Why Carmella Sabaugh Deserves Your Support on Tuesday

There's not a whole lot that we hear about when it comes to the Secretary State. What do they do, how do they do it, and more importantly why is the SOS a partisan position?
All very good and very real questions that many of us have wondered for most of our lives.
Straight from the state's website...

The Department of State is the oldest department of Michigan state government and is administered by the secretary of state. Elected to a 4-year term, the secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of government and has constitutional as well as statutory duties.

The department collects nearly $2 billion in revenue each year. Those monies are distributed between the Michigan Transportation Fund and the General Fund and are used for a variety of other purposes as required by law.

The Department of State has contact with more Michigan residents than any other state agency.

The mission of the Department of State is to provide the most efficient and effective services to the people of Michigan through the licensing of drivers and the registration and titling of vehicles; the regulation of automobile dealers and repair facilities; the registration of voters and administration of elections; and the streamlined collection of revenue.

Terry Lynn Land (R) is the current Secretary of State, hailing from Kent County (Tricky Dick's territory). Problem is, she's not doing a proper job, and risking Michigan elections in the process.

Even Dick DeVos' running mate, Ruth Johnson (herself the Oakland County Clerk) has publically criticized Land for her failure of election equipment to protect against voter fraud.

"With no alternative, I would like to make a formal complaint against ES&S and ask that you investigate these problems... Secretary Land, Oakland County would not accept this behavior or these product failings from any other vendor." Republican Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, currently the Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate, in a May 5, 2006 letter to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land

(Be sure to check out the video and see Johnson's letter to Land here.) Ouch!


Land was also responsible for sending out this postcard to voters at the whopping cost of $1.9 Million dollars. Read how terrible it was here.
Credit to Matt at MichiganLiberal for getting to the bottom of it.

So why Carmella Saubaugh?

Well for starters, Carmella's another great Michigan woman, born, raised, educated, and dedicated her life to serving the people of our great state.

• Born Carmella Visconti August 3, 1938 in Detroit
• Baptized at San Francisco Catholic Church in Detroit
• Orphaned at age 8
  
• Raised by aunt and uncle in Detroit
  
• Graduated from Denby High School in Detroit, January 1956
  
• Awarded a scholarship from the Detroit Board of Education
  
• Attended Wayne State University
  
• Warren resident, Michigan's third largest city
  
• Mother of five children, all graduates of Warren Woods Public Schools and
  
• Michigan colleges and universities
  
• Honored as Italian American Woman of the Year in 2005 by the Italian Cultural Center

And then there's her long history of serving all of Michigan's people.

• Elected to Warren City Council , 1975-1979
• Elected Warren City Clerk in 1979
• Served as Warren City Clerk for 11 years
• Elected Macomb County Clerk in 1992
  
• Re-elected as Macomb County Clerk 1996, 2000, 2004
• Second highest vote-getter countywide in 2004
• Past president of Macomb County Clerks' Association

Since being elected to serve, Carmella's achievements are long and vast and she clearly has a proven record of working for the people of Michigan. Here are just a few, but the entire list is here.

• Sabaugh was the first county clerk to partner with the Social Security Administration to create a system allowing quick electronic verification of birth certificates to prevent fraud.

• First Michigan clerk to post online the names of candidate committees failing to pay campaign finance fees.
• First Michigan clerk to create an online concealed weapons permit system letting CCW permit applicants securely check their own application status.
• Let students “learn and earn” by hiring more student election inspectors than has ever been hired in an official capacity in Macomb County.
• Was the first county clerk in Michigan to offer evening hours, making it easier for working people to get their vital records and get personal service.
• Placed Macomb County among the most accountable in Michigan by putting county and local candidates’ campaign finance reports on the Internet free of charge.

Carmella Saubaugh - the only candidate for Secretary of State that's looking out for your best interests.