As you know, I’ve asked a lot of questions about the shadow groups behind the medical marijuana proposal. I wrote about it here, here, and here. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I voted yes to both state-wide marijuana proposals and honestly don’t have a problem with marijuana sales in the city, provided they are treated like every other business and confined to the commercial district. That said, I’m against the Clarkston Cares 2022 medical marijuana proposal because I know that it would be awful for the city. How do I know? Because I actually read it.
I have been wondering why someone would sign this specific petition. By signing, they were agreeing to put an amendment to our city’s charter on the ballot, the most serious change we can make in the city because the charter is our local constitution. Would they say they just wanted to get “it” on the ballot for a vote? That’s what people often say. If that’s the case, did they read the language on the back of the petition to understand what “it” was? Did they ask questions before signing? Were they OK with two medical marijuana stores located anywhere in the city, even in a historical home, that could operate seven days a week, twelve hours a day (because any city ordinance that conflicts with these businesses cannot be enforced)? Did they realize that this would require Herculean, time-consuming efforts from our part-time city clerk, along with lots of legal services fees, to implement? Did they know that once the slimy people behind the proposal get a toehold in the city and receive a license, there is no going back because these medical marijuana licenses will exist forever?
If not, why not? It was all printed on the backside of the petition they signed.
Maybe they thought that it would be more convenient to have two medical marijuana stores in the city so they wouldn’t have to drive to Lake Orion to buy it. That’s certainly been the whiny complaint from the Independence Township residents who clearly don’t care about Clarkston residents having to live with the possibility of medical marijuana stores in our residential neighborhoods or how this would affect our home values. Based on the comments I’ve seen on social media, these Independence Township residents apparently don’t understand that this petition proposal does not involve recreational marijuana, so even if it passes, they’ll still have to drive a bit to buy their pot.
Independence Township residents are so much in favor of this proposal that most of the signatures on the petitions were from Independence Township residents. This is despite the fact that all of the petitions began with this statement: “We, the undersigned qualified and registered voters, residents in the City of the Village of Clarkston . . .” Did the Independence Township residents also miss the bolded language below stating it’s a violation of Michigan election law to knowingly sign a Clarkston-related petition if they’re not a qualified and registered voter in Clarkston? 🤔
The Independence Township signers aren’t alone in their election law violations – they are joined by the paid petition signature gatherers from Sacramento, California; Glendale, California; and Houston, Texas. These out-of-towners collected all the petition signatures and they all certified, to the best of their knowledge and belief, that at the time the Independence Township residents signed the petition, those signers were residents of Clarkston. Riiiight. The sheer number of Independence Township signatures suggests that the signature gatherers didn’t much care who was signing and didn’t ask many questions. After all, they were paid for each signature they got. Think that’s not a motivator? An April 15, 2022, article in Bridge Michigan reported that signature gatherers were paid $20 for each signature, according to Shawn Wilmoth, owner of First Choice Contracting, LLC (Bridge Michigan, Soaring Signature Costs). FYI, Mr. Wilmoth pled guilty to fraud relating to petition signature gathering in the past and is currently accused of fraudulently collecting petition signatures for the 2022 Michigan Republican governor’s primary. Doesn’t that make you wonder just how much money the shadow groups behind this proposal have? Obviously, it’s more than enough to enable them to pay people to fly in from Texas and California to gather signatures in a town like Clarkston with less than 1,000 residents.
With regard to the actual Clarkston voters who signed the petition, maybe no one read beyond the phrase “end the City’s prohibition of medical marihuana facilities.” After all, the majority of Clarkston voters voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana (and I suspect that even more voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana).
Or perhaps the circulators lied to the petition signers. Here’s a 2020 video from the Michigan Attorney General discussing the fact that it’s not against Michigan law for signature gatherers to lie to you about the proposals they are asking you to support: https://youtu.be/xqrSYFjf7VM. Just like everything else you commit to, it’s your job to read the fine print before signing anything.
Or maybe some of the petition signatures aren’t legitimate signatures. As I discussed in my previous posts about the medical marijuana proposal, Clarkston Cares 2022 (the organization behind the Clarkston petition), along with Oakland Cares and Oakland Cares Coalition, are all funded by the same shadow group, and all share the same treasurer. This group paid Mr. Wilmoth and his organization to collect signatures for other medical marijuana proposals in the state. (He was the guy quoted in the Bridge Michigan article, linked above.) I want to be clear that based on the Oakland County campaign finance filings, Clarkston Cares 2022 did not use Mr. Wilmoth or his company for the Clarkston proposal and his name doesn’t appear on the bottom of any of the petitions as a signature gatherer. I also want to emphatically state that while I have no evidence whatsoever that the company employing the signature gatherers for the Clarkston Cares 2022 medical marijuana petition – or the signature gatherers themselves – falsified a signature, it would still be a good idea to check the petition signatures for yourself to see if your name is there. If it is, and you know you didn’t sign it, then you can (and should) make a complaint to the Michigan Secretary of State (https://www.michigan.gov/sos/report-fraud).
I made a FOIA request for the petitions because they are public documents. I asked for the original set of petitions that were submitted to the Clerk, as well as a copy of the petitions after her canvass (where she removed the bazillion people who can’t lawfully vote in Clarkston). The original set of petitions are linked here and include a few strike outs with dark lines. Based on the clerk’s response to my FOIA request, I’m assuming that the signature gatherers submitted them that way. The second set of petitions are what was left after the Clerk’s canvass and linked here. The Clerk’s strikeouts are in blue.
Assuming the signatures are real and acknowledging that everyone has a First Amendment right to legally sign any petition they want to, a few of the signatures were particularly disappointing to me in light of the destructive nature of this proposed charter amendment. One is from a former Historic District Commission chair who claims to care very much about the historic district, yet this charter amendment would permit a medical marijuana store in a historical home (since the proposal language states that any ordinance that would interfere with these businesses can’t be enforced). She also recently asked for (and received) taxpayer money from the city council to help establish a 501(c)(3) “Main Street” type organization, telling the council that this new organization wasn’t about bringing marijuana into town. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to question that statement in light of her petition signature. The current head of the Planning Commission also signed. As the Planning Commission would be involved if the proposal passes, that’s also disappointing. And finally, a sitting city council member signed the petition. As a taxpayer who is incensed about the legal fees and the potential problems this proposal would bring to the city, I think he should recuse himself from every vote pertaining to this proposed charter amendment. While he’s certainly entitled to legally sign any petition he wants, he shouldn’t be playing on both sides of this issue no matter what his reasoning was when he signed the petition.
While we wait to see whether or not this awful proposal passes, it is my fervent wish that every petition signer who is not a Clarkston voter, and every petition gatherer who attested to the best of his/her knowledge or belief that all the Independence Township voters signing this petition were qualified to vote in the City of Clarkston, are prosecuted for violations of election law.
If anyone from Independence Township is really serious about wanting to bring this horrible proposal into their own town, perhaps they could start by contacting Jonathen Tebbutt, 23280 Seneca Street, Oak Park, MI 48154, 810/444-3978. He’s listed as the treasurer for Clarkston Cares 2022, Oakland Cares, and Oakland Cares Coalition in the campaign finance documents filed with Oakland County Elections. I’m sure he can put you in touch with the appropriate people who can help you with your own petition to get this proposal on the Independence Township ballot. Assuming that the signatures of the Independence Township residents who signed the Clarkston petition are all valid, I’m sure these same people would be glad to sign a similar Independence Township petition because it’s such a good thing . . . right?
I’d really love to hear from a Clarkston voter who has actually read all of the fine print on the proposal and still thinks it’s good for Clarkston. Please post your reasoning in the comments so we can all learn something. Change my mind. My absentee ballot is sitting on the counter, unopened.