LSJ Blogs: Derek Melot is Just Asking

The questions stop

The Just Asking blog ends today. I wish to thank everyone who took the time to read and/or comment. May the discussion of public policy on the local and state levels grow ever more robust in the coming years. It’s been fun.

Derek Melot

As the smoke clears

Well, the Republicans have Michigan. The political control they gained Tuesday night gives them the luxury to do pretty much whatever they want. Now, voters will watch to see what is done and how that affects day-to-day life.

The most worried folks in mid-Michigan have to be state employees. Gov.-elect Rick Snyder’s camp says there are no specific plans for a pay cut, but he sure hinted at such endeavors during the campaign. And since he wants to cut taxes and since Michigan has a massive budget deficit, it would seem major whacks to the state work force are all but required.

A few other quick thoughts as the caffeine kicks in:

Great signs -- and not political ones

Kudos to whoever in Saginaw is behind the reinstallation of the Brenske Plumbling sign. I’m a sucker for these neon signs.

Seeing it today made me wonder what happened to the sign show in this photograph, part of our recent coverage of Kositchek’s century-plus history in Lansing.

The city of Lansing rewrote its sign ordinance to allow for more signage running perpendicular to storefronts, but the change has not spurred a surge in retro signage along Washington Avenue. (Cost and the economy may be two reasons for that.)

The ugly and odd

Has the 2010 campaign been uglier than any before it? I’m not sure about that point, but I do seem to be hearing more complaints about campaign tactics.

Judicial races, for example, used to be a quiet electoral backwater. Not anymore, I’ve received questions or charges of racism involving a campaign flier against 55th District Court Judge Donald Allen and against the Democratic campaign against Republican incumbent Supreme Court Justice Robert Young.

It’s been an astoundingly heated year in Eaton County politics. A proposal to expand EATRAN is on the ballot for a second time and has produced regular accustations of lies and nefarious intent from both advocates and opponents. On a policy level, I could make a case for voting “yes” or “no,” but I am surprised at the vehemence of the commentary. It’s a transportation millage, not the end of the world.

Campaigns don't matter

A visitor to the LSJ newsroom today remarked on the avalanche of political advertising in mid-Michigan and wondering what could have been achieved if the money were used for worthwhile endeavors.

Indeed, there is a growing body of research that argues political campaigns are pretty much meaningless. Once you know the macro situation — particularly the macro-economic situation — you will know how an election is going to turn out.

Who deserves thanks on new GM jobs?

General Motors will bring new Cadillac production to downtown Lansing — and 600 jobs to do the work.

Who deserves the credit for this boon for mid-Michigan.

Virg Bernero? He is the mayor of Lansing and he has touted manufacturing and the auto firms as mayor and gubernatorial candidate. He also asked the City Council to approve tax incentives as a lure for the GM work.

The Lansing City Council? Its members voted for the tax incentives, worth a reported $9.8 million. (GM’s overall investment in the expansion is supposed to be $190 million.)

Looking past Gillespie's win

Now I know why developer Pat Gillespie looked so relaxed at Ryan Field last Saturday as he enjoyed the Spartans’ comeback against Northwestern.

On that rainy, then sunny Saturday, Gillespie’s big Market Place project was in limbo. The City Council had twice deadlocked on approving brownfield tax credits. Conflict was high; chances for progress seemed low.

Barely 48 hours later, Gillespie was back on track, though. Ingham Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina reviewed Gillespie’s legal request for relief from the council and granted it, forthwith. State law was on Gillespie’s side, a point Lansing City Attorney Brigham Smith had tried to make to the council before its votes.

So, where does this leave politics in Lansing?

Oesterle spends; Byrum donates

In the last 24 hours, I’ve seen three airings of a TV ad touting Republican Jeff Oesterle in the 67th House District and heard one radio ad.

Today, I read, via Gongwer News Service (subscription only), that Democratic Rep. Barb Byrum of the 67th District donated $20,000 to the House Democratic Caucus’ campaign fund, presumably from her own campaign kitty.

It’s common for politicians in uncompetitive races to donate money to help political allies. So I would take Byrum’s donation as a sign she thinks she’s free and clear for another term in the House.

Yet, Oesterle is running TV ads, something you don’t see much of in uncompetitive state House races.

One of them is making a smart calculation and the other one isn’t. I wonder which is which.

On being more like Indiana

In his visit with the LSJ Editorial Board, Rick Snyder pointed to Indiana’s Mitch Daniels as a governor worth emulating. And Tim Skubick has reported on Snyder listening to such budget ideas as selling state assets (Mackinac Bridge) to raise money, a la what Indiana sorta did with its toll road.

Having just used the toll road to drive into Chicago on a Friday afternoon, I can say that I wasn’t impressed with the new operators — a private consortium. Construction repairs seem poorly designed and timed. And the road’s toll plazas are, frankly, a mess.

But who cares about my road rage. Let’s talk garage sale budgeting.

Benefits under the electoral microscope

Public employee compensation will be the issue of the next five years. Even in San Francisco, voters are upset enough that they forced a vote on Nov. 2 to contain compensation.

Public workers are right to worry that some factions are just out to get them. But the reason this issue is rising to the fore is the disparity between what happens in the world of taxpayers vs. the world of government. Taxpayers won’t long tolerate paying for benefits they cannot afford for their own families.

In San Francisco, this means “A typical San Francisco resident with one dependent pays $953 a month for health care, while the typical city employee pays less than $10. In 2009, San Francisco’s deputy police chief earned $516,000 in cash compensation and retired with a $230,000-a-year pension—a package that could cost the city $8 million over the balance of his life.”

Any wonder that voters are upset?