Hi, my name is Bryan Bentley, and this is Flashback Friday!
I am at this minute, blogging from a secure, undisclosed location in the Charter Township of Plymouth. I am currently on double secret probation, with the threat of being thrown in jail hanging like a black cloud, over my slightly graying head.
This threat came from none other than Plymouth Township Supervisor, Richard Reaume. He does not like me asking him, or any of his cronies hard questions, and has warned me not to call, or leave messages. Yikes!
This threat is causing me loss of sleep, bouts of paranoia, eating disorders, and I seem to be shedding. If this keeps up, I will end up a fat, hairless blogger, who keeps his shades drawn, and has an uncontrollable Twinkie habit. But enough about me.
Today, I am blogging about Plymouth Township Treasurer Ron Edwards. This is Flashback Friday, and Big Ron Edwards will kindly be providing us with a huge dose of hilarious hypocrisy, as only he can.
Big Ron is the resident loose cannon, and bully in Plymouth Township. When he says, "I'm coming after you," and he does this a lot, folks get nervous. Business owners get nervous. Homeowners get nervous. Plymouth Township vendors get nervous. Political opponents get nervous. Why? Because he is a vengeful person.
He is a vengeful person, and he makes it his mission to punish his perceived enemies. He actually treats it like a playground game. He clearly enjoys it too. You can always tell when he is getting ready to attack a helpless victim at a Plymouth Township Board of Trustees meeting. He leans back in his chair, points himself at his prey, and gets this ridiculous looking smirk on his face. It is really hard to appreciate this unless you see "the look" in person. It reminds me of the movies when the big dumb jock decides to pick on the nerd in front of the high school gym class.
I laugh like hell every time I see this look, because when you see this look, you know that something truly cringe worthy is about to come out of his mouth. It is hard to describe Ron Edward's rants. It's almost like he gets a case of diarrhea of the mouth. He opens his mouth, and unimaginable things just come spewing out. I know, it sounds gross, but it is an apt description. But I digress.
Lately, Big Ron and his cronies, have been getting some unwanted attention and criticism from some former supporters. These criticisms are coming from the right too. Conservative Republicans are angry at Ron & Company because of their truly non-conservative spending of taxpayer money, and this is what inspires Flashback Friday.
Flashback Friday was inspired by a campaign flier/ad Big Ron produced when he ran as an Independent for Plymouth Township Supervisor in 1992. For reasons unknown, this little nugget of gold has resurfaced, and is working it's way through Plymouth Township. It's pretty embarrassing for Mr. Edwards, and I can see why he has his panties in a bunch over it.
The man is angry about it, and he is "coming after people." Not wanting to be left out, I'd like to add my name to Big Ron's list.
I'll be the first one to admit, that the ad was good. From my Republican standpoint, I liked all of his bullet points. He even seemed to have some hair on his head back then, without the help of a comb over. Okay, that was mean. I'm sorry Big Ron, I'll not make fun of your hair again. Please don't "come after me."
Anyway, this campaign piece reads like a good conservative campaign ad, and he stood on some time trusted conservative values. Heck, if I didn't know the man like I do now, I might have voted for him.
There is a problem though. I do know the man. I know the man, and more importantly, I know his record.
When I look at his campaign promises, and I compare them with his record, things don't add up. Either he was blatantly lying, or he has pulled an Obama, and "evolved" over the years. His statements simply do not wash with his record, but don't just take my word on it, lets look closer at his words, and compare them to the facts. Let's do a little fact checking on Mr. Ronald Edwards.
We'll take em one by one, and have some fun with it.
#1. Balancing the Township budget without tax increases, fee increases, or issuance of bonds (Governments Credit Card)
Okay, I have an immediate problem with this statement because the very last words I heard Treasurer Edwards utter was in response to dissenting voter, Trustee Chuck Curmi, about the 1.9 million bond that Edwards just approved. To quote Mr. Edwards, "It is cheap money."
Cheap money huh? Apparently, all taxpayer money is cheap money to the faux fiscal hawk, Ron Edwards.
Ron Edwards, Richard Reaume, Nancy Conzelman, and Kay Arnold just recently voted for issuance of bonds to the tune of about 2 million dollars. $625,000 of this, is to build an outdoor pavilion at the Township park. This outdoor pavilion will be air conditioned.
Are you freaking serious? Air conditioning in an outdoor pavilion at a public park? Have you ever heard of such a thing? This is the epitome of an out of control government, spending like a drunken sailor, using what Ron Edwards, in his own words, called a "Government Credit Card."
An air conditioned outdoor pavilion at a township park. I am suddenly wondering what the electric bill will be for that? Yikes. No worries, Ron will cover it with that "Government Credit Card" he spoke about.
I could go on and on about Big Ron's first campaign statement, but this last issuance of bonds is enough on it's own to give Mr. Edwards 4 Pinocchios for statement #1.
#2. Controlling Salaries and Benefits of Elected Officials and Employees.
Where do I start with this one? You could look at this statement two different ways. I am sure he wants you to believe that he means to "control" escalating salaries of elected officials and employees. That would be good right? Heck, these elected officials make enough money as it is, and they do not even have the responsibility of punching a clock. They do not have a required amount of hours they must work for their six figure salary. They keep their own hours, and nobody knows what those hours are.
Here's the thing. I don't think that Big Ron was actually concerned about controlling escalating salaries of elected officials and their employees. I think he meant that he wanted to have control over his salary. I think he really meant that he wanted to control the salary of everybody connected with Plymouth Township.
If Treasurer Edwards was so concerned about "controlling salaries" why did he give a $6,000 raise to the Deputy Clerk, Michelle Lozier after only months on the job? She works less than a year, and gets a $6,000 dollar raise? Why?
Maybe it is because she donated to his reelection campaign. Yes, Michelle Lozier, according to campaign finance reports, donated to Ron Edwards reelection campaign. In the pre-primary report, there were only three donations larger than Michelle's, and one of them was Flagstar Bank PAC. I wonder if Flagstar handles any of Plymouth Township's money?
Well anyway, those campaign signs don't pay for themselves, and Ron Edwards had a poopload of them, so Lozier's money was welcomed, and he thanked her with a raise. I'll give it to Michelle, she got a fabulous return on her investment.
There is another thing at play here too. The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees appoints the members of the Compensation Commission. The sole purpose of the Compensation Commission is to decide how much money the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees should be paid. So in essence, by being the Treasurer, Ron Edwards has a hand in controlling his own salary as long as people favorable to Ron Edwards, and the Board of Trustees, by extension, are appointed.
Here is an interesting side note. Plymouth Township Clerk, Nancy Conzelman's husband used to sit on the Compensation Commission. His name is Steve O'Connor. Steve O'Connor's Compensation Commission gave Big Ron, and Richard Reaume a raise the last time the Compensation Commission met, and suddenly, those two were campaigning to get Stevo's wife elected to the Clerk's position. It smells fishy if you ask me.
I literally had to threaten to call the Detroit News before Richard Reaume finally took action to remove Steve O'Connor from the Compensation Commission once his wife took office. Neither one of them acted willingly.
Here is the bad news. Just Tuesday night, the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees appointed Stevo's replacement, and renewed another member for another five years. Reading the tea leaves, that tells me that Big Ron wants a raise. He wants a raise, and he is doing it less than a year after being reelected. That gives taxpayers over three years to forget about the fact that the very man who said he wanted to "control salaries" has not only paid off his political allies, but fattened his wallet as well. He does this now, because come election time, he has to once again, morph into a fiscal conservative.
I'm only going to give Mr. Edwards 3 Pinocchios for this one, because he has managed to keep employment costs down. The unfortunate thing though, is he did it on the backs of others, by gutting the fire department, and forcing our police to work without raises for years.
Oh, I neglected to mention that he gave his Deputy Treasurer Amy Hammye, a $6,000 raise too. She is another major campaign contributor. She gave every bit as much money to the Edwards campaign as Lozier did. Did I forget Richard Reaume's secretary? She got $5,000. I wonder if she is mad about that? She got $1,000 less than a woman who had been on the job less than a year.
What a chump! Screw the police and firemen, but hand out lavish raises to your political allies. On second thought? 5 Pinocchios for you Mr. Ronald Edwards!
#3. Providing Emergency Response and Fire Protection to all residents in the community within 5 minutes.
I'll make this short and sweet. Ron Edwards was the point man behind the move to gut the Plymouth Township Fire Department to 12 full time firefighters. Result? There are only 4 firefighters on duty at any given time for Plymouth Township residents. If a serious accident happens anywhere in the township, there are no firefighters. NuffSaid. 17 Pinocchios ( I think that is one for every year Edwards has been in office.)
#4. Pursuing Shared Services with surrounding communities in order to improve services and reduce costs.
Basically, the shared services that Treasurer Edwards values most is the mutual aid agreements for fire and medical response. There used to be a Community Fire Department with Plymouth Township and the City of Plymouth as community partners. The relationship between Plymouth Township and the City of Plymouth degenerated to the point of the City of Plymouth opting out of their agreement for a Community Fire Department. This ultimately led to the gutting of Plymouth Township's Fire Department.
As far as emergency medical response goes, Livonia, Northville, and Canton Township got so sick of subsidizing Plymouth Township, that they sent a joint letter to the Board of Trustees informing them that they would no longer be providing mutual aid for Plymouth Township's emergency medical calls. Further, I have had a good source in a neighboring community tell me that those communities are considering the same type of letter concerning fire services as well.
Mr. Edwards has abused the mutual aid agreements that were made in good faith by our neighbors to the point that they are ending them. To quote elected officials: "We are sick and tired of subsidizing Plymouth Township's emergency services." I can't blame them.
I can't give Treasurer Edwards a Pinocchio here, because he actually lived up to this statement. Unfortunately, he did it in such a douchy way, those agreements are falling faster than a lap dancer's g-string during Fleet Week.
#5. Term Limitations for Local Politicians. (No Longer A Career.)
Bwahahahaha!!! Are you serious Ron? Okay. Look at the man's hair on this flier, and look at it now! I know it is a bad likeness, but you get the point. This statement is the biggest joke of the whole flier.
"No longer a career." Ha! Now I know why Mr. Edwards is so pissed off about this flier circulating all over Plymouth Township. He has to eat his own words.
I guess my question to Mr. Edwards would be how do you define career? What do you consider a term limit? When all your hair falls out? Mr. Ronald Edwards defines career politician.
Mr. Edwards is on his 5th, 4 year term. You don't define this as a career Mr. Edwards? How can I even figure out how many Pinocchios for this whopper? Geppetto would be disgusted with you Mr. Edwards.
I give Big Ron 73 Pinocchios for this lie. Walt Disney made the Pinocchio movie in 1940. You do the math.
#6. Developing a Summer Recreational Program throughout the community.
Ron Edwards cares about recreational programs about as much as a cat cares about the quality of life of a mouse. At this point, Pinochios really don't matter anymore.
#7. Promoting an open style of Government so all residents are encouraged to voice their concerns and opinions.
I actually snorted when I read this last one. Had I had a mouthful of coffee, I'd have spit it all over my laptop. Ron Edwards likes open government about as much as Brady Hoke likes Ohio State.
All residents encouraged to voice their concerns and opinions? Who the hell does he think he's kidding here! Does he think we are all idiots?
If Ron Edwards had his way, there would be no public meetings. YouTube is full of videos of Big Ron tearing into Plymouth Township residents who had the audacity to voice a concern or opinion. YouTube is full of these videos. Go to YouTube and type in Ron Edward's name, and see for yourself. It's hilarious. Well, it's hilarious as long as you're not one of the poor saps who had to endure his wrath at a public meeting.
I really don't know which statement is worse. His term limits (No Longer A Career) statement, or this crap about open government, and encouraging the unwashed masses to voice their concerns. I'll tell you what, I'm just gonna throw a chunk of wood out there, and let you all carve it into as many Pinocchios as you want. I'm through with this clown.
I gotta go get a Twinkie...
