What Happens When You Elect A Video Game Developer As Your County Treasurer

ByCorey Spencer

Feb 1, 2023

It sounds like a cool social experiment, what would happen if your county treasurer’s office was run by someone with no experience and makes video games for a living? What could possibly go wrong….. Unfortunately for the residents of Kalamazoo County it’s not a social experiment, it actually happened and it’s a complete failure.

Current Kalamazoo County treasurer, Democrat Thomas Whitener has been asked to resign by the Kalamazoo County Commissioner Board Chair Mike Quinn. The Board Chair, who is also a Democrat, expressed his concerns to a local WWMT reporter at the end of December 2022.

As reported by WWMT, Chair of the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners has asked the county treasurer to resign, quoting financial issues and saying, “he does not know how to do the job.”

Issues range from millions of dollars not being invested, a recent backlog of processing receipts, and lack of reports presented to the board, Chair Mike Quinn said.

“I don’t think he has the confidence and the skill set to do the job. And the board, I believe, is pretty much unanimously against him,” Quinn said.

The county has hired accountants to assist County Treasurer Thomas Whitener and his office at $150 an hour, according to Quinn.

Just two weeks ago Former deputy treasurer Michael Budram, who was also the 2020 campaign manager for Kalamazoo County Treasurer Thomas Whitener resigned from the department.

Both Thomas Whitener and Michael Budram have no financial or accounting experience, they previously worked together as video game developers.

Elections Have Consequences

Before Thomas Whitener won his election in 2020, A local republican Mary Balkema was the longtime county treasurer. In fact Mary Balkema is the last republican to win a county wide contested election in Kalamazoo County. In 2020 Mary Balkema lost her election for County Treasurer by 2%. She managed to get 66,856 votes countywide, the most amongst all republicans on the ballot including President Trump by 10,000 votes.

Since the Democrat Party takeover of the County Treasurer’s office things have been in a financial shamble. You know it’s bad when Kalamazoo Democrats are calling for Kalamazoo Democrats to resign.

In 2024 maybe we can elect a republican to the County Treasurer’s office who has a financial background instead of a video game developer.

By Corey Spencer

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Congress

Repowering Palisades Means Lower Costs, Greater Energy Security, and Good Paying Jobs for SW Michigan

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after the Department of Energy officially announced the conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan to repower Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan. “Today’s announcement is a massive step towards restoring 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy generation and hundreds of highly skilled jobs right here in Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District. Holtec’s historic repowering of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant will provide safe, reliable energy to meet Southwest Michigan’s growing needs, and it lays the groundwork for the first-of-their-kind small modular reactors to be placed at Palisades in the future. For these reasons, I’m proud to have led the bipartisan congressional effort on behalf of this project to lower energy costs, create jobs, and strengthen American energy security.” Congressman Huizenga has been a vocal leader in the bipartisan effort to repower Palisades. In July, Huizenga pressed Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry on restarting Palisades and the importance of nuclear energy. In September, Huizenga discussed the importance of the power purchase agreement between Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative. In December, Huizenga led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Energy requesting a timely and responsible review of repowering Palisades. In January, Huizenga wrote about Fueling Southwest Michigan’s Future by Repowering Palisades In late January, when Bloomberg broke the news that the Department of Energy was moving forward on Palisades, Huizenga spoke about the impact on energy security and good paying jobs. In February, Huizenga visited Holtec International’s Corporate Technology Center in Camden, New Jersey to see work being done for Palisades.

October 26, 2023 In The News A Michigan GOP lawmaker's sign in support of Israel hanging outside his office in Washington, D.C., was vandalized with bloody handprints, his office said Thursday. Rep. Tim Walberg's office revealed his "I stand with Israel" sign was defaced, with the congressman declaring, "anti-semitism has run rampant across the country." "This is yet another despicable act which should not be tolerated," Walberg, a former pastor, said in a press release. "At a time like this, we must think of our Jewish community members, including those on my staff, who are enduring this targeted behavior and harassment following the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust," he continued. Walberg's office told Fox News Digital the sign had been put up earlier this week, and that the congressman had tweeted about standing with Israel after the country was attacked by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, sparking a war. The Michigan Republican's office said the congressman employs Jewish staff members and believes the vandalism is unacceptable. Walberg's office also said they have contacted U.S. Capitol Police about the incident. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Earlier this month, Walberg, who has been vocal in his support for Israel, led a letter with 43 other lawmakers to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona demanding he take action to protect Jewish students on American college campuses. "Many student groups have issued statements condoning and even celebrating the terror attack, which should be considered a modern-day pogrom. Some student groups have even utilized imagery of a paraglider to advertise their rallies, unequivocally celebrating the despicable tactics used by Hamas — a terrorist organization that President Biden stated is a ‘group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews,’" the letter reads. Walberg called out universities for portraying themselves as "inclusive and tolerant" and speaking out regarding social issues while remaining silent on the current crisis. "In recent years, schools have been quick to weigh in on a plethora of social issues, but suddenly, many have gone silent as anti-Semitism rages across college campuses. This deafening silence and lack of moral clarity by college administrators comes as student groups openly celebrate a terrorist attack motivated by bigotry," Walberg said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "These schools pride themselves on being inclusive and tolerant, but it is clear there is an anti-Semitism crisis on these campuses, so we’re calling on the Biden administration to take action to protect Jewish students and to visit these schools to examine why they are such a hot-bed for anti-Semitism." Pro-Hamas sentiment could be seen at universities across the country since the attack on Israel this month. An organization called "Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine" introduced an anti-Israel resolution to the student government body this week justifying the Hamas terror attack and Palestinians’ right to "resistance by any means necessary." The vandalism of Walberg's pro-Israel sign also comes as some Democratic members of Congress promote Hamas propaganda and participate in pro-Palestinian protests at the U.S. Capitol complex. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., tripled down on the Hamas narrative that Israel was behind last week's explosion at a Gaza hospital, something that had already been debunked by both Israeli and U.S. intelligence. Tlaib is now facing a censure resolution in the House introduced on Thursday by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. A U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department is investigating the incident. This article originally appeared on FoxNews.com on October 26.

Jeff Heppler	Dist 6
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