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News > Politics.Commissioner: Dems sent falsified letters
Published: Friday, July 31, 2009
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By CHRIS VANNINI
Special to The Oakland Press
An Oakland County Democratic Party official used interns to send falsified letters to Republican county commissioners in order to persuade them to vote for a health care resolution, according to a commissioner who received one of the letters.
Shelley Taub, R-Bloomfield Township, said she received a letter on July 9 from an unidentified woman from West Bloomfield Township who said she felt that she failed as a mother because she couldn’t afford health care for her ill son.
“I got this letter and it tore my heart apart,” Taub said. “When I read that this woman thought she was a failure as a mother because she couldn't provide health care, I thought, ‘My God, I can do that. I know so many people (in health care). I’ll get this kid help.’ ”
Taub and her husband searched for information about the woman, found out that she actually lived in Fraser, so Taub called the home phone number and left a message.
Taub said she received a phone call that night from the mother of the woman who sent the letter who informed Taub that her daughter was not married and is a student at the University of Michigan.
The woman who sent the letter explained to Taub that she had recently finished an internship with the Oakland County Democratic Party in Bingham Farms, Taub said. The woman said she and two other interns were given sample letters and told to modify them, change the return address and send them out, Taub said.
Taub said the letter she received was supposed to move her enough so that she would vote for a resolution that would give $1 million used for indigent health care to the state government without a contract with hopes that the money will be returned.
Taub said she knows of at least one other county commissioner who received a similar letter.
Commissioner Sue Douglas, R-Rochester, said she believed that the Democratic county commissioners had nothing to do with it and that the incident was isolated within the party.
According to Douglas, upon learning about the falsified letters, Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman Mike McGuinness issued an apology to the Republican Caucus in an e-mail on July 21.
“It was recently brought to the attention of the chair and the executive board that certain Oakland County commissioners received letters under false pretenses regarding a proposal that is to come before them in the near future,” the letter from McGuinness reads. “Unfortunately, it was learned that an overzealous individual from the county party’s office stepped outside of the realm of acceptable conduct and encouraged county party interns to follow suit.”
The e-mail said that the individual who supervised the interns was suspended without pay and has been officially reprimanded.
“Misleading anyone and misrepresenting any issue or position is not within the scope of the Oakland County Democratic Party’s mission or practices,” McGuinness said. “We are disappointed and shocked by this incident and extend our apologies to those impacted.”
McGuinness is out of town and did not return calls for comment.
theoaklandpress.com
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Bogus letter prompted commissioner's response
Published: Thursday, July 30, 2009
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By SUE ANN DOUGLAS
A recent letter to the editor accused County Commissioner Shelley Taub, R-Bloomfield Township, of telling the Board of Commissioners something that the letter writer believed to be untrue.
Commissioner Taub’s information was the truth. An employee of The Oakland County Democratic Party instructed interns to send several bogus letters to commissioners claiming that they were in dire need of health care. Those who decided to send Shelley Taub a letter pleading for help certainly did not know her well.
Shelley would work day and night to find help for a constituent with a sick child, and she immediately tried to contact the young lady who was pleading for help. She discovered that the young lady lived in Macomb County, did not have a child, and the return address on the envelope belonged to an unknowing West Bloomfield Township resident.
The sender of a second bogus intern letter sent to another commissioner also has been identified.
The letters were written at county Democratic Party headquarters and distributed to interns with instructions on what return address to use and who to send them to. This was a deceitful, unethical and abusive use of college interns.
Republican commission members received a weak apology from Democratic Chairman Michael McGuinness, who tried to justify the activity by pointing out the importance of health care.
Commissioner Taub also received a written apology from the intern who wrote to her.
It does not appear that the Democratic County Commissioners had anything to do with this scam.
Mr. McGuinness expressed dismay that this information was presented at a public meeting. That is what open and transparent government is all about, Mr. McGuinness, and if my party pulled this kind of stunt, I would want it treated in the same manner.
The commissioner who received the second bogus letter, supposedly from a constituent with insurance problems, mentioned it at a meeting earlier that day — but that’s how you wanted the letters to be used, right?
Counties are required by law to provide funds for indigent hospital care. There is a request before the board of commissioners to take the $1 million that is budgeted for indigent hospital care and use those tax dollars as a match to gain funding for a different low-income health service.
While that may be a worthy cause, according to the request, no contracts with the recipient nonprofit or the state would be negotiated. However, the nonprofit would take 9 percent off the top before returning the money to the hospitals. That’s what these shenanigans are about.
Fortunately, the state has told us in writing that the requested process is illegal.
Oakland County is one of the best-run counties in the country because we operate under long-standing purchasing policies. Fake letters do not help the county Democratic Party’s cause and will not cause Commissioner Taub or me to abandon good business practices.
Sue Ann Douglas, R-Rochester, is an Oakland County Commissioner.
You always accuse politically unpleasant truths of being lies. A kneejerk liberal reaction. Once more there is the proof.
I don't lie.
But thanks, your kneejerk accusation gave me the opportunity to underscore the message.
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