He is Risen He shall come again. Happy Easter
Michael We Didn’t Need You
Its here! All the glorious 1 Stars worth of Atlas Shrugged is HERE!!! 1 stars? Seriously? Not two? Three? Oh my. Silly ol Reviewers anyhow. There is of course a disconnect that has always existed with movie reviewers and the…
Moore Money
The State Theater Showing Atlas Shrugged? Can you imagine it? For those of you who aren’t familiar with the State Theater in Traverse City, perhaps I should explain. Filmmaker and generally hypocritical windbag, Michael Moore could pretty much take credit…
State of the Secretary of State
Yesterday, our SoS Ruth Johnson streamed a “state of the Secretary of State” conference. Her release says:
Today in the first ever State of the Secretary of State address we provided you, the taxpayers of Michigan, with an update on the challenges and progress our office has made in our first 100 days in office. My team spent nearly three and a half months evaluating nearly every aspect of the Department of State operations to determine what practices were effective, what could be improved, and where costs could be cut. The following is a summary of my address. Additionally, you can view our press release on my office website at http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127–254520–,00.html.
SoS Johnson is already embarking on cost savings and efficiencies over and above what Terri Lynn Land had implemented as well. Part of the message is troubling however. Particularly the numbers from 2008:
Protecting Elections
According to a 2008 report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the states, Michigan had an impossible 102.54 percent of eligible voters registered to vote in this state. We have been working diligently to clean our voter rolls and change the laws to keep them that way. We’re also working to ensure that all of our votes are able to be recounted and that election workers are well-trained through a new comprehensive training program. Finally, I announced an upcoming legislative package that will put more teeth into our election laws to go after those who violate our campaign finance requirements. Candidates who don’t follow the rules and fake political parties will not be tolerated!
Cutting Costs
Within weeks of taking office, I agreed to cut $2.1 millions dollars from our general fund allocation, which accounts for a nearly 20-percent reduction. We’re listening to our staff and customers to find creative and common sense ways to cut costs. For example, we have now standardized our ballots so that absentee and in-person ballots are the same. Instituting this change in just one county in one election saved them $160,000. We are consolidating administrative office space, a savings of $150,000 annually. Additionally, we are also using up every piece of old stationery and envelopes with my predecessor’s name on them at a savings of nearly $50,000.
Evaluating Our Services
To evaluate our services, we created a “Secret Shopper” program in which volunteers from all walks of life visited more than 80 branch offices statewide – anonymously – and reported on what they found. We’re already using these results to evaluate our offices and to determine best practices. We’re developing ways to cut down on long wait times in our busiest branches by expanding our online services, developing a check sheet to ensure you have all the documents you need when you come to the office, and streamlining the process we use to renew vehicle tabs.
I am looking forward to more announcements from Johnson’s office, transparency of operations, and continued news about protecting our vote.
Time to wake up?
I gather video clips for the purpose of enhancing this site and RightMichigan.com. The coincidental timing of my new software (tools) purchase made with Sam Adams Alliance award money and the national debate of whether or not to raise the…
Seriously Condescending Upton Man
A Seriously Condescending Upton Man blows off a constituent with a smarmy poke back. From the “don’t want to make this stuff up” category. When might you expect to get a smart ass response like the following?: From: “Sackley, Ed”…