Another Busy Week Ahead!

[John Helge]

MANISTEE COUNTY DEMOCRATS:

I apologize for this weekly newsletter being late hitting your inboxes.  I have a good excuse!  I was attending the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) state nominating convention in Detroit!  It was the biggest single day convention in the history of the MDP with over 7,200 active party members attending.  Folks came from all corners of the state.  Manistee is one of the 20 mid-Michigan counties in the Second US Congressional District, and our meeting room was packed.  So was the room hosting the folks from the UP and tip of the mitt!  In the morning we assembled in two 90-minute caucus meetings ranging from issues and concerns as diverse as the Rural Caucus to the Yemeni/Palestinian Caucus. At each meeting we were entertained by stirring 2-minute stump speeches by all the candidates seeking to win our votes. The levels of both energy and drama were sky high!  When we convened in the big hall at 3pm there were not enough chairs for everyone, so they opened several overflow rooms to accommodate the crowd.  We now know who will represent the Michigan Democratic Party in the 2026 race for Attorney General (Eli Savit for Attorney General) and Secretary of State (Garlin Gilchrist for Michigan)!  Check out their websites!

Both these candidates had invested their time and energy this year to visit Manistee County and meet in person with voters.  All the candidates seeking these two offices were more than capable, experienced, and worthy of the offices they were seeking. I am confident that we will have a strong ticket you can be proud of in November!

Join Manistee Indivisible from 4-6pm Tuesday at the Outsider on River Street in downtown Manistee to send postcards to your "favorite elected official" letting them know your state of mind in response to their action or inaction as your elected representative! It is only right for us to be stuffing their mailbox as they will soon be stuffing ours with their election literature proclaiming their undying allegiance not to a mad dictator but to the rule of law, the US Constitution, and the greater good for all people! (we can at least hope, can't we?)

The Manistee City Council will meet at 5:30pm Tuesday in the City Hall Council Chambers to hold a public meeting on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. I will be there because I am concerned about the rumors I am hearing that this budget will eliminate funding for a full-time city firefighter who also serves on the city ambulance crew.  Given the current situation with the Manistee hospital transferring most patients to Traverse City or Cadillac by ambulance, we risk not being able to consistently and effectively respond to medical emergencies in town if this happens.  Join me and let's hear what our City Council members have to say about this and other challenges to crafting a balanced budget.  

The Feeding America Food Truck can use your help on Wednesday from 10-12am at the Lakeshore Church parking lot (behind Burger King.)  We have had a great crew of volunteers helping assemble grocery bags that provide help to over 300 food-insecure families in Manistee County every month.  Many hands make light work, and we are typically done before noon!

 The Manistee Chamber of Commerce is holding their annual State of the Community breakfast Friday at the Little River Casino Resort.  It begins at 8am and tickets are limited but still available for $30 each.  I will be attending and interested to hear what our elected officials, healthcare and business leaders will have to tell us about what their plans and ideas are for the future of Manistee County. 

Saturday at 1pm please join the group to clean our section of US31.  We will meet and park at the abandoned gas station on the east side of US31 just north of the Baptist Church and south of 11 Mile Road.  Dedicated Democrats will be clearing away the mess to pave the way for change just like we will do in November at the ballot box!  We need your help to keep Manistee County beautiful!   

John M. Helge

johnm...@gmail.com

616-915-2403