Bill Joyner's FridayMusings 11/14/2022

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What motivates FridayMusings:

We can't only define Livonia as taking small steps toward maintaining the way things were. That will give us mediocre outcomes. Our goal needs to be innovative and transformative.

FridayMusings Monday, November 14, 2022 Helping define Livonia Quality of Life

Breakfast at Thomas's plus donation to Livonia Historical Society.

It doesn't get any better on my first day free from house arrest

Wearing my Georgia shirt, after all I was raised in Decatur Georgia, I set out somewhat unsure about what was to transpire. Had received a facebook message that Laura and Lori wanted to buy me breakfast at Thomas's on Thursday, which happened to be my first day free from house arrest. Free to drive a car. Free to run errands. Free to be me.

Two hours after meeting up with Laura and Lori I came away full of energy as the excitement for Livonia and engagement with two ladies invested and active in Livonia gave me so much hope and encouragement.

Laura is a writer, attends every City Council Meeting, and by the way is an artist, community activist, and keen observer of politics. Lori loves to travel, appreciates the need for art, and is a retired elementary school teacher, at Buchannan who thinks that Jonathon Wennstrom is a great principal, and loved her trip to Norway. I could go on and on about these two wonderfully engaged-in-life women. My head is still spinning with all we talked about.

As the breakfast came to an end, two hours later, I was presented a copy of the book Laura wrote on "how to survive a pandemic with cocktails", It's Happy Hour Time, and yes it was autographed (!), along with $100, $50 from Laura and $50 from Lori, to be donated to any charity I wanted. After some discussion, I decided that the money, not for my pocket although for just a fleeting second the idea crossed my mind, would best be used by the Livonia Historical Society to help provide field trips for second graders to Greenmead in the Spring.

Look for a review shortly of the book which is quite frankly unique and amazing.

The next day I told this story to a community anonymous benefactor who promptly pulled out his checkbook and donated $1,000 to the Livonia Historical Society.

It was gratifying when they both dropped a dime in a nice card saying how much they appreciated the coverage Musings gives to so much going on in Livonia. To me, it was gratifying to break bread with two folks who realize that they have an investment in the town they call home and want to be a part of making it work, and really making it better.

Thank you Laura and Lori. You made my first day of freedom so easy and so much fun.

Livonia's Tim Kenny retires from Wayne County Circuit Court

Written for FridayMusings by Alan Helmkamp

A “surprise” retirement gathering was held last Wednesday in Detroit celebrating the career of one of Livonia’s favorite sons, Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny. Hundreds of friends from the legal and political community turned out to honor Tim’s 47 years of service to the citizens of Wayne County, including twenty years as an Assistant county Prosecutor and Circuit Court Judge since 1996.

Tim was joined by his wife June and children Katie Kenny Phillips and Christopher Kenny. (pictured above)

Livonia was well-represented at the celebration, as attendees included 16th District Court Judges Kathleen McCann and Sean Kavanagh, Councilwoman Kathleen McIntyre, County Commissioner Terry Marecki, City Attorney Paul Bernier and Wayne County Commission Senior Advisor Alan Helmkamp.

Considered in some quarters as a “traditional Republican,” Chief Judge Kenny was known for being a rule-of-law Judge who called balls and strikes fairly and without partisan political bias.

In his distinguished career, in addition to administering the operation of the court, Chief Judge Kenny presided over hundreds of election law cases. To illustrate but two, following the 2020 Presidential election, the eyes of the nation were focused on Wayne County, as allies of President Trump attempted to halt the certification of election results in Detroit and Wayne County, claiming election conspiracy theories. Chief Judge Kenny dismissed that suit, holding that their claims were “incorrect and not credible,” and that “it would be an unprecedented exercise of judicial activism for this Court to stop the certification process of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers.”

In a final service to the citizens, an 11th hour lawsuit filed by Attorney General candidate Khristina Karamo and others sought a court order forcing Detroit voters to either vote in person or obtain an absentee ballot at the Detroit City’s Clerk office for the general election. Chief Judge Kenny dismissed the suit the day before the election and ruled that:

“Plaintiffs’ failure to produce any evidence that the procedures for this November 8th election violate state or federal election law demonizes the Detroit City Clerk, her office staff, and the 1,200 volunteers working this election. These claims are unjustified, devoid of any evidentiary basis and cannot be allowed to stand.”

A member of the 1835 Livonia City Hall of Fame, Class of 2016, Chief Judge Kenny’s last day with the court will be December 9. Whatever his future plans are, we thank Tim for his service and wish him and his family continued good fortune.

Councilman Brandon McCullough supports the passage of the Livonia NDO

Brandon McCullough joins with Council President Jim Jolly in advocating for the passage of the NDO. When the proposal was first introduced in September 2021 he issued the following statement:

"You may have noticed a lot of conversation surrounding the proposed update to Livonia’s non-discrimination ordinance. I would like to state for the record that I 100% support the passage of this ordinance in its current language. If we water this down any further, we might as well toss it out.

"Our non-discrimination ordinances have not been updated since 1982, and we need ordinances that not only reflect our community’s commitment to inclusion but provide our diverse community deserved protection.

"Now, more than ever, residents and community members are looking for their elected leaders to take action on diversity, equity, and inclusion in meaningful ways, and this proposed ordinance is one example of tangible action the City can take to improve protections for residents in a way that exemplifies our values.

"Livonia’s two existing ordinances, related to these issues are out of date. These existing ordinances that deal with non-discrimination were last updated in 1982. As such, they do not reflect the values our community holds today.

"Unfortunately, instances of discrimination happen in Livonia. This is tough to swallow, but these stories are real and shine a light on what we should all see as unwelcome behavior in our community. This ordinance puts in place a way of enforcing protections when discriminatory behavior crosses the line into violating someone’s rights by affecting their access to public services, public accommodations, housing, employment, or their enjoyment of civil or political rights.

Livonia has chance to approve an NDO

Monday night

Our Livonia City Council will take up the issue of a non-discrimination ordinance Monday evening, November 14 at 7:00 pm. FridayMusings has been an advocate for over a year for the proposed non-discrimination ordinance. Now it is time for our Livonia City Council to stand up, take a position and pass this ordinance.

The proposed non-discrimination ordinance put forth by Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan and supported by the Livonia Chamber of Commerce, Human Relations Commission Chair Rich Glover, Police Chief Tom Goralski, Dr. Michael Grandillo, former President of Madonna University, Jatinder-Bir Sandu, CEO, and Chairman of NYX, LLC, PFLAG Livonia, Keith Allman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Masco, should be passed by a unanimous vote of the Livonia City Council.

With this non-discrimination ordinance, people would have a reasonable, local outlet to receive true protection. Likewise, our employers would be ensured a fair and accessible process to resolve any issue. Cutting the red tape and addressing issues at a local level instead of long drawn-out use of federal protections is better for all parties involved.

The debate around the non-discrimination ordinance should come to an end and our council needs to stop the delay and the attempt to water down any proposed ordinance. The hesitation and desire to put into a committee and continue the study which has now been over one year, as proposed by at least two members of the council is wrong.

There are some who choose to hide behind arguments about what they perceive as onerous to small businesses because they don't want to confront the real objections they have to the inclusivity of this ordinance or are seeking to send a message to a certain group of voters.

Right now it appears that there are not 4 votes to approve this ordinance amendment. It is time to put every council member on record. Vote it up or down but go on record so Livonia residents will know where you stand.

Jim Jolly an advocate from the beginning says that "all people should be treated equally and respected." Rob Donovic and Laura Toy both have wanted to study the issue.

FridayMusings strongly supports the non-discrimination ordinance so that current and future generations can live and thrive in a better, safer, and more inclusive Livonia. The City Council should move expeditiously in approving the ordinance.

We agree with Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan who says that “The foundation of any community is a sense of belonging, With the adoption of this ordinance, all Livonia residents and visitors could be sure our City government is unequivocally stating: you belong here.”

Councilman Jim Jolly advocates for the passage of the Livonia NDO

When the NDO was first proposed Councilman, now Council President Jim Jolly issued this statement during his re-election campaign in which he ran #1:

"In the last few days, I have been asked many times about the proposed Non-Discrimination Ordinance that will come before the Livonia City Council in the near future. This proposed ordinance aims to update and expand civil rights protections from two older ordinances that have not been updated in decades.

"The proposed ordinance would codify values of inclusiveness and clearly communicate that Livonia is a welcoming community for all people while providing an expectation that everyone in Livonia is treated with dignity and respect.

" I have reached out to representatives from some of the 40+ communities in Michigan that have enacted a similar ordinance over the last 10 years and have received zero negative feedback regarding business or personal liberties being infringed by it or even allegation of such.

"Communities that have passed a similar ordinance are wide-ranging geographically and politically including Howell, Farmington Hills, Battle Creek, Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Grand Rapids.

" It is important that the ordinance clearly identifies and respects the 1st and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution which protect religious beliefs and free speech.

"As a citizen and lawyer, I have a great appreciation for the Constitution and the rights it enshrines and the equal protection of all people in our democracy. This ordinance is a step in that direction.

"I look forward to discussing this with my colleagues and plan to vote in favor of its passage."

Mail Address

19514 Livonia 48152

E-mail address

rwilliamjoyner@gmail.com

Cell address

734-674-5871

Four basic NDO questions answered

1) Why does Livonia need a non-discrimination ordinance?

Livonia’s existing ordinances, related to these issues, are remarkably out of date. Our two ordinances that deal with non-discrimination were last updated in 1982. As such, they do not reflect the values our community holds today.

Unfortunately, instances of discrimination happen in Livonia. This is tough to swallow, but these stories are real and shine a light on what we should all see as unwelcome behavior in our community.

This ordinance puts in place a way of enforcing protections when discriminatory behavior crosses the line into violating someone’s rights by affecting their access to public services, public accommodations, housing, employment, or their enjoyment of civil or political rights.

Finally, this ordinance solves a process problem: Livonia residents should have access to a clear procedure for having their discrimination complaints heard at a local level.

2) Why now?

As Livonia becomes more diverse, our community’s needs are changing. Our non-discrimination ordinances have not been updated since 1982, and we need ordinances that not only reflect our community’s commitment to inclusion but provide our diverse community the protection they deserve.

Now, more than ever, residents and community members are looking for their elected leaders to take action on diversity, equity, and inclusion in meaningful ways, and this proposed ordinance is one example of tangible action the City can take to improve protections for residents in a way that exemplifies our values.

3) Don’t federal or state laws already do this?

This ordinance creates protections for Livonia residents that are not enshrined in state or federal law. There are no federal or state laws that include members of the LGBTQ community as a protected class subject to anti-discrimination statutes and protections.

The nearly 60 municipalities across Michigan that have passed these ordinances have done so precisely because there are specific protections this ordinance creates that are not in state or federal law.

4) Who does the NDO protect?

This ordinance would expand protections from discrimination based on an individual’s race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national or sectional origin, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, or marital status in matters related to their civil or political rights or employment, public accommodations, housing, or public services.

Livonia December Calendar filling up