In Protesting The Recount, Nancy Conzelman Fails My Integrity Test

Disclaimer:  I am not a paid writer for, or employed in any way by Patch.  My opinions are my own.  This is a blog, not an article.

So there will finally be a recount for two election results in Plymouth Township. One is for the Plymouth Township Treasurer's position, and one is for the Plymouth Township Clerk's position. I would like to talk right now about the Clerk's election.

Mr. Joe Bridgman, the incumbent Township Clerk has asked for — and paid the fee for — a recount in his election, which was decided by eight votes in favor of Nancy Conzelman.

The Board of Canvassers rightly granted his request. They actually granted it twice, because Nancy, being Nancy, didn't bother to show up for the initial hearing. She has a habit of not showing up for things, and she lived up to her reputation in this case, as well.

While I was not in attendence at the Board of Canvassers hearing, I would go out on a limb and guess that it was a slam dunk in the Bridgman/Conzelman race as far as granting a recount. The final margin in this election was razor thin:

Bridgeman....... 2238 Votes 49.89%

Conzelman........2246 Votes 50.07%

Many states, Michigan included, have automatic recount laws in place. In a statewide election, I believe the threshold is 2,000 votes, but most folks would probably agree in a local contest, that a margin of less than 1 percent is a good rule of thumb, just to make sure that there were no mistakes.

Spoiled ballots can be given a fresh look, and if there was intent to fix it, and clear intent on which candidate the voter wanted to vote for, these things can be fixed to make sure that no voter was disenfranchised.

There have been cases in the past where fraud was discovered, or absentee ballots were lost, misplaced, or just not counted. All of these things have happened at one time or another, and that is why states have automatic recount laws that are triggered after a very close race.

I am not saying that any of this happened in the Plymouth Township election, but rather, I am saying that it just makes sense to do a recount in a race that was decided by under 2/10ths of 1 percentage point.

If I was the winner in a contest this close, I would expect a recount. It happens all the time. This is not some extraordinary event, but rather a normal election process that ensures a fair election for not only the candidates, but more importantly, for the voters.

It would seem to me that any reasonable thinking person will have no issue with a recount in a race this close. Most people just want to be assured that they got the results right.

This leads me to Nancy Conzelman's behavior since the election took place. The first thing she did was miss the Board of Canvassers hearing on whether or not there should be a recount.

The next thing she did was to make sure that she made herself available to the Observer so that she could protest the recount, and make disparaging remarks about Mr. Bridgman. She got all snarky, and basically parroted all the same foolish statements that her neighbor and friend, Bob Doroshewitz, has been spewing for the duration of the primary.

Moving on, she then demanded a new hearing, along with her partner-in-crime, Ron Edwards. They claimed that they weren't made aware of the hearing in time to attend. Yeah, right.

So the Board of Canvassers had to make time to have yet another hearing on the matter, and again they made the proper decision that there was cause for a recount.

This was reported by the Observer on Sunday, and again, Nancy made time in her busy schedule to share her thoughts with us. She spewed more venom in her usual snarky way, and protested a recount in an election that was decided by less than a quarter of a percentage point.

As a resident of Plymouth Township, I have a real problem with her behavior. It seems to me that she cares far more about winning the election and disparaging the name of her opponent than she does for ensuring that us voters get an accurate vote count.

Not once in her comments did she mention her concerns for the Plymouth Township residents. The smart person quits attacking their opponent after the votes have been cast. The moral person just wants an accurate vote count, even if it takes a recount to ensure the integrity of the result.

Integrity of the result. Integrity of the candidate. Let's think about the integrity of Nancy Conzelman's candidacy. She declared for public office, and then she crawled under a rock, and basically disapperared. The first time I even heard about her running was when she sent me a letter, written by Supervisor Richard Reaume, and it contained about her opponent.

Nancy Conzelman paid for and sent a letter to the residents of Plymouth Township lying about Joe Bridgman, and she won the election by a scant eight votes.

Just to make this clear, the lying part is not just my opinion. The lying part is a fact.

It was proven by me first, and then by the Plymouth Observer. Then, after the proper amount of teeth pulling, Mr. Reaume even made the admission.

The only person who has not responded to the lying letter is the person who paid for it, sent it out, and benefited the most from it, and that person is Nancy Conzelman. Conzelman Integrity Test: FAIL

She lied, it was proven, and she won by eight votes. Any reasonable thinking person would conclude that her lie swayed at least eight voters who believed her and Mr. Reaume, and did not hear the rest of the story debunking everything she said. Conzelman Integrity Test: FAIL

Next was the League of Women Voters candidate forum that Mr. Reaume & Mr. Doroshewitz tried to stop from happening. They did their best to strong arm the LWV from having this forum, so that voters could meet and ask questions of the candidates who will run Plymouth Township.

When their strongarm tactics failed, they went so far as to try to bluff the LWV into submission by scheduling a special meeting of the Board of Trustees to create a policy to stop this non partisan event. The League of Women Voters called Mr. Reaume's bluff, and the candidate forum was rightly and legally held.

So how did Nancy Conzelman respond to this? She chose NOT to show up. She wants a six-figure salary, but she refused to show up for a meet-and-greet with the voters who will be paying her salary, and be forced to trust her.

Was she afraid someone might ask a question about her lies? Was she afraid of her past record? Was she afraid that Mr. Bridgman might outclass her in a debate on the issues? Yes, yes and yes.

Nancy Conzelman also chose not to show up because by refusing to attend, she denied a chance for Mr. Bridgman to make a case for himself to the voters. By not showing up, he was not allowed a seat at the table.

By refusing to show up at the League of Women Voters candidate forum, Nancy Conzelman ensured that the voters had only her lying letter to go on when choosing a candidate. She made sure that she denied the voters the chance to make an informed vote. Conzelman Integrity Test: FAIL

So let's look at the company she keeps. She is a neighbor of Bumbling Bobby Doroshewitz. Her lying letter was written by Supervisor Richard Reaume. The same Richard Reaume who donated heavily to her campaign. Conzelman Integrity Test: FAIL

Nancy Conzelman stands with Ron Edwards in protesting this recount. Ron Edwards is the guy who had a meltdown and threatened Plymouth Township Police officers when he and his fat cat cronies weren't the first ones allowed to leave the Plymouth Township fireworks.

Ron Edwards is the guy who applied for a job with the City of Warren in the middle of his last term, and tried, OK, to beat the hell out of Clerk Joe Bridgeman when he followed the law and made public the letter Warren sent to Ron saying thanks but no thanks.

Ron Edwards is the guy who stiffed a Plymouth Township business on a bill, and had to be taken to court in order to make him settle up on his bill. He then turned around that same day and magically found a three-year-old tax bill for the woman who had to take him to court in order to get paid for her work.

Yes, Nancy Conzelman is friends with these characters. She is joined at the hip with them. They picked her to unseat Joe Bridgman. They ran a stealth campaign, based on lies, innuendo, and bullying. They stifled the voter's rights to a free and fair election, and Nancy Conzelman gladly participated in all of this.

The thing is, I just do not trust Nancy Conzelman.  I don't trust her because the only things I have to base my opinions on about her are her disparaging remarks, snarkiness, and of course the lying letter.  Other than that, I am told that she is a lawyer, which I guess one could argue go hand in hand with the other stuff.

Nancy Conzelman Integrity Test Final Grade: EPIC FAIL

Enough said...