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.