In my opinion, the Republican Party is trying to distract us from Mark Ouimet's voting record with these robo-calls and mailers. And with good reason - his record is out of sync with the wishes of his constituents and right in line with those in control in Lansing.
Republican freshman Rep. Mark Ouimet of Scio Township in Washtenaw County is seeking re-election in the 52nd House District, where he is opposed by Democrat Gretchen Driskell, who is mayor of the city of Saline (and has been for 14 years).From Republican Party mailers (and robo-calls of unknown origin):
Questionable statement: “While serving as mayor of Saline, Gretchen Driskell voted to increase her salary eight times.”
According to City Clerk Dianne Hill, the mayor’s salary has increased five times since Driskell took office in 1999. Driskell said the votes were always unanimous and that she also voted against raises several times. The pay rates are set by a local officers compensation commission, and the council, including the mayor, can either accept it or reject it. Three of the five raises were $100. Driskell’s salary as mayor grew from $3,200 in 1998 to $4,000 in 2009, and she hasn’t had a raise since.
Questionable statement: “She received over $35,000 in taxpayer-funded travel reimbursements for her junkets across America.”
The mailer cites “City of Saline Expense Vouchers and Credit Card statements.”
The Driskell campaign did not dispute the figure when contacted by Truth Squad.
Driskell acknowledges traveling to conferences of the Michigan Municipal League and the National League of Cities, where she has had leadership roles. She is a former vice president and board member of the MML and is vice chair of the Advisory Council for the League of Cities. Last year, the City Council approved her trip to Phoenix for a League of Cities conference, despite objections raised by a city resident. Driskell said that she paid her own expenses in travels to Germany and Wales to establish sister cities with Saline.
Questionable statement: “According to a Saline City Council member, Gretchen took questionable votes related to her employer, including permit fee waivers.”
While serving as mayor in the early 2000s, Driskell also worked part-time as a leasing coordinator for the Phoenix Corp., which owns business rental property in Saline and does other business with the city. According to the Ann Arbor News, she abstained on several votes involving Phoenix, but she did vote for a building permit fee waiver. Councilwoman Mary Hess raised questions about whether it was a conflict of interest.
A city attorney’s report found that Driskell had not taken inappropriate action. “I have been unable to find any Council action on any matter which might be directly, or even indirectly, related to your employment relationship with Phoenix where you failed to abstain from voting,” the attorney’s memo reportedly said. Hess was unsatisfied with the report, saying it lacked objectivity,” according to the newspaper.
From Michigan Democratic Party mailers:
Questionable statement: “An independent audit showed Ouimet took nearly $15,000 in reimbursements he wasn’t eligible for as county commissioner, and as state representative, he’s billed taxpayers more than $17,000 in expenses.”
Ouimet served as a Washtenaw County commissioner before he was elected to the state House in 2010. During his campaign, Democrats accused him of bilking the public by inappropriately claiming reimbursement for a variety of activities.
Under county rules, commissioners were eligible for $25 per diems for attending meetings of the Board of Commissioners and its committees, as well as other authorized county-related and where boards and committees on which commissioners serve. After the allegations were made, the Ann Arbor News review(ed) the records and found that Ouimet had claimed reimbursements of a wide range of other meetings and events, including an interview with the Ann Arbor News editorial board, meetings with the County administrator, and attendance at an annual memorial service for fallen police officers.
An audit followed and found that Ouimet had received inappropriate reimbursements totaling $14,386. Nine other commissioners were found to have received inappropriate reimbursements of much smaller amounts. He then paid the money back to the county.
It is true that Ouimet has received more than $17,000 for expenses since becoming a state representative in 2011. Legislators receive a $71,685 salary and $10,800 for expenses — those are set by the State Officers Compensation Commission. All legislators receive the payment for expenses as part of their compensation package. The “more than $17,000″ is the total of all of 2011 and part of 2012. They are also entitled to mileage for a round trip to the Capitol each week and mileage for legislative-related travel in the district.I'll leave it to you to decide which are the more blatant distortions of the candidates' records when it comes to how taxpayers' money was spent.
I'm convinced that Gretchen Driskell is the candidate who will best serve our interests as 52nd District Representative. She has my vote.
