Plymouth Township Residents Speak In Support For Don Schnettler For Vacant Trustee Seat

As many folks know, due to the sad news about the death of longtime Plymouth Township Board of Trustees member, Kay Arnold, there is a vacancy on the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees, that must be filled. Her seat must be filled within 45 days of her death, and the Plymouth Township Supervisor tried to pull a political stunt, and manipulate the process at the last meeting.

Before we get into the shenanigans, let’s not forget Supervisor Price’s history. He himself was appointed, in a backroom deal, that involved him selling his house in Canton, and then getting the Supervisor job handed to him a month after he purchased his new home in Plymouth Township. This was done against the wishes of the vast majority of Plymouth Township taxpayers, who pay attention to our local government, and were incensed that someone could just up and move into our township, and be handed the top government job, at the highest pay. It was a clear example of the kind of Washington type politics that Americans are so disgusted with, and that have absolutely no place in local municipalities.

That is Supervisor Shannon Price’s history in our township. He moved into the township in February, and he had the top job in March, and the vast majority of the taxpayers were angry about it. Folks need to remember this in August of 2016.

With history out of the way, let’s look at how Supervisor Price led the discussion on a replacement for Trustee Arnold’s vacant seat. He brought up the fact that if somebody is not appointed within 45 days, there would have to be a special election. The board was pretty much unanimously against that option based on the cost of the election, versus the actual time in office that they would actually serve. It was a non starter, and rightfully so. If I were honest though, a small part of me would like to see a special election, because at least I would be assured that the people were able to choose the replacement, as opposed to this board, who have clearly shown that they care little about what their constituents desire. My fiscally conservative values win out against that wish though, so now we are left with having to trust this board to do the right thing in an appointment scenario.

Shannon Price knew this, and he was prepared. He went into a room with his handlers, Clerk Conzelman, and Treasurer Edwards, and they came up with the guy who would vote their way at meetings. This guy is Steve Mann. Former Supervisor, and former Trustee. The other option they presented was to pluck someone off the Planning Commission, or one of the other Commissions for this vacancy.

In my opinion, the problem with appointing Steve Mann, is that once he retired from the board, he basically checked out of anything to do with the township. There is nothing wrong with moving on with your life, but don’t come asking for an appointment, when you have put so much distance between yourself and the township. Shannon Price indicated that he was the one who approached Mr. Mann about this opportunity, but if that is true, how the heck would a guy who has only lived in the township a few months or so, be qualified to know who is the best candidate to fill this seat?

I’m pretty sure that Ron Edwards made this suggestion, and not Shannon Price. Price may have made the call, but Ron told him who to call. Ron Edwards is the guy who made the deal for Shannon Price to be our Supervisor, and he is the guy who will stack the board with another puppet, in Steve Mann. Make no mistake, if Steve Mann is appointed to this board, he will vote in lockstep fashion with Edwards, Conzelman, and Price. It will be a voting block of four, and they will have absolute control of everything.

So let’s look at the other possibility. Pilfering someone from the Planning Commission is not something I would support either, and that is simply because they were originally appointed by this board, and most people consider these positions as favors to campaign supporters. Work your butt off to get Edwards elected, and you can expect to get appointed to a commission seat as a payback. Happens all the time. I don’t want someone taking that seat who feels beholden.

Trustee Doroshewitz upset the applecart when he came up with a rather good idea. He said that the board should consider someone who actually ran for Trustee in the last primary. He made the case that this person would have actually received votes from the electorate, as opposed to someone who never received a vote for the job. Someone like Shannon Price. Makes perfect sense to me. Steve Mann didn’t want to be a Trustee, so why should we appoint him? The folks who ran, obviously wanted the job, so why wouldn’t we want to consider them?

Shannon Price, who was appointed himself, and never received a vote to be Supervisor, did not want to consider this idea. Neither did Nancy Conzelman, or Treasurer Edwards. They all wanted their guy Steve Mann. A sure vote. Absolute power.

And now Price’s political shenanigan.

Price and Conzelman actually tried to make the case that the board shouldn’t consider the primary election, but rather, the general election. I found it astounding that as Republicans, they would try to make the case for a Democrat to be appointed to this Republican seat. Using their logic, a Democrat would be appointed to this Republican seat, and that is simply unacceptable.

Price tried to make the case for a Democrat to be considered, even though he knows fully well that the Wayne County Commissioner seat that he bailed out of, was filled with a Republican, chosen by the Wayne 11 Republicans, and with the blessing of the Democrats on the Board of Commissioners. So knowing that, why did he try to make the case that the Board of Trustees should have to consider Democrats under the Doroshewitz proposal?

He did it because he wants Steve Mann, or some other person appointed that he can manipulate. He made a false argument that under the Doroshewitz proposal, they would be mandated to consider the Democrat. It didn’t work. Nobody bought the ridiculous argument. All that Price, and Conzelman accomplished, was to insult the intelligence of every single taxpayer in attendance at this meeting.

So with all of this in mind, I would like to bring up a guy who not only ran for Trustee, but was the only person that ran in the 2012 primary election, who actually attended this meeting to discuss the appointment. This man is Don Schnettler, and he attends every single Board of Trustees meeting. He has been for over 10 years. He probably has an attendance rate of better than 90% over that time.

Mr. Schnettler is a Building Official, and Building & Electrical Inspector, for Washtenaw County, as well as an Electrical Inspector, and Back-up Building Inspector, for the City of Plymouth. He has staff that he manages, and works within a team environment, and these are experiences that would serve him well on the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees.

Mr. Schnettler is a 15 year resident of Plymouth Township, and prior to that, lived in the City of Plymouth. He has three children that thrived at Plymouth-Canton Schools, two of which have served our nation in Iraq, and Afghanistan. He is a lifelong Republican, he is active in his church, and has been a rock solid member of our community.

Having witnessed the indecision of the board during the appointment discussion, I was inclined to mention his name as a solid candidate for this position. I don’t think my idea went over very well with Treasurer Edwards, Clerk Conzelman, or Shannon Price, but those in attendance thought it was a pretty good idea.

After I spoke, there were 4 or 5 others in attendance who also felt compelled to walk to the podium, and express their support for Mr. Schnettler. I can tell you with honesty, that not one person in attendance spoke favorably for Steve Mann for this position, and not one person spoke favorably for a Planning Commission member for this position.

Mr. Schnettler is a very knowledgeable guy, he is an independent thinker, and he has the respect of this community. I actually spoke with Mr. Schnettler after the meeting, and he said that he felt “humbled, and grateful” for the support that he received from both Republicans, and at least one Democrat at this meeting. I don’t think that it can be overstated, when I say that he received support from both Republicans, and Democrats. If that isn’t a true sign of respect, I don’t know what is.

In the end, we’ll find out on Tuesday which way this board is going to go. Will they pick the person who is a sure vote, or will they pick a person who had the vast majority of support from their constituents?

This board has an ugly history of not listening to the voices of their constituents, and I would hope that Supervisor Price would do something to put an end to that. I would hope that he would live by the words he spoke when he interviewed for this job. He promised to listen to our community. He promised to be transparent. He promised to represent our wishes as a community.

Our community spoke very clearly about their wishes at the last meeting, and what they said, was that they want Don Schnettler to be appointed to be their representative on the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees.

Now it is time to see if Shannon Price is serious about upholding the promises that he made to us...