Rep. John Conyers falls far short of signatures needed for August ballot, clerk says

[alp227]

Source: Detroit Free Press

After a second review of petitions turned in by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the Wayne County Clerk has found the longtime congressman only turned in 592 valid signatures, far short of the 1,000 needed to qualify for the Aug. 5 primary ballot.

The findings in the report released today, doesn’t mean that Conyers is automatically off the ballot, though. Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett will make a final determination on his status on Tuesday and the Conyers campaign will have three days to appeal to the Michigan Secretary of State.

The initial review showed 1,193 valid signatures, but 644 more signatures were thrown off because petition circulators were not properly registered to vote, a requirement under state law.

Conyers turned in 2,000 signatures on April 18, and Garrett’s office found that 1,193 of those signatures were valid. State law says that Conyers needs at least 1,000 valid signatures and they must come from and be gathered by registered voters. But Garrett also found, however, that two petition circulators weren’t properly registered to vote, and with that, today’s report shows that Conyers has 592 valid signatures.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20140509/NEWS06/305090155

[a kennedy]

1. This can't be good......

[joshcryer]

9. Sorry to hijack first post! More detailed report here:

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/rep-john-conyers-is-petition-insufficient-writein-likely/25905176

[FrodosPet]

21. Does Rep Conyers support homophobia and antisemetism?

Sorry to derail, but do we REALLY need to be upset that an 84 year old supporter of the Nation Of Islam, may have to retire?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Farrakhan: African Americans deserve their own courts

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/23/farrakhan-african-americans-deserve-their-own-courts/5765897/

DETROIT -- In a fiery speech Sunday delivered to 18,000 at Joe Louis Arena, Minister Louis Farrakhan blasted the judicial systems in the U.S. as being biased against African Americans, calling upon the community to set up their own courts.

"We want equal justice under the law," Farrakhan said on the last day of the Nation of Islam's annual convention, held in Detroit this year. "Our people can't take much more. We have to have our own courts."

With Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones sitting behind him, Farrakhan spoke for nearly three hours, reiterating the Nation of Islam's view that the U.S. is a land headed for destruction because it has disobeyed the word of God.

Farrakhan suggested that African Americans rely on the Quran and Bible to help set up their own legal system that would be more fair to African Americans.

~ snip ~

-----------------------------------------------------------

So does Rep Conyers agree with Minister Farrakhan about setting up a separate race and religion based court system, or is he just using him as a political prop?

[oldandhappy]

2. Beginning to sniff a stink.

Anyone have any concrete information we can use in advocating on this?

[FrodosPet]

22. Maybe this is where the stink is coming from

With Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones sitting behind him, Farrakhan spoke for nearly three hours, reiterating the Nation of Islam's view that the U.S. is a land headed for destruction because it has disobeyed the word of God.

~ snip ~

Farrakhan railed against Christian pastors who endorse gay marriage, which he said contradicts the teachings of Christianity and Islam.

"God has never sanctioned that kind of behavior," Farrakhan said.

~ snip ~

--------------------------------------------------------

Or maybe this?

--------------------------------------------------------

John Conyers apologizes for Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic remarks

6:55 PM, May 23, 2013

http://www.freep.com/article/20130523/NEWS01/305230119/John-Conyers-apologizes-for-Farrakhan-s-anti-Semitic-remarks

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, apologized today for Louis Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic comments during a talk he gave in a Detroit church last week.

Conyers, who attended Farrakhan’s speech Friday night at Fellowship Chapel, issued a strong statement that distanced himself from the Nation of Islam leader’s remarks, which were blasted earlier this week by a Jewish civil rights group and others.

“Farrakhan made unacceptable racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic statements, which I condemn in the strongest possible terms,” Conyers said. “It was my expectation that Minister Farrakhan’s speech would focus on the many challenges facing the city of Detroit. In previous days, he had discussed efforts to revitalize our city by purchasing property and investing in blighted neighborhoods. Regrettably, he used this opportunity to promote views that have no place in civilized discourse.”

As the Free Press reported exclusively, Farrakhan attacked what he called “Satanic Jews” and the “Synagogue of Satan,” claiming Jewish people control major institutions in the U.S., such as the news media. Farrakhan also alleged that President Barack Obama “surrounded himself with Satan ... members of the Jewish community.”

~ snip ~

--------------------------------------------------------

But in 2014, we are to believe Rep Conyers had no idea that the Minister would say something profoundly offensive and anti-progressive when he was seated behind him?

Unfortunately, it appears Rep Conyers is suffering from either bigotry, hypocrisy, or memory loss.

[bananas]

3. What? Conyers could lose his seat? nt

[tclambert]

4. I'm sorry, did it say the people gathering the signatures must themselves be registered voters?

And if registered voters sign a petition circulated by an unregistered person, the registered voters' signatures get thrown out? What Kafkaesque kind of rule is that?

[former9thward]

5. It is a long standing state law.

Most states have it. Conyers has known this for a half century it has been in effect.

[tkmorris]

19. True enough. But does it make any sense?

What point does a law like this have? And furthermore, why on earth does a sitting Congressperson need to gather signatures to be on the ballot? It makes no sense.

[former9thward]

20. Maybe it does not make sense.

In my state petition gathers do not need to be registered. But a Congressman does not get to choose what laws he complies with, just like the rest of us, on the basis of whether they make sense. If sitting Congressmen did not have to get signatures that would give them a tremendous advantage over challengers. As incumbents, they already have tremendous advantages. I don't want to see them get any others.

[freshwest]

6. More backdoor disenfranchisement. This is an outrage. n/t

[merrily]

14. His Democratic primary opponent (and alleged friend) mounted the challenge.

[yeoman6987]

27. Outrage?seriously?

A congressman in Congress for 50 years can't get 2000 good signatures?

[freshwest]

31. ACLU: Mich. law that bars Conyers from ballot unconstitutional

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014802826#post1

Those GOP rules are crazy.

[joshcryer]

8. Even if Conyers got it ruled unconstitutional...

...the guy who did the petition put in a false address.

But there was one revelation that was inadvertent and yet telling. You see, a nominating petition sheet is a legal document. It says in bold type you must tell the truth when signing your name. Pennington admitted in our interview that he did not and had never lived at the address he swore to on his petitions. Election lawyers I have checked with say this is one surefire way to guarantee his signatures will be thrown out. Right now, the only hope for having Pennington’s signatures made good for the congressman’s campaign is if a federal court rules Michigan’s requirement that circulators be registered voters unconstitutional. But with this revelation, the hopes of these signatures being “rehabilitated” is growing more dim by the minute.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/rep-john-conyers-is-petition-insufficient-writein-likely/25905176

Looks like Conyers is screwed.

[Renew Deal]

26. It's the same in NY

And probably worse.

[Ash_F]

7. Temp agencies that that hire labor for these campaigns are pretty shady

They charge a lot of money themselves and pay their workers crap. Since they are so cheap, they scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to standards, practices and management.

I should know I worked for one as a petitioner. Not doing that again.

[littlewolf]

10. How could no one in Conyers office NOT check these people.

will he be able to be a write in candidate and will the DNC back him
or the guy who won the primary?

[Jesus Malverde]

11. The options.

If the Secretary of State review confirms Garrett’s ruling that Conyers doesn’t have enough signatures, he has several options including: retiring from office, mounting a difficult and costly write-in campaign or challenging the ruling in the courts.

This sounds like a case of someone after 50 years going through the motion. Paying someone to look after your business and not managing it closely with people you trust seems like a recipe for disaster.

[struggle4progress]

12. Rep. John Conyers falls far short of signatures needed for August ballot, clerk says

7:00 PM, May 9, 2014

... But Garrett got reports from clerks in Detroit, Hamtramck and Ecorse that showed only five of eight circulators challenged by Conyers’ Democratic opponent, Rev. Horace Sheffield, were properly registered to vote, a requirement under state law. With that, the 644 signatures that those people collected were ruled invalid, leaving Conyers with only 592 valid signatures.

“The Congressman trusted people who didn’t serve him well,” Sheffield said. “Our families have been close. His brother’s wedding reception was in my house. I feel sorry for the congressman. But this is the choice he made. We all have to live with the decisions we make” ...

“It’s absolutely galling that he sent thousands of dollars to a firm to get himself on the ballot and this has happened,” said state Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, who is working on Conyers’ campaign. “It’s inconceivable that now he has insufficient signatures and ineligible circulators.”

Johnson said the campaign is looking into whether to ask for a criminal investigation into the signature gathering ...

http://www.freep.com/article/20140509/NEWS06/305090155/Rep-John-Conyers-Wayne-County-clerk-ballot


Rev. Horace Sheffield charged in domestic violence case
3:24 PM, February 13, 2014

A Detroit minister has been charged with misdemeanor domestic violence in an incident involving his estranged wife.

The Rev. Horace Sheffield III turned himself in this morning and bonded out at 11:30 a.m. after being arraigned, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said. Sheffield is charged with domestic violence assault and battery and preventing a crime report stemming from a Jan. 10 incident involving his wife at their home ...

http://www.freep.com/article/20140509/NEWS06/305090155/Rep-John-Conyers-Wayne-County-clerk-ballot

[freshwest]

32. Another Democrat with seniority out of office. I recall his hearings during the last Bush year.

[merrily]

13. Conyers' campaign was undoubtedly remiss, but, also, this could have been a setup.

ETA: After posting the above, I saw that the article quotes someone as saying the same thing.



As an aside, the story does not name the company to which the Conyers' campaign paid thousands of dollars for gathering signatures, but it should.

I hope he mounts a write in campaign.

[davidpdx]

15. Well it's been done in worse circumstances

Remember that Lisa Murkowski won a run over Miller after losing the primary in 2010. It is possible.

[merrily]

16. Why would I hope for something I thought would be impossible?

On the state level, Diane Wilkerson succeeded in Boston. Sadly, she is not the best example.

Among many other things, she was filmed stuffing bribe money into her bra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Wilkerson

You do have to wonder, though, why a campaign gets so lax as to blow getting on the ballot, which should be the easiest bit of getting re-elected.

[former9thward]

18. Why does a campaign get lax?

Because after 50 years the voters are taken for granted. Which means you have contempt for them. Any campaign that is supported by the people should be able to get enough signatures without paying for them. Of course that would mean actual campaign workers would have to go out in the neighborhoods and actually met people and ask for their signatures. Much easier to sit back in the office.

[merrily]

23. I don't see a lot wrong with paying someone to gather signatures.

I do see something wrong in not making sure that the signature gathering meets the legal requirements.

I do hope Conyers runs a write in campaign and succeeds.

[merrily]

25. P.S. No evidence whatever that he took voters for granted at all, let alone that he had

contempt for them.

His campaign may have taken for granted that a company paid thousands of dollars to gather signatures would at least meet legal requirements. But, that is a far leap from taking voters for granted. If he does not bother to campaign, and if he does not serve his district well while in Congress, then we can talk taking voters for granted. But, this story has nothing to do with taking voter for granted.

Odd that you would imply contempt for voters and also that the people of his district do not support Conyers. How many times have they sent him back to Congress?

Whether the party still supports Conyers, however, is a separate issue. He has opposed the administration on some important matters, including wikileaks. And then, there was this:

http://www.crewof42.com/news/conyers-on-jobs-weve-had-it-lays-out-obama-calls-for-protest-at-white-house/

Has Conyers faced many other Democratic primary challengers in recent years?

(My quick research shows he faced one in 2012--not surprising--but, before that, the last one he faced was in 1994.)

[former9thward]

30. Oh please...

Do you know how hard it is to unseat an incumbent? 95% of the House is re-elected every election. Most of the other 5% retire. Very, very few actually lose. An incumbent has a hundred build in advantages. It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to even compete in a House race. Maybe the people in his district support him, maybe they don't but the the fact of little opposition means nothing.

[Recursion]

34. The US Congress has lower turnover than the Soviet Politburo did

That's always been telling to me...

[former9thward]

35. The only reason the Politburo had a higher turnover is a somewhat higher average age.

Nature 'retired' many of those folks.

[Recursion]

36. Well, and purges

A lot of them "retired" to Siberia or a six-foot hole.

[Jesus Malverde]

17. From the article

According to campaign finance reports, Conyers’ spent $11,500 on “petition signature collection services” in the first three months of the year. He paid Detroit-based Ronin America — Detroit political consultant Steve Hood’s firm — $8,500, and Skip Mongo $3,000. Mongo who is the brother to Adolph Mongo, a political consultant helping Sheffield, said he worked for Hood, but not on the petitions.

Sheffield being the opponent.

[merrily]

24. Thanks, Jesus. We don't know all the circumstances.

It may not have been as dumb as it seems on the surface.

For one thing, Sheffield did not announce that he would challenge Conyers until February 19, 2014. Maybe Skip was hired before that and the campaign paid the bill during the first quarter of the year. And we don't know what Skip did for Conyers. Also, Conyers may not have known that Skip Mongo's brother was working for Sheffield.

If there was a conflict, it was really up to Skip to decline the engagement. Or, at least to make disclosures to both Sheffield and Conyers and get them both to waive it.

[Nye Bevan]

29. Can he run as an independent, like Lieberman did?

The article does not go into this possibility.

[struggle4progress]

33. At least two lawsuits on this:

www.democraticunderground.com/10024946381
www.democraticunderground.com/1251363465