URGENT: Ruth Johnson should resign as clerk

[bfealk]

I’m sure you know by now that Dick DeVos has chosen Ruth Johnson as his running mate. As Clerk of Oakland County, Ruth Johnson is involved in voting processes in Oakland County. I have called Ms. Johnson’s office and been informed that she does not intend to step down from her position as clerk. I think that’s wrong. It harkens to the case of Ken Blackwell, Secretary of State of Ohio running for governor of that state, while serving as the states top election official.



I would like to organize a protest at the Oakland county offices at 1200 N. Telegraph with the goal in mind of getting Ruth Johnson to resign from her position, since she is involved in elections in Oakland County and running for lieutenant governor at the same time.



My question is, who among you would be willing to participate in such a protest?


E-mail me at [e-mail]

[leftupnorth]

1. what day and time, etc?

I'm in Gaylord, and this is BS. I'd love to participate, but my time is limited. I didn't know Ruth Johnson was in charge of the VOTING in Oakland county, too. WTF?? Why is this not in the news?

I'll definitely be writing some LTTEs. Just the appearance of a conflict of interest should be enough.

[livvy]

2. Kick n/t

:kick:

[livvy]

3. I sent a message out to some activists in my area.

They are mostly involved in promoting peace activities (9 and Woodward group), but I know the one person I contacted is very interested in election reform also. He has a wide contact list, so hopefully you may hear from some others soon. Might be nice to have some of the Raging Grannies there. They are a neat group of ladies.
I still plan to be there on Thursday, so if for some reason it should be cancelled, or changed, please let me know, either by posting here, or you have my email address.

[pwreid]

4. Citizens for Fair Elections Calls for Johnson’s Resignation

Citizens for Fair Elections Calls for Johnson’s Resignation

Who: Citizens for Fair Elections

What: Protest Rally

When: Thursday, August 24 at 1 p.m.

Where: Oakland County Complex, in front of Commissioner's Auditorium, 1200 N. Telegraph Rd., Pontiac.

To Confirm Attendance: Please contact Bruce Fealk at 248-652-8781 or via email at [e-mail].

Further Details:

Citizens for Fair Elections Calls for Resignation from County Clerk Johnson

Citizens for Fair Elections will rally Thursday, August 24, at 1 PM to ask Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson to step down from her position while she is campaigning for Lieutenant Governor.

The election fiasco of 2000 is still fresh in the minds of America and Oakland County residents and there is concern that a conflict of interest could taint this year’s election in Michigan. Everyone remembers the fiasco of hanging chads and the signing off on Florida’s election results by Katherine Harris while the vote count results were still in contention.

Johnson is running for Lieutenant Governor – an obvious conflict with her duties as head of elections in Oakland County. When the DeVos campaign was asked to comment on the issue of conflict of interest they replied that, “Ruth Johnson will continue her duties as Oakland County Clerk. She has volunteered her spare time to the campaign.” The comment did not address the conflict of interest concern.

“This is a question of ethics. Oakland County’s vote is so critical in the state of Michigan, it can swing elections, as we’ve seen in the past. Johnson’s serving as an objective elections official when her own name is on the ballot casts a huge shadow on the election process,” Citizens for Fair Elections spokesperson Bruce Fealk said today.

In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, it is the position of Citizens for Fair Elections that Ruth Johnson should resign her position until after the gubernatorial campaign.

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[bfealk]

5. MEDIA WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE AT RUTH JOHNSON RALLY

I have just spoken to the Oakland Press and the Detroit News. They will be in attendance at tomorrow's rally, so we need as many people to show up as possible to make a good showing for the press. Hoping to have TV coverage too.

Pass this on to your e-mail lists.

Thursday, 1 p.m. 1200 Telegraph, Pontiac, in front of the Commissioner's Auditorium.