If Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has any sense of justice, she cannot turn a blind eye to what clearly appear to be criminal actions on the part of Meijer, Inc., and/or a law firm Meijer hired to essentially overthrow Acme Township's elected government.
Thirteenth Circuit Judge Philip E. Rodgers on April 11 denied a request from Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider to force Meijer to turn over documents related to a failed 2007 recall attempt, essentially ending that part of Schneider's criminal probe.
Rodgers said that under the state campaign finance act, only the secretary of state can seek a criminal investigation of possible violations. But given Land's longtime links to Meijer and her seeming laissez-faire attitude about the whole episode, it would be a wonder if she pushed to know more than she's been told.
Every indication is that Land will send out a sternly-worded press release about the sanctity of the election process and then levy a paltry -- and given Meijer's colossal income, anything less than a few millions would be paltry -- fine.
If she does, every corporate entity and special interest lobbying group in Michigan will realize that as long as Land is in office, it's open season on local governments and campaign finance laws are more suggestion than law.
After all, they'll reason, a Meijer attorney has already said the firm committed possible criminal violations of state law and a host of people may have perjured themselves; but if the secretary of state doesn't seem to think that's a big deal, why should we?
Incredibly, that's also the attitude of state Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, who uttered one of those totally inane assertions that serve only to change the subject: "Campaign finance laws are about transparency, they are not about criminal action," she said. Right. Except when they are about criminal actions, of course. That's why state law, as weak as it is, allows the secretary of state to ask the attorney general to conduct criminal probes of suspected campaign law violations.
Her stance is pure nonsense. But it's the kind of nonsense that ensures continued good relations with Meijer and state Republican leaders. McManus is believed to be positioning herself for a run for Land's job two years from now.
Current law actually reflects McManus' elitist "no harm is too big" attitude. The law -- which appears to have been written by campaign fundraisers -- instructs the secretary of state to pursue "soft action" to resolve violations through informal agreements. Once such an agreement is made, further prosecution is impossible.
Not all northern Michigan lawmakers, however, feel the need to coddle Meijer or pretend that criminal violations of campaign finance laws needn't be pursued.
Reps. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Kewadin, and Howard Walker, R-Traverse City, have drafted legislation that would allow county prosecutors to investigate criminal violations of the Campaign Finance Act and erase the anti-citizen prohibition against local prosecution.
"It makes sense to have the county prosecutor take a look at violations that affect them locally," Elsenheimer said. Walker said the new legislation is "what's right for the citizens of Michigan."
State Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, said the proposed legislation "make(s) a lot of sense," and he's willing to work toward its passage.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely the proposals will see the light of day in the Senate; McManus chairs the Campaign and Election Oversight Committee, which would hear the bills, and can simply decline to take them up.
Judging from public reaction to sworn statements that showed Meijer paid Grand Rapids public relations firm Seyferth Spaulding Tennyson Inc. more than $30,000 to orchestrate the recall, McManus and Land -- if Land opts for a handshake settlement and a piddling fine -- have misjudged the level of voter anger.
This was corporate arrogance at its worst, a flaunting of under-the-table political muscle in which the wishes of the little people -- that would be the rest of us -- were simply sneered at.
Land owes it to every voter in the state to see that justice is served.
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