By Staff
"In response to the press release issued by Stacey Rentfrow's campaign, I'd like to set the record straight," Dale Blunier's campaign manager, Heidi Behnke of Dowagiac said Friday.
It is true that the Michigan Campaign Finance Committee dismissed a complaint regarding Candidate Rentfrow's campaign committee's violation of the Bingo Act in holding an unlicensed raffle.
The reason the MCFA gave for dismissal was that they don't handle those types of complaints, but the Michigan Lottery Commission does, and I was referred to them in the letter they sent me.
I had previously contacted the Michigan Lottery and, after learning what was contained in Candidate Rentfrow's flier, they told me, "It certainly appears that there was illegal gambling going on, however, the local police agency is the agency that needs to follow up on it and issue a citation for illegal gambling."
I know through conversation with law enforcement that the police are aware of the situation.
So, the submitted complaint did, in fact, contain accurate information, and was not false, as alleged in Candidate Rentfrow's press release.
As far as the Blunier campaign being accused of falsehoods in their literature and attacking Candidate Rentfrow with false claims and information, that is simply not true.
Candidate Blunier's committee has only stressed the experience levels of the two candidates for the specific position of District Court judge.
The committee has offered to retract any statements that are indeed false, however, no one has come forward to say what, if anything, was not true.
The bottom line is that Candidate Blunier has had more than10,000 criminal cases in both District and Circuit court and Candidate Rentfrow has only had one case in Cass County District Court, and no criminal jury trials in any court.
Candidate Rentfrow stresses her experience, yet when the Blunier committee makes accurate representations as to the true level of experience of both candidates then Candidate Rentfrow falsely accuses the Blunier campaign of negative campaigning. The bottom line is, Candidate Rentfrow has experience in Family Court, but Candidate Blunier is the one with criminal District and Circuit Court experience, and the job they are vying for is District Court Judge. Whenever this is pointed out, it seems to anger the Rentfrow campaign and then accusations of negative campaigning are made. We have always contented and still believe that Candidate Rentfrow is a nice person, has a nice family and is an experienced attorney in Family Court, just not in District and Circuit court when it comes to criminal cases. We never wanted this campaign to be negative, just factual. Again, if I have stated anything that is not true, I invite anyone to contact me with proof of my failings and I will be happy to correct any false statements I have made. It is interesting to note, none of the information regarding Candidate Rentfrow's alleged violations of the Bingo Act would have become public knowledge had they not released the information themselves.