A Response To Joe Reed's, et al, Letter

[sbsp]

A letter was recently mailed to select St. James township voters attempting to impugn the character of two township candidates. The allegations cited in the letter are unsubstantiated and solely intended to influence the out come of the election on Tuesday in favor of other candidates. The letter might very well be an example of the shallow lack of character of the signatories to the letter and not those being maliciously maligned.
Alice Belfy and Richard Gillespie are running for township positions to bring about needed and positive change in our governance. These two candidates need your support and vote this Tuesday to end mismanagement of our tax dollars and backroom deals by supposed power brokers. Make the right decision, vote for Alice Belfy and Richard Gillespie.

[Kendra Vera Thorson]

I believe that you are correct that the letter was probably intended to provide information for voters to use in considering which candidates to support. However the candidates impugned their own character.

I was in court on Monday, July 25th along with about 20 others when the case against the Township was dismissed. I'm confused as to why you are saying, "allegations cited in the letter are unsubstantiated"??? During the hearing that day, the attorneys and judge openly discussed the fact that Richard Gillespie delivered affidavits to Alice Belfy who did not follow state law when notarizing the documents by not witnessing the signatures in person. She also stated that Mr. Gillespie asked her to misstate the truth about how her notary services were performed. To her credit, Mrs. Belfy refused. Therefore, Judge Hayes stated that the affidavits were no longer valid. He ruled in favor of St. James Township on the basis that Mr. Gillespie's case was both legally and factually deficient.

[BmRice]

I believe also that "Joe Reed's" letter to box holders was probably intended to use in considering which candidates to support in tomorrow's election. The tone of Mr. Reed's letter suggests wrongfully that Alice intentionally supported Mr. Gillespie's lawsuit.

Alice fully admitted in her deposition of June 27, 2016, that she erred in the notarization of two affidavits since the signees and Alice were not present at the same time the documents were signed -- Alice did not witness the signatures. It should be noted that it is not a notary's responsibility to determine the accuracy or truth of any sworn statement.

But, let's be honest here. The Donegal Bay Road project was scaled down because there was not enough money in the Road Fund to cover what was planned. The reason the Road Fund was short of money is because it was "stolen" to pay the Sewer Bond. The Sewer Fund was short because the current Treasurer and Clerk did not do their jobs.

There has never been an apology of any sort for that $200,000.00 + screw up. As someone who has always paid our sewer use bill on time and in full, I am quite sure that the current board or the new board is going to raise our sewer rate charges to pay back the Road Fund and the General Fund.

St. James Township voters need to be aware that they cannot split their ticket at tomorrow's primary election. If you as a voter choose a Republican candidate, you cannot also vote for a Democratic candidate -- you will need to vote a straight ticket.

Alice Belfy is running on the Democratic ticket. I support Alice because she is the most qualified candidate for St. James Township Clerk.

Bonnie Cull Rice

[Gillespie]

Since this case is not closed I cannot comment but I did send this out to friends yesterday. Mr. Taylor, you are right, it is not done and there is an appeal period under way. The ladies assertions are inaccurate. I didn't ask Alice to do anything but inform her that she was to be deposed, defendants counsel adjusted words to his liking. Here is my response:

Recently a handful of residents have circulated a written statement of their opinion that my lawsuit against St. James Township evidences bad faith on my part and thereby should invalidate my current candidacy for the office of Township Treasurer. Bringing a lawsuit to recover damages is the right of any citizen - exercising that right should not subject plaintiffs to penalties.
The lawsuit was dismissed based upon a technical flaw in the evidence submitted on my behalf by my attorney, without a decision on the merits of the claim itself. If the flaw is cured at a future time, the court may allow the case to resume.
The written document being circulated also suggests that the Township's expense of defending against my claim should be considered by voters. The quality of litigants should never be based upon the amount spent on their attorney fees.
I trust that impartial voters will look to my experience and my record of community involvement when deciding whether I am best qualified to serve as Treasurer.

[Kendra Vera Thorson]

Tell your story as you wish! Unfortunately that is not at all how the hearing went...But I understand why you must explain it that way...It is imperative to your campaign!

Beaver Island is a place that I hold near and dear to my heart and only wish what's best for its residents. Please vote tomorrow not only with your head, but your heart! I trust you all know the difference between right and wrong!

[sbsp]

Where were the township officials' "heads" or "hearts" when they violated the law in the mismanagement of our township dollars costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of tax dollars never to be recovered? These are the real law breakers here, not Alice or Rich.
Vote for a positive change to bring trust and accountability to our township government. Out the would be power brokers who do their do their scheming in back rooms and on back roads.
Vote for Gillespie and Belfy to send a message that, "enough is enough".

[John Bolton]

I am voting for Alice and Richie... as they were not involved in the lousy implementation of how my tax monies were spent over the past decade or so...
Oh, wait... I, along with the majority of property owners on Beaver Island are not even allowed to vote.... we can only watch the show...

and then pick up the tab....

[duffer]

well its tragic that at a national level we have choices between a narcissist and a lier and the fact that kind of stuff has trickled all the way down to lowly beaver island,,,,,, get the facts and then vote with your heartâ?¦ granted the island needs change, I have lots of great ideas but find it null to run because people are not looking for reason they are looking for whats best for just them. I think its time to have pancake breakfast and discuss whats best for EVERYONE! ego.s get in the way of apologies and some how i think people were raised with empathy! lets show it, that alone will bring people here. the more we learn to help each other the better things get as a whole!

[wmarkey]

I live and vote in Peaine twp so I did not see a St James twp ballot. So I would like to know if there were any incumbents from the last election on the St. James ballot.