignation or death. This has been our past practice.   We had two people fill out applications for the clerk position when Darlene resigned.  The applicants were Lee Carpenter and XX"   I have the other applicants' name but am not sharing it since I have not spoken to this person and received permission to share it.  I did some Google research on this person and they appear to be a life long Bridgeport resident and in my opinion is qualified for the position mainly because they have never been recalled or rejected by the Bridgeport voters, A Big Plus for any applicant!!

Here is a copy of the rules from the Michigan Township Association in their FAQ section that was provided to me by Bridgeport Township:

So this article says they have 45 days to fill the appointment.  It also talks about how any interviews conducted by the township board for the position should be done in an open session of the township board meeting.

I remember when Vanessa Guerra won a seat in the State government and her trustee position was open, they interviewed all six of the applicants for her former position in an open board meeting.  You can see this in the December 16th, 2014 board meeting here:
http://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2014/12/bridgeport-township-board-meeting_18.html

Walter LaShore was the township treasurer when he passed away on  April 14th, 2015.  During the May 6th, 2015 township board meeting they appointed trustee board member Jim Secord to replace Walter LaShore as the treasurer and then during the June 2nd, 2015 township board meeting they appointed Calvin Williams to replace Jim Secord as a trustee member of the board.  There were no interviews given during these meetings to any applicants.  I don't know if there even were any other applicants or if the openings were posted at all.

So what I  am gathering from my research and the answers to my FOIA requests is that they never posted this 2019 open position for township clerk, anywhere at anytime. The article in the Herald is the only clue that anyone in Bridgeport would even have that the clerk position was open.  I don't know how many subscribers the Herald has in Bridgeport or how many copies of it are sold each week at the stores, I do know that I personally know of only two people that subscribe to it, and others that I know only pick up copies from the store when there is something in particular they are interested in it like the local high school sports.  The rules from the Michigan Township Association states that they are not required to post the open position, BUT, "doing so may attract a larger or more capable pool of candidates".  DUH!  The failure to post this open position could lead people to question if Bridgeport was even looking for any applicants for the position or did they already have someone in mind?


Part of my FOIA request was about when these two applicants for the clerk position applied and when they were interviewed.  Here is their response to this question:  "Lee turned his application in on March 26th and XX turned her application in on March 23^rd.  There were no formal interviews".  This second applicant seems to have just been dismissed off hand because they had no prior experience, was not even granted an interview. Was every member of the township board aware of the past history with Lee Carpenter? Perhaps if they had done formal interviews that could have been brought up.  Lee Carpenter they stated was hired because of his prior experience.  Like I stated in other blog posts, someone that has been recalled by the voters once and rejected a second time does not have the kind of experience that our township needs or wants.

Bridgeport had at least several weeks to seek out applicants for the clerk position.  Review the timeline of events  -- On March 5th, Darlene Miller turned in her resignation.  On March 23rd applicant XX turned in her application.  On March 26th Lee Carpenter turned in his application for the position.  On April 2nd the township board voted to hire Lee Carpenter as the clerk.
What was Bridgeport doing between March 5th and April 2nd?  What were they thinking was going to happen? Why did Bridgeport not post this position?  Why did they make no apparent  attempt to find other qualified, experienced applicants for the clerk position? Were they just sitting there on their hands waiting for the Township Fairy Godmother to just drop a qualified applicant into their laps?
These are the questions that the Bridgeport residents need to be asking their elected officials in Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Township Manager.

Lets go back to the rules against nepotism & the hiring of family members.  Bridgeport's rules only deal with "blood relatives".  Perhaps they should be expanded to include other familial relationships such as in-laws, like the Township Supervisor's relationship to Lee Carpenter is.  They are in-laws since their children are married to each other, or so I am told.  Perhaps the hiring rules should also include people that are long time good buddies with members of the township elected officials and employees, like Lee Carpenter is to several members of the township board and employees of this township. Perhaps the hiring rules should state that no person that has been recalled by the voters can be hired by their friends back into the township unless the voters themselves give the approval at the ballot box?
Lets look at the most generally accepted definition of Nepotism, Cronyism, and Favoritism:
"Nepotism is the granting of favor to relatives in various fields, including business, politics, entertainment, sports, religion and other activities. Nepotism refers to partiality to family whereas Cronyism refers to partiality to a partner or friend. Favoritism, the broadest of the terms, refers to partiality based upon being part of a favored group, rather than job performance."
The township board may not have violated their rules on hiring of relatives but did their actions smack of Cronyism or Favoritism?

The Michigan Township Association website states:
"Michigan's townships are the form of government closest to the people. The epitome of local democracy, elected township leaders are truly "neighbors serving neighbors," offering accountable, effective and efficient representation and services to their residents."
In my opinion the Bridgeport employees and elected officials failed to live up to these standards when they brought Lee Carpenter back into our township government.  The Bridgeport residents deserve better.  They deserve elected officials that respect them, truly represent them, and listen to their voices, like when the residents spoke and voted to remove Lee Carpenter from office.

I personally like some of the members of our township trustee board but I will never vote for a single one of them again because of their vote, twice, to bring back into our government a person that the residents voted to recall.
FIRST TIME -- During the December 18th, 2018 township trustee board meeting the members voted to appoint Lee Carpenter to the Zoning Board of Appeals.  These members voted to approve his appointment - Supervisor Tausend, Treasurer Secord, Trustees Wilson, Williams, Gutierrez and Thayer.  The Clerk Darlene Miller was absent for this meeting.
SECOND TIME -- During the April 2nd, 2019 township trustee board meeting the members voted to hire Lee Carpenter as the township clerk.  These members voted to approve this action - Treasurer Secord, Trustee Gutierrez, Thayer and Williams.  Absent from this meeting was Supervisor Tausend and Trustee Wilson.

It is not only members of the township board that share responsibility for bringing Lee Carpenter back, it was also township employees, but township employees are not elected by the voters so we have no chance to hold them accountable.  The best we can do is to elect the kind of township officials that will live up to the standards they are supposed to, the kind of officials that would not vote to bring back someone the voters threw out of office.

To view all the posts I have here on the history and hiring of Lee Carpenter back into the Bridgeport Government, you can use the search function on my blog page or just click this link:
https://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/search/label/Lee%20Carpenter

My Personal Feelings

Some people may think they know me but few really do.  The few who do know me know that I have a limit and once that line is crossed, it is over. Let me explain my feelings on a few things.

“Your Personal Feelings”.  I can’t believe you actually went there but you did and there was no mistaking what you meant and how you really feel. I don’t respond well to someone trying to be condescending to me or trying to belittle me or my feelings, to insult me.   And I sure as hell don’t respond well to manipulation or border line bullying.   I can’t believe you actually said a few things you said, but you did so let’s discuss them.   I guess let’s start at the beginning of it all.  

Restoring the historic bridge was a great thing to do.  It is the way that it was done, the way that the business owners were treated, the nasty things that were said and done about and to the business owners and residents of this township by the township officials that were wrong.  There are some things that will never be forgotten or forgiven.  You say that there were lies told about the township and maybe there were, I don’t know because I never heard them.  And yes there are always two sides to every story and I believe that there are some stories about that time in our history that have probably not been told.  I don’t think they would shine a good light on the township government.  There we are, back to every story having two sides.

I have overlooked and tried to put in the past a few things from the trouble in our township because I thought it was best, time to move forward for the good of the township.  It seems though that it is the township that wants to bring back the ugly past.  You say that you don’t want all this trouble to start back up, to start back up because of “my personal feelings”. My personal feelings and the feelings of every voter in our township that voted to recall those board members matter.  It is not me that will start that trouble back up, it is you.  You are the ones that hired him despite the voters first recalling him in 2011 and then voting no when he ran again in 2012.  Every board member that voted to hire Lee Carpenter now, every employee that approved of his hiring; it is your fault and yours alone if any trouble starts. 

How dare you try to put the blame on me if any trouble starts over your decision to bring back the past, your decision to slap the voters of this township in the face.  I don’t just have a right to criticize my local government when I feel they have acted wrongly, I have a responsibility to do so, and I will.

Every member of that old trustee board, and some employees of this township, were responsible for the trouble in the past, for the things that were done, the things that were said.  And no member of that board that was recalled should ever again be sitting on the board or anywhere near our township government. You may think highly of him and you all may be good buddies, but it is the voters that are the only ones who should have had a say in whether Lee Carpenter had the right to sit on the trustee board again.  As you snarkily said, he will be up for election in 2020, and yes we will see then what the voters think.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he does not win election then.  I also wouldn’t be surprised if a few other board members don’t win reelection then.  

And lastly, the “experience” excuse.  Save it for someone that buys it.  Someone that was recalled from the board does not have the kind of “experience” that our township needs or wants.

"To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."

The mistake elected officials make is thinking they rule over us, that they don't have to answer to us.  They are elected by the voters, and it is the voters who rule over them through the ballot box.

The Memories Live On

They called us liars again and again
Said we were minions scurrying across the land
Nothing but rednecks as far as the eye could see
Daring to criticize and hold them accountable was called poisonous
Militant dissidents we were one and all
Bamboozled and hoodwinked the citizens did we
Called us the dreaded Libertarians for believing in the rights of man
The memories live on and the tales are still told
With the rights we did have and a voice we did use we took back our community and will again if ever need be

Something Old, Something New, Some Things Never Change In Bridgeport Township

Darlene Miller has been a member of the Bridgeport Township government for many years and was most recently the Township Clerk.  Mrs. Miller resigned/retired earlier this year I believe.  I haven't kept up with the politics so I don't know exactly when she announced her decision or when her last day was.  I personally liked her very much and will miss speaking with her at the Trustee board meetings.  I am sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and I wish her well.

What I was saddened to discover today was that during the April 2nd Trustee board meeting, they voted to hire Lee Carpenter as the new Township Clerk.  The meeting minute notes say that only two people applied for the clerk position and they hired Mr. Carpenter for his "experience".

Mr. Carpenter does have lots of experience as the township clerk.  He held the clerk position I believe from 1988 until about 2000.  Then again from about 2004 until he was recalled by the township voters in May of 2011.  Remember that fiasco?  I sure do.  Some may say it is time to move on and forget the past.  I am a firm believer in never forgetting the past so that the same mistakes are not made again.  There are times it is wise to move on when there is a forward and better future being made, but there are times when ignoring the past and bringing back those same mistakes are not a good idea.  Mr. Carpenter may be a fine man and he obviously still has some supporters here in Bridgeport; but the voters of our township voted to recall him in 2011 and when he ran again for the clerks position in 2012, the voters said NO!!!  With an estimated 8,474 eligible voters, only 300 residents voted in favor of Lee Carpenter in the 2012 election.  I would say that was a pretty resounding NO!!
All of our Bridgeport township trustees and governmental leaders are there to represent us and listen to us, not to rule over us and ignore our will.   I thought that the Bridgeport voters made their will known in 2010, 2011, 2012 as to their desire to never have Lee Carpenter in our township government.
On April 2nd the township trustees chose to ignore the past will of the people and hired Mr. Carpenter anyways.  They say he had the experience but did they just chose to ignore the controversy that he also has and will bring back to the township?  Did they think that the Bridgeport voters would just forget about the ugly period that divided our township?  Did they even care?  I haven't seen any announcement from the township about his hiring and when I looked at the township website earlier today it still had Darlene Miller listed as the township clerk.  The only way I found out that he was the new clerk was by reviewing the board meeting minutes.  I wonder why?
If an election was held tomorrow I would not vote for Mr. Carpenter because of the past.  How many Bridgeport residents would vote for him if an election was held tomorrow?  Guess we will never know since the residents didn't get a say in his hiring.  He now has the position until Nov 2020 and I guess we will find out then how many residents support him.

*EDIT* June 5, 2019 - I found out during the June 4th township trustee meeting that they first voted to appoint Lee Carpenter to the Zoning Board of Appeals during the December 18, 2018 township trustee board meeting.  Were they bound and determined to bring him back to whatever position they could find for him in the township government? You can read my blog post about it:  https://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2019/06/bridgeport-township-board-meeting-june.html

In case anyone needs a reminder of the controversy surrounding Mr. Carpenter and that ugly period in our township, here are some old MLive articles:

 Bridgeport Township supervisor seat to remain vacant until November election

Bridgeport Township resident files petitions to recall entire township board

Winchell to critics: Bridgeport Township recall allegations are 'community killing poisons'

Four up for recall in Bridgeport Township

Recall 'based on lies' was 'ridiculous,' says lone Bridgeport trustee avoiding ouster

Accusations fly in wake of Bridgeport board recall

Bridgeport Township supervisor primary rehashes issues of 2010


** Updated to add the results of the original fiasco and lawsuit that brought on the recall:

Judge: Bridgeport business owners can sue for damages in restored State Street Bridge case

Jury awards damages to Bridgeport store owners who sued over State Street Bridge relocation

Judge awards more than $100K in attorney fees, costs to Bridgeport store owners who sued over State Street Bridge relocation