Absentee Ballot Information

Absentee Ballots will be arriving in the mail this week for those of you who have requested them.  We ask that you please be sure to sign the outer envelope where indicated.  Failure to do so will result in your ballot being returned to you for signature.  If you need an absentee ballot and have not already applied for one, we are still accepting applications.  You may click on the link to the right to start the process or call the clerk’s office at 791-3430 for futher information.

I am filled with gratitude for family and friends . . . old and new.

“Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  Melody Beattie

A huge THANK YOU to all of the people who attended or contributed so generously to my fundraiser this week.  We had a large turnout and I was touched  by the many people who came from different phases of my life, old and new, to support me in this endeavor.   If there was ever any doubt that I was making the right decision when I decided to throw my hat into the political ring, it was erased on Wednesday night when I realized all the people who believe in me.  I had childhood friends like Gerry Sitko and Dan Bernard who I have known since the first grade.  There were family members and many of my neighbors of 21 years of living in Dearborn Heights and attending St. Sabina and Divine Child.  AFSCME Council 25, my union of most of my adult life, was well represented by Rick Johnson as was my current Wayne County retirees’ union by Bettye Misuraca.   Friends from the American Legion were there as well as the many new friends I have made in the city of Dearborn Heights.  I appreciate the many elected officials from both the city and Wayne County who took the time to attend or were generous enough to give donations.  With a little over a month to go until election day, I am confident we will have a victory come August 2^nd and I have these people and many more to thank.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

"If you think about it seriously, all the questions about the soul and the immortality of the soul and paradise and hell are at bottom only a way of seeing this very simple fact: that every action of ours is passed on to others according to its value, of good or evil, it passes from father to son, from one generation to the next, in a perpetual movement." -- Antonio Gramsci

A day of reflection, some sadness and great joy for me.  I am sad by not having my own father here today.  He went on to heaven way too young back in 1962.  I am also disappointed and sad that this is the first Father's Day since 1991 that my own son is not going to spend the day with me.  On the other hand, there is great joy in the fact that he is presently in Russia, studying at the Moscow Art Theater.  As many of you know, Gregory would like to pursue a career in acting and to study at the Moscow Art Theater is a great privilege and exceptional opportunity for him.  A father's greatest joy, in my opinion, is being able to provide the best chance for his children to be successful in life and for this I am grateful to the Almighty Father.  

May God Bless everyone today as we celebrate Father's Day 

Random Thought on a Tuesday Night

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
— Theodore Roosevelt

Dearborn Heights Spirit Fest

My wife and I spent several days this past weekend at the Dearborn Heights Spirit Fest.  If you haven’t attended the Taste of Dearborn Heights, please do so next year.  It features food from many of Dearborn Heights fine eating establishments.  My wife attended the Senior Appreciation Day and had a great time playing bingo and visiting with the many senior citizens of our city.  The Crestwood High School Cheerleaders hosted an all-you-can eat pizza and pasta fundraiser on Friday.    This was another worthwhile event with the proceeds going to our local high school students.  On Saturday,  I attended the salute to our veterans.  This is a great group of people who have earned my respect and admiration and the tribute was the highlight of my weekend at the Spirit Fest.  Thanks to all who are serving or have served in the military protecting the United States of America.  Finally, a big thank you to the many people who participated and worked so hard to make this a successful weekend and to Antonio’s Restaurant for their sponsorship of this year’s Spirit Fest. 

More news from the Clerk's Office

I spent Wednesday and Thursday of this week in Lansing attending a City Clerk’s accreditation class sponsored by the State of Michigan.  It was well worth the time spent as it was very informative and the knowledge I gleaned from it will be invaluable to the clerk’s office going forward.  There is much to learn in order to run an election properly.  Knowing and following all of the election laws and making sure each and every election is conducted with the utmost integrity and fairness is my top priority.  I brought back to Dearborn Heights several hundred pages of election related materials and I am now well on my way to becoming certified. 

It was also very helpful to network with other City Clerks and learn from them and share ideas and solutions.  As a matter of fact, a State of Michigan election official was in town and visited our office on Friday.  The official pointed out several procedures that this clerk’s office needs to change to bring us in line with current election laws.  I will be implementing these in the coming weeks.

We must continuously update our methodology since election laws and technologies are constantly evolving.  I received several excellent suggestions on ways to update our election process while saving the city money, which is always my goal as the Dearborn Heights City Clerk.  Stay tuned . . .