Augusta Township clerk faces recall election in February
Editor's note: This story has been edited to more accurately reflect the nature of a substance McDonald used in a protest.
Augusta Township Clerk Kathy Giszczak will face a recall election in February.
It’s the latest salvo in a dramatic six-year dispute over of the terms of viewing township minutes, which has involved lawsuits, personal protection orders and charged exchanges at the Board of Trustees' meetings.
Recall language and signed petitions were submitted by township resident C.J. McDonald and recently received final approval from the Washtenaw County Clerk’s Office.
The recall language alleges Giszczak refused to honor verbal requests to inspect original meeting minutes on 10 different occasions. Giszczak says the allegations are not true.
The special election will be held on Feb. 22 and cost the township up to $10,000. Giszczak has been township clerk since 2004 and was most recently re-elected in 2008. A recall effort against her failed in 2006.
McDonald said he made verbal requests to see the book of original minutes for 10 seconds to verify that it’s on site at the Augusta Township Hall. McDonald underscored he is only asking to check if the minutes are on site as he says the Open Meeting's Act allows him to do. He said he is not making a Freedom of Information Act Request, which he is barred from doing as the result of a previous court case.
In the recall language, McDonald wrote that there are “no rules established and recorded by the Township Board” to view the original minutes, which is required according a Michigan Attorney General's Office opinion on the issue.
Giszczak has maintained residents must make an appointment to see original minutes and allow a third party to be in the room while the minutes are viewed, if necessary.
In her 200-word justification filed with the County Clerk’s Office, Giszczak said requests to view original minutes are available through Township Board approved FOIA forms. She said state law requires those requests be made in writing.
She said she repeatedly made appointments for McDonald to view original minutes, but he often did not show up or left after he was informed a third party would be in the room with him. She added unofficial copies of the minutes are normally posted online and in the Township Hall the day after meetings.
McDonald sent the question of whether Giszczak can legally require appointments and require a third party to be in the room to State Rep. Alma Wheeler-Smith’s office, which forwarded it to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office last February.
While McDonald interprets the attorney general’s opinion as supporting his case, Giszczak claims it clearly states third parties can be present to protect the original minutes. The opinion also says there can be a reasonable period of time to allow for minutes' retrieval.
Representatives from the Attorney General’s Office previously said they only issue opinions on local issues, and those opinions do not carry the weight of law, therefore cannot be enforced either way.
McDonald said he submitted the recall language to the county clerk, but a small group of volunteers helped collect the required signatures and organize the effort. Those include outgoing Trustee Kathy Jackson; Trustee Mike King; Tanya McCune; Lynda Dew; Iva Bielec; Judy Thornton; Deb Fuqua; Kathleen McDonald, who is C.J. McDonald's wife, and Nathan Johnson.
Giszczak pointed out that many of the people involved in the group have lost to her or people she has campaigned for in recent elections. Jackson ran the failed recall campaign against Giszczak in 2006.
Giszczak believes the recall effort is due in part to her contacting authorities over alleged misconduct of some township officials.
“I’m interfering with their personal agendas that are not good for this township and they want me out, period,” she said, adding in her official written response that the recall "wastes taxpayers' money and disrupts my ability to serve residents."
McDonald and Giszczak have a long history of disputes over when McDonald and residents can view the official minutes. The more dramatic incidents were summarized in Giszczak’s 200-word response. On Feb. 15, one of the dates listed in the recall, McDonald was arrested by a Michigan State Police trooper for refusing to obey the trooper’s orders.
Township Treasurer Angela Sherbine called 911 after McDonald burst into Giszczak’s office and loudly demanded to see the original minutes, Giszczak said.
By McDonald’s account, the trooper asked him to leave the township hall, so McDonald parked his car and stood across the street. When the trooper asked him to leave that spot, MacDonald refused and was arrested. McDonald called his arrest unlawful.
That incident led Giszczak to seek a personal protection order against McDonald, which Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Archie Brown signed and remains in effect.
In 2008, McDonald sued the township for violating his FOIA rights while attempting to view original minutes. The case followed incidents in which township officials said he smelled strongly of dead fish when he showed up for a four-hour record-reviewing appointment with Giszczak. McDonald admitted to applying what he says was fish fertilizer.
A judge threw out that case out and the township countersued for costs. McDonald subsequently signed a consent judgment in which he relinquished his FOIA rights for life and agreed pay $5,000 in legal costs to Augusta Township.
McDonald said was misled by his attorney about content of the document. He said it was signed shortly after he had eye surgery, and he was having trouble reading.
McDonald hopes to appeal the consent judgment and is fighting the PPO. He alleges Giszczak lied under oath in her testimony about the Feb. 16 events, and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the complaint. McDonald says he will continue to fight.
“My battle has been a six-year battle with this clerk and past supervisors where it has been virtually impossible to get information regarding anything,” he said. “She has sealed it off.”
Others besides McDonald have reported problems with trying to retrieve documents from the clerk’s office, including King. He said despite being an elected official, he is forced to file FOIA requests and wait for documents he needs to conduct township business.
He said elected officials are supposed to serve their constituents and he doesn’t believe Giszczak is serving the public well.
“Time and time again she has tried the patience of many residents when they have attempted to do business in the township,” King said. “It’s time for the residents to give her a performance review. That’s the only way for them to say ‘We’re not happy with the service you’re providing,’ or to say ‘I like what you’re doing.’"
Comments
Captain Magnificent
Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 5:24 p.m.
I for one see an enormous difference between fish FERTILIZER and fish GUTS. It's totally normal for someone to cover themselves in fish fertilizer as a method of protest- it's one of the strongest protest traditions in our fine country and a freedom which our soldiers have been defending since the days of George Washington. Only a complete nutjob would cover themselves in fish guts. I can't see any reasonable protest method which involves covering oneself in fish guts. You'd have to be insane to do that. Just let this fine patriotic man see the minutes and be done with it. It's not that complicated, people!
lefty48197
Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 2:34 p.m.
"Fish fertilizer" is made from ground up fish guts. Whether the fish cuts are in chunk form or pureed really shouldn't make much of a difference. It sounds like an immature attempt to get the "third party" to leave him alone with the documents. By the way, if the documents are posted online, why is there a need to view the original documents? Do they differ? Have they been illegally altered? I've read some kooky right wing comments from that carpenter, so I have a hard time believing that the township official in question that he supports is really on the level either.
altruty
Sat, Nov 13, 2010 : 7:18 p.m.
Well McDonald..., does it really matter whether it was guts or fertilizer? At the time of your event, I heard from a number of citizens that you were loudly proclaiming your victory. That you had brought fish back from Florida in the trunk of your car to use as fertilizer in your garden. That you wiped your body down with rotted fish guts before your 4 hour FOIA demand. So when were you telling the truth? Then or now? I live in Augusta Township. I know of most of the individuals listed in the article as having circulated the petition to support McDonald. What can I say? They are all cut from the same cloth. From a friend, I received a copy of the material that they were passing out. All untrue. So when the petition circulator came to my door, I listened politely before sending her on her way. All lies. I also know a little of Clerk Giszczak, like TKinks. I know her to be honest and hard working. Folks, what this is about is an attempt from those who think of Augusta Township as their personal piggy bank. They see their piggy bank falling away, and they are desperate to keep this from happening. The minutes of the Board meetings are and have been available on the township website. Instantly and for free. If you want to see the originals, then you have to make an appointment;, as required by the State's laws. McDonald refuses. Pretty simple. McDonald's goal is to disrupt the township hall with his nonsense. The others are quick to jump on the bandwagon in order to save their piggy bank.
CJ McDonald
Sat, Nov 13, 2010 : 2:04 p.m.
altruty - that previous article was also wrong. There is a big difference between fish guts and fish fertilizer. Furthermore, two people working in the hall back then told me there was no smell. Somebody's lying and it's not me!
altruty
Sat, Nov 13, 2010 : 12:10 p.m.
No fish guts? See here where McDonald admits differently. http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/augusta_feud_over_records_take.html
CJ McDonald
Sat, Nov 13, 2010 : 10:24 a.m.
T-Kinks obviously doesn't know the truth. What's more he doesn't want to. Neither does the Ann Arbor News! For those who do, I'd be more than happy to share it with you. I can understand how people would think I'm crazy, wacko, etc. because most people won't stand up for our rights. Maybe you think our soldiers are more than crazy, etc. because they're not only standing up for our rights - they're dying for your freedom. Recall is one of our freedoms! There NEVER was fish guts! That's just journalistic sensationalism capitalizing on a lie someone told them. This whole article is full of such pathetic inaccuracies. Email me so we can talk. djcjmac@aol.com
michaywe
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 9:38 p.m.
Hmmm.....the twp. has internal procedure requiring requests to view minutes must be made on a FOIA form. Twp. persuades judge to ban McDonald from FOIA requests. If i was McDonald, I'd move to Ypsi Twp where elected and staff go the extra mile!
loves_fall
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 5:06 p.m.
@T Kinks, I know he relinquished his rights to a FOIA. If I hadn't read the article, I wouldn't have commented that I found a person's ability to relinquish their right to information under FOIA creepy. It's information, not guns. In my opinion, no one should ever be barred from information, period. That being said, a FOIA request is not the same as what he's asking for. If the city has an obligation to make publicly available information, it has the obligation to make it publicly available. That's not the same as FOIA, where information that is not routinely made available will be provided upon request. Per Wikipedia, "This act allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States Government." McDonald/MacDonald isn't asking for access to previously unreleased information. He's asking to see if something that should be on file and publicly available is on file and publicly available. So, like I said earlier, crazy man or not, I side with him because I believe that people's right to information is more important than keeping the peace. There needs to be transparency, objectivity, and accountability in all areas of the government, large or small. Mr. MacDonald/McDonald might be a weird guy, but I suspect that a lot of what's driving his seemingly irrational behavior has to do with the behavior of certain appointed officials.
and9801
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 3:37 p.m.
T-Kinks, why shame on everyone who signed the petition? They are taking part of the democratic process, even if you don't agree with them. People are allowed to have varying opinions. Not everyone has the same experience with people either, which makes recall elections a necessary evil. Something else to take into consideration is the number of people who helped collect signatures for this recall petition. Mr. McDonald wasn't the only person who felt she needed to be recalled. While it's true that Augusta Township seems to have more than it's fair share of them, but it also seems like our "elected officials" are extremely self-serving without thinking of the good of everyone. Mr. McDonald or not, Augusta Township has a history of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". Those who have the nerve to disagree with the board can easily be banned from the meetings (I know this for a fact...my step-dad was banned for voicing an opinion counter to that of a board member).
treetowncartel
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 2:26 p.m.
e-i-e-i-o
20/20
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 2:23 p.m.
Fish guts..., sounds like a mental evaluation is in order.
T Kinks
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 1:40 p.m.
@loves_fall You need to re read the article. McDonald has relinquished his rights for life for a FOIA. So now he's just trying to cause trouble. Giszczak had to get a PPO against the guy. He should be barred from all the meetings so that our elected officials can do their job. This guy is wacko & shame on everyone that signed that recall petition.
loves_fall
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 12:07 p.m.
AnnArbor.com: Open Meetings, not Open Meeting's. Also, is it McDonald or MacDonald? Regarding the story, I feel like I have to side a little bit with the fish guts guy. I don't think public officials should be allowed to make policies arbitrarily. If there's nothing in writing and approved by the people or the council on what the procedure for viewing documents of public record, they should accomodate his request. I sense the tone of this article is to make him look crazy, but he has rights. Does it bother anyone else that it would be POSSIBLE to waive FOIA rights?
aaw
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 11:43 a.m.
It is discouraging to see one individual cause so much upheaval in a community. Mr. MacDonald seems to have a hard time understanding that rules are made for everyone to follow, including him! It is sad that when public needs are so great and public dollars so scarce that one disgruntaled individual can waste dollars on such nonesense. Shame on you Mr. MacDonald.
RoboLogic
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 9:56 a.m.
Fish Guts? Whats the point...to harass? How do Fish Guts further his cause?
Ypsialto
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 9:12 a.m.
@TKinks - I agree with you. Can't believe that Augusta Twp. residents are willing to waste money on so many recalls, but have let police coverage go by the wayside again. What a mess!!
JSA
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 9:08 a.m.
Fish guts? Now there is a snappy dresser!
T Kinks
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.
I'm ashamed to say I live in Augusta Twp w/ all this senseless bickering going on. Your right Clownfish there is always recalls or threats of recalls going on in Augusta. It is clear that this CJ McDonald is nothing but a trouble maker & is doing nothing for the township except to cost us money. As a builder & as a resident I've had dealings w/ Kathy Giszczak & found her to be very professional & dedicated to her job in the township. Terry Heiss Carpentry
clownfish
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 8:20 a.m.
Its time for the residents to give her a performance review. It is called "an election". She won. WOW! What is going on in Augusta Twp? Why can they not have elections that are final like everybody else? Maybe somebody could correct me, but it seems like there have been recall attempts in Augusta for almost a decade, after EVERY election. What gives?
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 6:36 a.m.
first! sounds childish on one side. sounds like something's trying to be hidden on the other side of things.