By Staff
It's been one of the most intolerable in memory. Both sides are distorting facts and working hard for shock value.
Dick DeVos is spending millions trying to make Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm look silly. I wish he'd spend some money on telling us what he'd do differently, how he would go about turning around Michigan's economy in four years – something he claims Granholm should have been able to do.
Apparently, he has forgotten what a nightmare Gov. Granholm inherited from Michigan's last Republican governor, John Engler.
One thing is certain: Michigan can't afford another John Engler.
Politics and politicians are fickle. I had to chuckle when I read that Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey and Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood have endorsed Neal Nitz for 78th District state representative in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, election.
Both were very early to endorse Nitz's opponent for that job in the May primary, despite the fact that Nitz is the incumbent.
I remember Bailey talking to our Rotary Club before the primary, where he was asked about public criticism levied at his department by Nitz over the handling of the pipe bomb incident on Carberry Road in Niles.
Nitz issued a press release criticizing the Michigan State Police for calling for aid from the Grand Rapids bomb squad, rather than calling on the county's bomb squad, under the direction of Bailey.
The press release was obviously a dig at Bailey, who had earlier endorsed his opponent.
Bailey told Rotarians that he and members of his department were in constant contact with the Niles State Police commander during that incident.
Bailey discounted Nitz's criticism as political, which it was, clearly, and pointed out to Rotarians that the incident didn't even happen in Berrien County.
Rather, it occurred on Carberry Road in Niles, which is in Cass County.
Paul Bailey is a good Republican. However, when he secretly casts his ballot on Nov. 7, I wonder for whom he will vote.
Many are predicting a wholesale ouster of Republicans in the House and Senate on Nov. 7, but I'm not so sure we'll see many changes at all.
Just like Bailey, in the end, I think people will stick with their party.
It all should make for an interesting election night.
Speaking of elections, Niles Community Schools officials have scheduled a series of forums to gather public input on four different proposals aimed at upgrading the district's elementary school buildings.
Last year, a plan to renovate several buildings and construct a new high school was soundly defeated by the district's voters.
Opposition to the plan – mostly after citizens had been given a number of opportunities to express their opinions – was deafening.
However, it was equally disheartening that all those residents who worked so hard to defeat the millage request seemed to lose interest when it came to the school board election that followed.
Your first opportunity to give your opinion about how the school district should solve the very real problems with its aging buildings will come on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Niles High School.
We hope you choose to be part of the solution.
Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.
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