ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
Well, there you go again…” Ronald Reagan to Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential debate.
Some readers have told me I should stop letting Dorr Township Trustee John Tuinstra live inside my head, all while Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton live in theirs.
But Tuinstra, whom I have dubbed “Mr. Hypocrisy,” oops… he did it again. He voted against the reappointment of Larry Dolegowski to the Planning Commission because Dolegowski now has been on the commission for more than 25 years.
Mr. Tuinstra many times has expressed his deeply held belief in championing term limits for public figures. He has spoken out and voted against longtime local servants Bob Wagner, former chairman of the Planning Commission; Robert Traxler, retired vice chairman of the Planning Commission; Dolegowski, and veteran Zoning Board of Appeals member Ethel Visser, now retired.
He has always graced us with his reasoning that after a certain time officials must step aside and allow fresh blood to replace them. I have long suspected the real reason is his dislike of and opposition to the people under consideration, though last Thursday night he protested, “I have nothing against Larry.”
Mr. Hypocrisy earlier this year filed for his fourth four-year term on the Township Board. If he wins, which is a virtual certainty because he’s unopposed again, he will have been on this board for 16 years. So when does Mr. Tuinstra’s statute of limitations kick in?
In the State of Michigan, voters in 1992 voted to limit legislators to three, two-year terms and senators, governor, attorney general and secretary of state to two four-year terms.
It isn’t illegal for Mr. Tuinstra to serve 16 years, but he has voted against appointments for as few as 10 years (think Bob Traxler).
And sometimes, his vote, which he insists isn’t personal, holds up township business because he and like-minded comrades fashioned a 3-3 deadlock, twice forcing a special meeting to break the tie.
At best, it’s simply annoying to hear more sermons from a hypocrite. At worst it’s a solid example of bad boardsmanship.
I have asked the same question. How long before Tuinstra realizes he has been on the board too long?
What am I missing here?
Simple solution, run for the office and win the election. Pretty cool how this works.
End of the story!
Cheers!!