I read in the Detroit Free Press last week the endorsements for the 46th district state representative position and, although how they mentioned me was quite normal (which I’ll get into later), what really shocked me was how they portrayed candidate John Reilly.
First, they called him a Zealot and then proceeded to attach him to the Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser scandal. They insinuated that Mr. Reilly knew and approved of what these two people did and, the truth is, Mr. Reilly had nothing to do with it. Their attempt to link him with them was to bring down his stature in the community. Actually, the two people that were actually involved in it (and didn’t do anything until it started to affect their party) was Mr. Brad Jacobsen and Mr. Jim Marleau, as was the speaker of the house, Mr. Cotter. They turned a blind eye to what was going on until they saw that it might affect them and then they circled the wagons and went after them. I do not condone what Gamrat and Courser did, but I find it very unfair that our current representation are helping to put Mr. Reilly in the same group.
I have met and talked with Mr. Reilly, we disagree on many, many issues, but one thing I can’t stand for is under-handed practices to get the candidate that Mr. Jacobsen and Mr. Marleau want elected. Both men are Republicans and both men have connections with the Tea Party– and there’s nothing wrong with that.
What’s going on in a presidential election, on both sides, is an absolute disgrace. I’m saddened that this has come to our district inasmuch as I have felt it over the years. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the term “N.I.N.A,” which stands for “No Irish need apply.” The acronym was put on the Irish people when they were coming over from Ireland. Well, for me, the acronym would be “N.D.N.R,” which stands for “No Democrats need run.” And, as a matter of fact, that’s exactly what the Free Press put in their article. Well, at least they didn’t spell my name wrong.
Mr. Marleau and Mr. Jacobsen have asked me many times why I foolishly try to run against them because this area is a GOP stronghold.
In the last election, the two Republican candidated refused to debate the Democratic candidates mainly because the issues would have embarrassed them. Strategically, that was the right thing to do. Morally and ethically — well, you make your own decision.
All I know is this, Mr. Reilly deserves a fair shot just like everybody else. We know politics are dirty and, believe me, I know better than anybody, as I have felt the sting of scandals that they pull. But whether I win or not, we should all demand that everything be done on the “up and up” and anyone who does not should not be put into office and a track record of the people who are there and the mess they’re leaving us in, where they washed their hands of it and, as I have stated over and over, “People, you have to vote because, whatever these characters do, you have to live with it and pay for it. And, believe me, we will be paying for it for a long time.”
I know this letter will not reach you before you vote and that’s just sad but, Mr. Reilly, I feel your pain and I’m so sorry you had to be a victim of this. I just wish that when candidates do these things that they would stop saying “God bless America,” because I do believe God doesn’t like this kind of crap.
David Lillis
Lake Orion resident, Democratic candidate for the 46th District, Michigan House