The Proposed Mega Site ⚫ Mundy Twp.

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BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CNN Executive Editor

MUNDY TWP (CCN) — Some members of a group opposing a proposed advanced manufacturing plant on a so-called Mega Site in Mundy Township may next turn their attention to a county-wide millage being sought by the Mass Transportation Authority (MTA). (See Related Story)

The MTA was among community partners who signed a letter used by the Flint & Genesee Group to get more than $260 million in state funding to build a plant to support Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's push for her state to lead the way supplying parts for the electric vehicle push by President Joe Biden.

Mott Community College's Board of Trustees last week rescinded its support for the project in an unanimous vote after hearing from Mega Site opponents who packed their board meeting on the Flint campus. (See Related Story on Today's Front Page)

(Other Related Stories in the Mega Site Special Section of Today's edition of The Daily Gazette)

Genesee County Commissioner Charles Winfrey of Flint is on the MTA Board of Directors and he said Saturday that he's unaware of the board ever authorizing a letter of support for the Flint & Genesee Group's proposed project. He said via a message on Messenger: " I’m sorry, I don’t have a statement. I am not aware of the MTA Board voting on a letter of support, but I will delve into it more deeply."

County Commissioner Ellen Ellenburg of Burton is also on the board and she has not yet responded to our request for comment.

Both Winfrey and Ellenburg are up for re-election to their seats on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners.

MTA General Manger & CEO Ed Benning has also not yet responded to our request for a comment on Saturday.

Other businesses have also withdrawn support after boycotts were threatened against their businesses, according to multiple sources. 

Jennifer Arrand Stainton, who is opposing incumbent Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler, led a protest against the development idea during a political fundraiser for Ketzler on June 20 at Redwood Lodge in Gateway Center, off Hill Road. The demonstration attracted a strong police presence and Stainton has demanded an internal investigation into why police were waiting for picketers and why they asked businesses in Gateway Center not to allow parking at their establishment for protesters.

The Daily Gazette asked local officials at a Mundy Township Board of Trustees meeting and at the Metro Police Authority's Police Commission meeting about why police patrols took place on a private road which is illegal under state law.

"I gave the chief (Matt Bade) until July 5," Stainton said. "July 5 has come and gone. I've met with an attorney and I'm not forgetting about this incident.  If the Chief thinks I'm going away, he's wrong. I want an internal investigation. I want to know who was behind this and I want answers. I also want action against any illegal doings in this."

Community activist Art Woodson of Flint attended the group's picket protest at Ketzler's fundraiser and he was the lead-off speaker when they packed Mott's Board of Trustees meeting.

Woodson says his city's residents are not yet recovered from the Flint water crisis with more than 1,900 homes still needing pipes replaced. 

"You need to listen to the residents," Woodson shouted to Mott's trustees amid applause from a big audience they were not accustomed to seeing at their meetings. "They want answers about the damage the toxins can do to their groundwater," Woodosn said. "They want answers about how much water this will drain out of Lake Huron for a development nobody wants out there... Our elected leaders can't make Flint whole, yet (Flint & Genesee Group CEO) they can give Tim Herman $260 million for a project when he can't tell us what it is, who will own it, how many they will employ, then we hear from his guy here tonight that it's because they don't know any of those answers yet."

Stainton praised Woodson for stepping forward, saying, "Art was powerful. He told them how it was and he helped us get an unanimous vote to rescind their support. Now, it's on to the next business on the list. They will hear from us with a boycott or picketers, or whatever it takes to get their attention."

Stainton said she plans to have speakers at Thursday's scheduled MTA board meeting.

Others on the board besides the two county commissioners up for re-election are Sharry Reeves who is a resident of the City of Flint, Tommie Johnson who is Executive Assistant to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, Scott Bennett who is Grand Blanc Township Supervisor Scott Bennett, Scott Grossman who is a Fenton city councilman, Glenn Wilson who is CEO of Communities First and Luke Zelley who is Executive Director of the Disability Network. 

Zelley is Chairman of the board and Wilson is Vice Chairman.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is MTA General Manger & CEO Ed Benning.

MUNDY TWP. (CCN) — Residents opposed to a proposed advanced manufacturing plant in Mundy Township are organizing a series of boycotts against businesses who wrote letters of support to state officials for the Flint & Genesee Group to get funding from our tax dollars.

They converged on the meeting of Mott Community College's Board of Trustees on Monday night (July 1, 2024) and demanded to know why the college allowed its name to be used as a supporter of the project when state officials pondering giving out money to help the Flint & Genesee Group build something on the 1,200-acre Mega Site bordered by Linden Road, Elms Road, Jennings Road and Maple Road.

They got their way (See Related Story) when Mott's trustees voted unanimously to make the Flint & Genesee Group "stop using Mott's name" as a supporter of the project until more details are provided to college officials.

CEO Tim Herman's group collected more than $10 million in grants from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation before another $250 million package was approved last month by the Michigan Strategic Fund. Both chambers of the Michigan legislature approved it last week and it became part of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's budget on Monday (July 1, 2024).

A Facebook page with 2,100 opponents of the proposed development on the Mega Site noted a forthcoming possible boycott if others don't likewise rescind support given via similar letters.

"We will let people know who they are —  one by one," said Jennifer Arrand Stainton who organized a picket demonstration on June 20 outside a political fundraiser at Redwood Lode for Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler. "If it takes a boycott or picket signs to get their attention, that's how it must be. We don't want this in our back yard. We don't want all the pollution and we certainly don't want our tax dollars going to support a foreign company building something like Gretchen Whitmer did with $687 million over in Big Rapids with a battery plant."

 Leah Davis added support for Stainton's idea which was first put out for consideration by Don Ludwig who is one of the administrators for the Facebook page group.

Ludwig said, "This victory example shows how boycotting does actually work. 

LANSING (CCN)  —  Both chambers of Michigan's State Legislature have now approved a proposal by the Michigan Strategic Fund to fund a $250 million project by the Flint Genesee Group — a Flint-based non-profit organization headed by CEO Tim Herman.

The Flint Genesee's Group's Flint Genesee Economic Alliance wants to attract developers for manufacturing plants at a Mega Site in Mundy Township on a 1,200-acre location bordering Linden Road, Jennings Road, Elms Road and Maple Road.

The House Appropriations Committee sent the funding bill to the floor of the State House of Representatives last week and the State Senate's Appropriations Committee did the same thing on Wednesday night. Both full chambers eventually approved the plan by Herman's organization. He had already been given more than$10 million in two earlier moves by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and all that remains for another $250 million is approval of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's proposed state budget.

The state budget needs to be approved by July 1.

The process is for both chambers of the State Legislature to approve the budget before it then goes to the governor for her signature.

Thursday, June 27, 2024 Column

My recent Editor's Notebook columns are getting some national attention.

The New York Times has called. So, too, have Detroit media outlets. Local TV stations have reported the story although only WJRT ABC 12 TV featured comments by the organizer of the picket demonstration (Jennifer Arrand Stainton) last week outside a political fundraiser for Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler 

Nothing but crickets out of MLive and The Flint Journal though. We will see how later today how View Newspapers reports on the controversial picket demonstration last week by protesters angry about the proposed development at the Mega Site location in Mundy Township on a 1,200-acre location bordering Linden Road, Jennings Road, Elms Road and Maple Road.

Michigan News Source quoted by column in a story today about a proposed $250 million gift of our state tax dollars to the Flint Genesee Group to build something on the Mega Site. No details. They need the money first before they tell us what the plan is out there.

It's nice to see some statewide attention focused on Governor Gretchen Whitmer's budget. I don't like my tax dollars going to support building plants to support the electric vehicle industry. Gretchen's current TV commercials make me sick.

They're paid for by a climate change PAC out of California. They admitted to me there was a major donor out of our area to make the TV commercials happen on our local TV air waves.

Any guess on who the donor may have been?

By the way, Gretchen proclaims that Michigan is leading the charge with battery plants across out state employing thousands. Um, no battery plants have been built yet.

Gretchen should also check with the Battery Plant Manufacturers Association of the United States. The average battery plant in our country employs an average of 92 people.

If it's a chip building factory headed to Mundy Township, the numbers are worse for jobs. They average 48 employees. Comments from CEO Tim Herman's representative on all this garbage have led us to believe thousands of jobs are coming.

Why not locate them at vacant old GM plants in Flint? Or is all the pollution that comes with them too much for a city where its water was poisoned 10 years ago? Time to poison people around the Mega Site location out in Mundy Township?

A battery plant or chip building plant would produce thousands of gallons worth of toxins. Do they just drain them into the groundwater to ruin the properties of neighbors?

There are environmental experts warning that extensive use of ultra pure water would lead to draining Lake Huron and eventually end its use as a water supply for so many Michigan communities. Ask Atlanta how the impact from similar plants has destroyed their water supply.

 and contaminated nearby properties.

Are we ready for another Flint water crisis? Are we ready for another Berlin & Farro catastrophe?

READ THIS WEEK'S FEATURED EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

READ TODAY'S EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

READ OLD EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK COLUMNS

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Mike Killbreath appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning newspaper columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

MUNDY TWP. (CCN) — Trustee Kyle Ward has became the first member of the Mundy Township Board of Trustees to express opposition for the proposed mega site located on a 1,200-acre location bordered by Linden Road, Jennings Road, Elms Road and Maple Road.

"I've seen signs all over the township opposing the Mega Site,," Trustee Ward said at Monday night's (June 24, 2024) township board meeting. "I'm elected to serve the people and I have not seen one sign supporting the Mega Site. For that reason, I'm against it."

Trustee Ward's comments came after more speakers Monday night from the podium at the public comment portion of a township board meeting. Mega Site opponents have also flooded previous meetings — demanding answers from their elected leaders about what's going on and why everything is being kept secret.

A Facebook group has more than 2,100 members who oppose the Mega Site. Allegations have been leveled there about non disclosure documents being signed by elected officials and a potential battery plant or a semiconductor plant to build chips for electric vehicles being built by a foreign company. Most of the EV industry is currently fueled by plants in South Korea, Taiwain or Communist China.

The issue has been a hot topic in Mundy Township for about a year. Residents have also marched to the podium for public comments at previous township board meetings and organized other meetings of citizens concerned about the project.  Neighboring residents who live near the Mega Site in  Flint Township and the City of Swartz Creek have also expressed concerns.

"We can't take a position or we can get sued," Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler told Mega Site opponents Monday night.

She invited residents to attend an 11 am meeting at Mundy Township Hall on Tuesday (June 25, 2024) after one speaker asked questions about state plans to possibly  pump another $250 million of tax dollars into the Mega Site.

Many went to Monday's board meeting because they were mad about police activity at a controversial picket sign protest four days earlier outside a political fundraiser for Mundy Township Clerk Tonya Ketzler at Redwood Lodge.

The Flint Genesee Group, a Flint non-profit organization headed by CEO Tim Herman, has received more than $10 million in two grants from Governor Gretchen Whitmer's push to build plants to supply the electric vehicle industry.  The grants were from the Michigan Economic Development group and approved by the state legislature before being signed by Governor Whitmer to go toward the proposed development in Mundy Township. An additional $250 million was approved two weeks ago by the Michigan Strategic Fund and the funding request was sent to the floor of the State House of Representatives in a 17-9 vote a few hours before Thursday's protest with picket signs last week. Two committee members passed instead of voting.

Herman's group gets another $250 million if the State House approves it and he also gets approval from the State Senate. All indications are that Governor Whitmer will then sign the funding request.

She has been featured during the past two weeks on mid-Michigan TV stations on a 30-second commercial paid for by a climate change PAC in California. Gov. Whitmer praises President Joe Biden's push for electric vehicles and calls her state a leader in supplying batteries for EV's and contributing thousands of new, good-paying jobs. Not a single battery factory has yet been built in Michigan though although one was revealed last week for Delta Township, near Lansing, and the Detroit News confirmed two weeks ago that $687 million in state tax dollars was dumped into a proposed battery factory in Big Rapids to be owned by a company from Communist China.

Herman's representative,  Tyler Rossmaessler who is Director of Economic Development for the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, has told media and state officials that his group will "let everyone know what's coming to the Mega Site after they get the money."

Rossmaessler has promised "thousands" of jobs are coming to the Mega Site. The average battery factory, however, employs only 92 people, according to the Battery Factory Manufacturers Association of the United States. National Labor Bureau statistics  reveal an average of only about 50 jobs for the average chip plant since an industry association currently lists only 350 plants and 24,340 jobs for the entire USA.

One member of the Facebook group opposing the proposed Mega Site  (John Smith although he told The Daily Gazette that's not his real name) posted a conversation last week with one of Herman's employees —  Joel Feick. He explained that the post was taken down at Feick's request after his comment triggered an avalanche of responses. Feick was quoted as saying, "We don't know what's coming because we don't have a buyer yet for the property."

Jennifer Arrand Stainton, who organized the picket protest outside Supervisor Ketzler's political fundraiser last week, was adamant that state officials voting for Herman's funding are "wasting more than $260 million in tax dollars  when they don't even know what the plan is."

Stainton was also critical of Metro Police Authority Chief Matt Bade for dispatching so many police officers to "stop the picketers from protesting" and demanded to know who ordered the massive police presence. Bade said he would address any issue at a Wednesday (June 26, 2024) meeting at the police station.

The Daily Gazette also put forth questions at the public comment portion of the meeting. One asked Chief Bade and Township Attorney Attorney Jack Beltzer to explain how patrols were allowed since officers told picketers that roads within the Gateway Center off Hill Road are private property, and state law prohibits patrols on private property and only allows responses to 911 calls or an investigation into a case. Another question was posed about how Beltzer allowed a Freedom of Information request to hide the contents of so-called non disclosure items and documents with developers after the Michigan Press Association successfully won a Supreme Court decision in Bisio vs. Clarkston — a case re-affirming law enacted by the Michigan Open Meetings Act in 1976. Clarkston officials attempted to shield documents with a developer from a FOIA request, too. The Supreme Court voted 6-1 it was illegal in a 37-page decision.

Beltzer and Chief Bade did not react to The Daily Gazette's questions to the dismay of audience members at the board meeting.

Stainton, who is running as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Ketzler for Supervisor in November 2024, vowed to make complaints to  the Genesee County Sheriff's Department, Michigan State Police and the Michigan Attorney General's office about police trying to keep picketers away last week from Ketzler's political fundraiser event. See Related Story

Stainton said she rented a hotel room at Gateway Center to park closer to Hill Road where the picket demonstration was forced to set up and also to field questions from media all day from around the area and around the state. A story about her protest was aired by WJRT ABC 12, WNEM CBS 5 and Mid-Michigan Now on TV 25 and TV  66.

ABC TV 12 reported that Rossmaessler issued a written statement about the State House Appropriation Committee sending the funding request forward to the State House. His statement said: "We truly appreciate the incredible support for our efforts to bring thousands of jobs to Genesee County by members of the state House Appropriations Committee." 

State Rep. Jasper Martus, a Democrat from Flushing, put forth the motion to give Herman's group $250 million more — telling TV 12 it would be "the largest economic investments in Genesee County in generations." He added, "This initiative will offer jobs and economic security to thousands of our friends and neighbors. At its height, GM employed 85,000 jobs in our community. That number has dwindled to less than 10,000. Today, we begin to reverse decades of underinvestment,” he said in a statement to ABC12.

No press releases are posted on the Flint Genesee Group's web site, but Rossmaessler also told ABC TV 12 in his statement: “We have seen a lot of interest in this site. It’s one of the best in the country because of its close proximity to a railroad, Bishop airport and I-69 and I-75, and the nearby talent pool of skilled trades workers and three great local colleges.”

Rossmaessler told The Detroit News: "Genesee County is known as a leader in building the products that impact the daily lives of those all over the world. Bringing an advanced manufacturer to our area will again position the county as a leader in cutting-edge technology. As a result, we’ll spark investment and revenue growth that supports our schools, roads and public safety agencies. It will also boost our local economy and attract new businesses and investment in our community." 

State Rep. Sarah Lightner, a Republican from Springport, voted against the motion and issued a press release, saying: “The lack of information surrounding most of these projects is deeply troubling and unacceptable. Michigan taxpayers have the right to know exactly how their money is being used, and they expect real, measurable outcomes from these investments. The Mundy Township project, in particular, is a huge risk. We've been provided with next to no information to show that it even qualifies for SOAR funding. There’s no evidence that Genesee County or Mundy Township has any substantial stake or involvement in this project, and officials have admitted that equipping the area with the necessary water and sewer services for a large industrial site will be extremely expensive."

Stainton and others opposed to the idea say the environmental damages done by the plants to support EV's far out-weighs the possible impact of any jobs but wasn't alone in questioning if thousands of good-paying jobs can be created.

One citizen said Mundy Township residents want to preserve the community's rural lifestyle, too.

Stainton urged voters to support candidates who oppose the Mega Site. "We need to stop this," she said. "That's why I support you elect Leah Davis and Zack Sack." She told The Daily Gazette that one other current board member in addition to Trustee Ward has privately told her of intentions to soon come out with public opposition against the proposed project. Stainton said Ward's announcement caught her by surprise Monday.

"He wants to listen to the residents who elected him that and I'm elated he made that clear to the other members of the board," she said.

Davis and Sack are running for one of the four township trustee positions along with Dan Morey, Trustee Ward and the other three incumbents .—  Kimberly Jimenez, Debra Ridley and Mark Gorton. Jimenez, Ridley, Gorton and Morey are Democrats. Davis, Sack and Ward are Republicans.

Incumbent Democrat Cory Jo Bostwick is unopposed for re-election and newcomer   Danelle Barker is also unopposed for Treasurer. Barker is a Republican.

Clerk Bostwick told The Daily Gazette that she "didn't want to talk about anything" unless there were questions about being a registered voter. She also engaged in screaming matches with citizens that were captured on tape by witnesses.

"Her attitude is simply shameful," said one witness who provided the recordings to the Daily Gazette. "You need to make her famous. Nobody will believe an elected official can talk to her constituents like that."

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Mundy Township Trustee Kyle Ward. He was first elected in 2020 as a Republican.

Friday, June 21, 2024 Column

Heads need to roll at the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County. If not, I'm ready to lead a campaign to close down the recently formed force  to patrol the City of Swartz Creek and Mundy Township. I guess we just can't use picket signs to do it.

Protesters against a proposed mega site for a 1,200-acre location in Mundy Township showed up with picket signs last night. They tried to set up outside Redwood Lodge where Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler was hoping for $1,250 contributions to support her bid for re-election during a political fundraiser.

As promised in this space yesterday, I showed up to check out the protest show.

By the time I arrived, nobody was holding picket signs around the entrance to Redwood Lodge. I'm told officers from the Metro Police Authority were dispatched to chase away anybody who wanted to picket. Witnesses say nine cop cars were waiting for them. I only counted seven but either number is ridiculous. 

Jennifer Arrand Stainton, organizer of the event and candidate to end Tonya Ketzler's political career, was so angry that she rented a hotel room to field interviews from media around the state when police tried to chase her away.

"They told us picketing isn't allowed," she said. "I guess Mundy Township and a few other places in Michigan are not part of America anymore now that our Governor (Gretchen Whitmer) is giving them over a billion dollars of our taxes to build plants for companies in Communist China, Taiwan and South Korea. They told us it was private property and we couldn't be on the streets or park at any of the businesses because they had complained."

Hmmm.

I'd like to hear audio of a single 911 caller that generated this mass police presence.

If you need someone arrested for a clear crime the Metro Police Authority didn't have time to help you with, give me a call at (810) 771-8421. If you can prove to me he or she is guilty, I'm willing to take you with me to the Mundy Township meeting Monday night and demand they go get your alleged criminal before the meeting is over and slap handcuffs on him.

All the protesters were chased up to the Hill Road area entrance to Gateway Center. Seven cop cars were buzzing around to hassle anybody who looked like a potential picketer. They were ordered not to park at businesses.

Again, just one 911 call please to prove someone complained. I talked to several who said, "Hey, we're closed by then. Sure. No problem."

In fact, I rode around with Flint community activist Arthur Woodson who stopped his shiny black truck to chat with a few. He talked to cops, too.

It seems Tonya ordered all this, according to my interviews and his quick poll. If you want to try to illegally stop a picket protest, you probably shouldn't share who is behind it with cops who are typically pretty truthful characters. 

"I'd call it weaponizing the police," said Jerry Roberts who is a frequent critic of Flint Township government. He says he has been involved in the mega site issue because it's near his property. Read Related Column

Stainton says she complained to the Genesee County Sheriff's Department about the tactics, but says "she got no help."

She says she now plans to talk with State Police on Monday and is considering a class action lawsuit. A Facebook page by protesters has 2,100 members. Community activists from Flint were also planning to join the picket demonstration until reading comments about "expecting a police presence."

"It was clear they didn't want black people out there, so I stayed home, and no, you can't use my name," said one Flint resident who said he's outraged over Governor Whitmer giving more than $260 million Flint Genesee Group President Tim Herman when Flint water crisis victims got no justice with anyone going to jail for poisoning their city 10 years ago. 

"We have 1,900 homes that still don't have their pipes fixed 10 years later," he added. "How would you like to live without water to drink or take a shower with? Yet Grethen can give away a billion dollars to people promising to build some plants with big promises to create jobs, but to possibly create another Flint water crisis on steroids!"

Why did he want to stay anonymous? His explanation was simple: "Because I don't want nine cop cars showing up at my place in the hood to haul me to jail like they did with Art Woodson in Flint the other night for filming a city council meeting with a tripod after he spoke out against Tim Herman on this mega site project."

Woodson said: "Tim Herman is a racist. You can quote me on that. So are whoever these political people are behind stopping this protest out here (in Mundy Township)."

Flint community activist Rich Jones said he didnt know about the event soon enough to deliver a massive turnout by Flint residents. He said, "Plus people were scared when they started reading comments on Facebook about the police waiting for us out there. They can't fix Flint but they can give all that money to Tim Herman to build something for the Chinese out in Mundy Township? Give Flint that money and watch how many good-paying jobs we could create over at the abandoned Buick City site or the old AC Spark Plug site. We need to take bus loads of people to protest this in Lansing."

Yours truly expressed excitement from this space and on my radio show when the Mundy Township Police Department and City of Swartz Creek Police Department were dissolved a few years ago to form the new Metro Police Authority.

Our community would miss long-time Swartz Creek Chief Rick Clolinger anyway because he was ready to retire, so the timing was right. New leadership was also needed in my opinion for Mundy Township's police department for many more reasons than the "political" arrest of Mateen Cleaves who was eventually cleared of phony rape charges. It was also refreshing to see long-time Burton cop Matt Bade win the sweepstakes to get the top job. He's one of the finest police officers to patrol the streets in our Metro Flint regional area.

I once helped Burton police officers get a millage passed to pay them better and hire them some friends to fight crime. So I'm not an anti cop kind of guy. And when I say Matt Bade is a good man, I have lots who will support that fact.

But if he ordered what happened over at the Gateway Center last night, he needs to go back to enjoying retirement. If he took orders from Mundy Township Supervisor Tonya Ketzler or bowed to pressures by anyone else, Matt Bade needs to go away. He isn't police chief material.

Count on Chief Bade being invited to appear on my radio show to explain how this was allowed to happen in America.

Call our office line at (810) 771-8421 if you want to leave me a question to ask the Chief.

READ THIS WEEK'S FEATURED EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

READ TODAY'S EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

READ OLD EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK COLUMNS

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Mike Killbreath appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning newspaper columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

Thursday, June 20, 2024 Column

I'm not even back on the air yet and one local politician already fired off a nasty e-mail response to my request to talk to her about what's going on in her community. "I won't go on your show," she declared twice among several texts via Messenger.

Tonya Ketzler has a big fundraiser tonight at Redwood Lodge off Hill Road, near U.S. 23. She wants to be re-elected as Mundy Township Supervisor. She is completing her first term after previously serving as the township clerk.

Her first term as township leader ends in November and my grade for her performance so far would be an absolute "F" grade.

I first me Tonya when she operated flower stores known as Ketzler Florist. She once had locations on Hill Road in Mundy Township, Grand Blanc and Swartz Creek. All the stores are now closed up.

She was once an occasional guest at a "Mafia Club" dinner group of community leaders. I think her last visit was when she voiced opposition one night outside on the patio at Flint Golf Club about comments I made on the radio blasting her police department for arresting Mateen Cleaves on a phony charge that had big time political overtones. Let's just say the only folks who needed to be charged and thrown in prison as far as I'm concerned were some local chiefs, a few cops and several from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

I predicted to her that the case would be dismissed. She was outraged, especially so when everyone at the table agreed with my assessment of things.

Frank Manley, one of America's very best defense lawyers, indeed won a dismissal at the preliminary exam stage  —  something of a rare event in court rooms. It essentially means he proved to a judge that the prosecutors and police had no evidence to charge Mateen Cleaves.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton recused his office, yet our local taxpayers got stuck with the bill as Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy staged an all-out war to put Mateen in prison. Don't let any facts get in the way of some positive big time PR. She was coming off a national scandal in the media over thousands of untested rape kits her office was sitting on. She wanted to look "tough on rape" by going after Mateen. The problem was that Flint's once national champion basketball player at MSU wasn't guilty.

My investigation proved that before Frank Manley ever staged an all-star performance to get all the charges dropped at the preliminary exam. Worthy appealed and former Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman overturned the district court decision by former Judge Cathy Dowd. She was eventually justified in her decision when a jury awarded a not guilty verdict.

Where does Mateen go to get his reputation back? He lost his job as an analyst on TV with the Detroit Pistons. CBS dumped him from the March Madness panel on pre-game, halftime and post-game shows. A charity he used to help hundreds of children was damaged. Who wants to hire a guy accused of rape?

Prominent lawyers reached out to me about getting their hands on Mateen's case. All of them predicted a multi million dollar case against Tonya's police department and Kym Worthy's office. I passed on the information to Frank Manley but Mateen walked away. It probably had something to do with not putting his family through more media attention. The only thing Mateen was guilty of was cheating on his wife, yet she sat in the front row at almost every day of the trial . He spoke to the media with his beautiful wife at his side.

He eventually thanked God for clearing his name and not sending him to prison for 10 years. I think he needed to thank Frank Manley and his brother Mike Manley most of all, and he did pass out rave reviews to them for their hard work on his behalf.

Tonya dodged a bullet on the Mateen case. It could have bankrupted the township, in my opinion, depending on how their insurance policy is set up. The bad publicity alone of her police costing the township thousands of dollars would have doomed her political career.

She's now apparently in hot water with residents who don't like a proposed mega site bordered by Linden Road, Jennings Road, and Elms Road and Maple Road. Tim Herman, President of the Flint Genesee Group, has been given grants by Governor Gretchen Whitmer of $1.2 million, $9.2 million and $250 million to build something there. They will let us know what it is after they get the rest of the money. 

Governor Gretchen, according to media reports, has now given out more than a billion dollars to build factories to support the push for electric vehicles. She's currently featured in a TV commercial flooding the local air waves about how Michigan is leading the charge with battery plants across Michigan bringing thousands of jobs to our state because of her efforts. She doesn't mention that not a single job has been created yet because not a single plant is operating yet.

So all these plants around Michigan  —  funded by our tax dollars  — can be owned by companies from South Korea, Taiwan or Communist China? I say let them pollute their own part of the world. Ask Atlanta how they like battery factories and semiconductor chip making factories. The city notified factory owners some time ago that they've almost drained the water supply there.

It takes 22,000 gallons of water to cool down a single chip and rinse away all the toxins. So where do the toxins go? The climate change folks pushing to do away with gas engines are worried about the climate  —  just not draining out water supply and ruining the groundwater with poison toxins for homes around the mega site. A battery factory is also a huge offender of polluting the soil of their neighbors with their runoff of toxins.

I might mention that claims of creating thousands of jobs to support the EV industry is hogwash. The average battery factory in the U.S. employs 92 people. That's a fact from the Battery Manufacturers Association of the United States. Jobs in battery factories have declined by 2.1% over the last five years and the estimate is that they will employ between 10% and 15% fewer people over the next five years.

Dealers say they can't sell electric cars. The average American can't afford them yet. If a battery goes bad, it's almost as much as a new car to replace it.

Plus, answer this for me. The federal government was handing out warnings earlier this week because of the extreme heat. We were told to conserve using air conditioning because the overload on power grids may short-circuit us into darkness. That's with EVs making up less than 1% of registered vehicles in most US states, and accounting for less than 1% of all vehicles sold in the country in all of 2023.  So what would happen if the climate change PAC funding Gretchen's local TV commercials gets their way and we do away with gas-powered engines for our vehicles?

We pollute our soil around the plant for a man-made disaster that will make the Flint water crisis look like a little league event. We drain the water supply over the next five years, so then what?

So if the average battery plant employs only 92 people and only 24,340 are currently employed by 500 chip factories around the USA, how are we to believe these claims that thousands of jobs will be created in Mundy Township? My math computes to about 48 jobs for a chip factory and 92 for a battery factor. The trade-off is ruining our earth with these plants to save the earth from being ruined by gas engines?

With $260 million of our tax dollars going to Tim Herman's non-profit group?

Yeah, Tonya expect me to see you tonight at your fundraiser. I won't be paying $1,250 for a dinner to chip in for your campaign. Anybody who does should have their business boycotted by our residents of the Metro Flint regional area.

I will be out front talking to the good people with picket signs.

So you don't want to go on my radio show to defend your part in all this? Well, I have list of former politicians who can tell you how that went for them. Talk to your residents by answering media questions — especially from The Morning Gazette Radio Show — or go back to being a flower store lady.

I hear you hired one of ex Burton Mayor Paula Zelenko's folks to work in your office. Ask her how her old boss liked the public pressure when we turned the attention of our microphones on her goofy leadership ways.  My investigation led to State Police asking Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton for a warrant on felony charges of changing a union document to reward her campaign manager with a big raise for a union position as Chief of Staff. State Police alleged that she changed the document from "is a union position" to "is not a union position." 

The State Police investigation confirmed our declaration that the document didn't match old contracts of other former union members after she presented it to her Burton City Council. They voted 7-0, by the way, to demand a State Police investigation into my radio show claims. The six-year statute on that crime has almost run out, yet Prosecutor Leyton still has the document sitting on his desk. That's the comment on about a half dozen times I've asked Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Potbury about it .

Better yet. Read the recent story in the Detroit News about Prosecutor Leyton ignoring warrants from State Police troopers he called "liars" who were "too unreliable to put on the witness stand." The episode was touched off by our push to have former Flint Township Clerk Kathy Funk arrested for tampering with ballots. She pleaded guilty, yet got probation and was ordered to write an apology. Yet five elections were impacted by her illegal actions?

By the way, why is Prosecutor Leyton allowed to have the biggest campaign sign possible on Linden Road a few months before signs are allowed? I guess he won't want to charge himself for violating the state law that sets forth that it must be 45 days before election day. Campaign finance laws also require a posting on who paid for the sign. That's the law.

I guess the law doesn't matter around here. Ask Mateen Cleaves. Ask Burton residents who wanted Mayor Zelenko locked up. Ask all the hundreds who called my show and wrote letters demanding that Kathy Funk be locked up.

Yeah, I can't wait to get back on the radio.

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Mike Killbreath appears on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio via The Morning Gazette Radio Show weekday mornings from 8 am until 9:30 am. He's an award-winning newspaper columnist and investigative reporter who is the former long-time owner of the local Metro Flint area chain of 14 community newspapers. This fall will be his 50th year as a journalist. He also hosts a new weekly national TV show known as The American Crusaders on cable TV and various OTT TV live streaming platforms.

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