League of Women Voters Candidate Forum Could Be Banned From Plymouth Township Hall

It has been said that one of the things the founders of our country believed would protect our form of government was an informed electorate. It sounds reasonable to be sure, and for the most part it tends to work out that way in the end.

There are, however, instances where politicians do their best to violate that belief and dishonor the faith that our founding fathers had when crafting the Constitution of our country.

At the 11th hour, a mere 15 minutes before the close of the business day, our Plymouth Township Board of Trustees posted the notice for a special meeting in order to thwart the chance to have an informed electorate.

The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees are going to vote on effectively canceling an already-approved candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters that was to be held July 16 in OUR Township Hall. The fix is in.

This important event was to be held in the . Not the Richard Reaume Township Hall, and not the Ron Edwards Township Hall, but the Plymouth Township Hall. The one that was bought and paid for, and is currently maintained by the taxpayers of Plymouth Township.

Richard Reaume and Ron Edwards do not own this Township Hall, but they and their cohorts are going to dictate tomorrow who can use it. They are doing this for one reason, and one reason alone. They want a monopoly of power in Plymouth Township. They want to be the kingmakers. They want to be the ones who decide who gets elected and who doesn't, so they stack the odds so as to be so insurmountable that many good and decent candidates just remove themselves from the ballot before their campaign even has a chance to gain any traction.

To those with the courage to keep fighting, they fill mailboxes up with attack ads, and then when that doesn't do the job, they resort to this shameless act that will take place tomorrow evening at what could better be described as the Plymouth Township Bunker Complex. I call it this because they will hunker down in a hastily called meeting to do one of their dirtiest of deeds so far in this election. They will do it right there in the Hall that the folks in Plymouth Township bought and paid for.

Usually I can have a sense of humor about most things political, because I have seen some pretty nonsensical shenanigans pulled by various politicians over the years, but this action has me steamed. I am mad on so many levels right now I find it hard to put them into any kind of coherent order.

I am mad because the League of Women Voters are a nonprofit group, they are a non-partisan group, and they do not endorse anybody. Their sole purpose is to ensure that we have an informed electorate.

I am mad because Paula Bowman, who is the vice president of the Northwest Wayne County League of Women Voters works a regular job, and volunteers her time after her work day to help facilitate these forums.

She does not get paid and considers it her civic duty to help out. She is a patriot in my eyes. Everyone has their own meaning of civic duty, of giving back to the great country that has afforded them so much opportunity, and this is her passion. So yes, I consider Ms. Bowman a patriot, and I am embarrassed by Mr. Reaume's shabby treatment the League of Women Voters in general, and Paula Bowman in particular.

On behalf of a great many good citizens of Plymouth Township, I would like to apologize to Ms. Bowman for the way she was treated and would hope that she finds it in her heart to come back next election, when hopefully this mess will get straightened out.

Not only is this township board poised to jerk her around and leave her twisting in the wind right down to the very last possible minute, but they're also messing with everybody else's lives. There are those who planned to attend, made time in their schedules, got babysitters and whatever else. At the 11th hour, like spoiled children, the incumbents will casually say no. We are taking our bats and balls and going home. We don't want to play no more.

There are also the other candidates who made time in their schedule in a busy campaign season to attend this important event. This township board said the heck with them, we won't allow them in our Township Hall. It's NOT YOUR Township Hall Mr. Reaume! The Plymouth Township Hall belongs to the people of this community.

In the course of the last few days, I have talked to a few elected officials and, without naming names, I can tell you one thing. They were left scratching their heads at the action that this Plymouth Township Board of Trustees is going to take. A couple of them were even laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and one summed it up best by saying that "the people get the government they deserve." This is an oft-used quote that dates back to the 1800s, and I hope everyone thinks about this when they get to the ballot box at the primary.

I will be very interested to see how this Board of Trustees tries to spin this decision. I think they are going to try to pass this off as a campaign finance violation. If they do, they will be wrong. If they try to cast this nonpartisan, everyone-invited candidate forum as a violation of campaign finance laws, then that goes against the opinion of the thousands of other cities and townships across the country who happily hold these informational forums every election.

They will obfuscate, they will blow politically rhetorical smoke up our back ends, and then they will all go happily home, content with the belief that "this too shall pass." They are counting on us voters to have a short memory. By waiting to the very last legal moment to schedule this special meeting, they are counting on a lot of people not hearing about this meeting, or being unable to attend because of the late notice.

The Plymouth Township Supervisor is counting on an uninformed electorate, because if the electorate were informed of these activities, he would surely be thrown from office.

In closing, I would just like to say that I find these actions to be very cowardly. Any Plymouth Township Trustee who votes to kick the League of Women Voters non-partisan candidate forum out of OUR Township Hall is a coward, and is either protecting someone, or has something to hide.

Who are you protecting, Mr. Reaume? You are running unopposed, so you literally have nothing to lose by taking away the right of the people to hear the candidates at the township hall that they built.

Are you seriously afraid of the questions you'll be asked? I received the 12-page glossy mailer telling me about the great job you are all doing, so why the trepidation? I would think all of you would be proud to step up and point these wonderful things out.

Hold it! Are you protecting Township Treasurer Ron Edwards? I'll bet you are! I think you are protecting the Treasurer. I think you are afraid to see what will happen when the voters are allowed to question Ron Edwards, who is Plymouth Township's resident loose cannon.

I think you are afraid of another Ron Edwards YouTube moment. Sure, there was the whole 911 call, and even I will admit that a year removed, it was kind of funny in an embarrassing sort of way, although I doubt that our police officers will ever find the humor in it, and rightly so.

There is also the of the Plymouth Township clerk in the hallway, and that wasn't so funny, in fact, that was kind of disturbing, but more on that another day.

I think Mr. Reaume is scared to death that Mr. Edwards will get the wrong nerve tugged and have another meltdown, this time in public, which would be a bad thing - a very bad thing. That could hurt other incumbents and jeopardize not only their chance of reelection, but also the absolute monopoly of power that Mr. Reaume and Mr. Edwards currently enjoy.

So, it appears that because of Big Ron, some of these incumbents will have to toe the line and kick the League of Women Voters to the curb.

Open and honest elections be damned. Win at all costs. Reward your friends and punish your enemies. Everyone that gets in the way, gets steam rolled. Maintain absolute power at all costs. When I think of the current Plymouth Township Board of Trustees, these are the things that come to my mind, and that is not a good thing at all.

The people get the government they deserve...