Editorial

Does Allegan County Clerk speak with forked tongue?

ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they’ve been fooled.” — Often attributed to Mark Twain

“All of your children are poor unfortunate victims of lies you believe. A plague upon your ignorance…” — Frank Zappa

A common definition of “speak with a forked tongue” means to tell lies, to not be truthful, to be deceptive.

At the risk of arousing the ire of the dominant strain of political animals in Allegan County, I hereby submit County Clerk Bob Genetski has demonstrated this troubling trend by spreading falsehoods in public, at least on three occasions.

His most recent example has come in the last couple of months in which he has appeared at meetings of local township boards and the Wayland City Council. He has told these public officials he is adamantly opposed to moving the clerk’s, treasurer’s, registers of deeds and other offices to the County Services Building at Dumont Lake.

Bob Genetski

He has made a case for keeping clerk’s functions operating in the county building in the City of Allegan. He has argued that township clerks shouldn’t have to bring election ballots to the clerk’s office at Dumont Lake, where there is little security, late on election night.

Though it’s a good point, it’s not true.

Allegan County Commissioner Gale Dugan Thursday night presented Watson Township Board members the architect’s drawings showing the clerk’s office remaining at the county building to continue election and court services.

Yet Genetski as recently as Feb. 20 was telling the Wayland City Council the clerk’s services will be at Dumont Lake, and he was not pleased.

This is not the first time Genetski has spoken publicly with a forked tongue. The other cited here are downright embarrassing.

One was at a Leighton Township Board meeting in which he flatly stated that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, a scam more likely to be associated with corporations such as Amway (Alticor), in which people are lured into becoming distributors rather than buying the products.

With Social Security, which we working stiffs spend a lifetime paying into, we get the reward after we turn a certain age. I know personally because I, my wife and many in my family are collecting from that system. That reward is earned and paid.

On another occasion, Genetski suggested publicly that the students murdered at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., actually were “crisis actors.” If you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land I’d like to sell you.

The point here is that though Mr. Genetski is a nice man who seems competent in providing services as the county clerk, he too often has demonstrated serious and troubling shortcomings in spreading truthful information. It has a lot to with lies he believes, and I don’t know why.

But, as folksinger Tom Paxton sang so long ago, “…we elect ‘em again and again.”

10 Comments

    • Well David it seems to be the new normal for the republicans and their beloved faux news station. What’s that called again oh yeah the illusionary truth effect. And the more it’s repeated the more they believe it as we see from a couple of these comments .

  • How about finding out why the roads in the city of Wayland are so bad? The city manager should be ashamed of the roads. Where is the money from the state being used?

  • That would be the same Bob Genetski who in his 3 two year terms as a state representative was wanting to reduce government spending including introducing a bill that passed that barred state universities from increasing tuition for the school year beginning in the fall term and supported reducing state support to state public universities.

    Representative Genetski never read or fully understood the pattern legislation the bill that was written by the American Legislative Exchange Council that he co-sponsored when submitted to the GOP majority MI House. But Michigan State and Wayne State lawyers did and because they were told the MI GOP was going to freeze funding they legally raised tuition for the summer terms that carried through. Bob Genetski didn’t have a legal leg to stand on after co-sponsoring a bill.

    That is also the same Bob Genetski who publicly stated when running for his first Allegan County Clerk term he would serve out the four year term if elected. But what do you know, 2 years later County Clerk Genetski was pounding the pavement seeking signatures to get on the GOP primary ballot to run for the MI state senate.

    With his political future as the non-term limited Allegan County Clerk comfortably in hand so long as he continues to run as a Republican, Bob Genetski is free to say just about anything and win another 4 year term for who knows how many more election cycles.

  • Regarding social security, what happens to the contributed assets in this situation? A person contributes since say age 15, bust their tail working 2 jobs. Never been on welfare, unemployment or the bridge card. They pass away at age 55, never been married and no children. They never get a dime? Hell of a deal.

    I agree Mrs. Jones, I like him too.

    My opinon.

    • They would not have gotten a dime out of their 401(k) either. There are survivor benefits you know, so his earnings would go to his spouse when they reached 60… if he’s got a child under 18, they could qualify for benefits too.

      • James,

        Perhaps you should consider the following.

        401k’s are voluntary and certainly not mandated by a overreaching federal government. Secondly with 401k’s one can declare a beneficarty in the event of one’s death.

        If one is single, no children and one passes with alleged social security, it’s adios. It just goes in the pot for all, perhaps even for those who snuck into our nation. Or those who contributed perhaps much less.

        Just my opinion.

        • Another Xenophobic comment from the CINO; shocking, so I’m guessing he’s made enough fortune in the stock market that he doesn’t rely on social security. The difference between the two is one can wipe you out and the other is safety net that seniors and people with disabilities can survive on.
          And to your point of a deceased person losing the benefit prior to after the years of contributing, then why do Republicans always say it’s going broke? Seems to be there should always be a surplus.

          • Happy Sunday,

            Words that end with phobic imply fear. No fear here, just wisdom. Thanks. My opinion.

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