Page 2-Wednesday, July 26, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Petition opening upsets
LANSING (UPI) - Tax cut cam- vision. He said all the petitions were donors will be asked to give to the new
paigner Robert Tisch, insisting his returned to the box. ballot campaign, however.
group violated no laws, yesterday filed Tisch, who launched his campaign for
his organizational papers with the state a 50 per cent property tax cut on April THE CHECKS were tied together in
two weeks after submitting petitions to 29, was notified nearly two weeks ago two long strings, and Tisch waved them
place his proposal on the ballot. that he may have violated the reporting around for the benefit of the cameras.
At an impromptu news conference requirements of the state's campaign He said he did not know how many
outside a secretary of state's office, the finance reform law. checks there were, but there appeared
Shiawassee County drain com- The law requires groups advocating to be about70.
missioner charged state officials ballot propositions to file organizational The tall, gangly Laingsburg native
violated a promise by opening sealed and financial statements. The said none of the checks - made out to
boxes containing his petitions. He said organizational statement must be filed him personally - were cashed. He has
some of the petitions may have been 10 days after the group is formed - said he and his wife bankrolled the
removed from the building. when it receives or spends $200 or more. petition drive.
"That makes us legal, fellas," Tisch
BERNARD APOL, director of the THE LAW provides fines for failure said after filing the statement.
secretary of state's elections division, to file on time. The status of the ballot
said some petitions were removed from proposals themselves is not affected, "I DON'T SEE that any law has been
one box and copied under strict super- however. broken at all," Tisch said.
The organizational statement filed Tisch, who has brashly pledged to go
yesterday lists July 15 as the date of to jail rather than pay any fines, said he
THE MICHIGAN DAILY formation for Tisch's group, the Tisch does not expect to be fined.
Wednesday, July No 1 Coalition for Property Tax Cut in He said he was "damned disturbed"
is edited and managed by students at the University Michigan. about reports that petition boxes were
of Michigan. News phone 764-0562. Second class Tisch said "a few thousand dollars" opened. He said he was promised the
postage is paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. in contribution checks he received seal on the boxes would not be broken
Published daily Tuesday through Saturday morning beginning May 10 will be returned. The without an observer from his
during the University -year at 420 Maynard Street.
TisC
organization being present.,
APOL SAID he was unaware Tisch
was unhappy about the handling of the
petitions.
"Everything that's filed here is sub-
ject to the freedom of information act,"
he said.
Among those reportedly receiving
copies of Tisch petitions was Tom
Downs, an attorney.
DOWNS, AN EXPERT on elections,
said he found several flaws in the
petitions.
Apol said state examiners will start
inspecting the petitions next week. He
said the checking process will take
about two weeks.
A spokesman for the campaign finan-
ce reporting office said a superficial
check of the Tisch statement will be
made in a few days. He said the date of
formation will not be double checked
until the Tisch group files its first
financial statement which is not due for
well over a month.
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IT'S
If you see it happening,
call the tatI at 764-
0552
VOTED TO KEEP SHERIFF OFF BALLOT:
Canvasser gave to Spreen foe
LANSING (UPI) - One of the four
state canvassers who voted to keep
Oakland County Sheriff Johannes
Spreen out of the Democratic primary
for governor is a campaign contributor
and law partner of another candidate.
Detroit attorney Wallace Riley con-
tributed $200 to the gubernatorial cam-
paign of state Sen. Patrick McCollough,
(D-Dearborn). McCollough also is a
member of a law firm headed by Riley
and George Roumell.
Despite his financial support of Mc-
Collough's campaign, however, Riley
serves as a Republican member of the
bi-partisan Board of State Canvassers.
RILEY AND the three other board
members voted for the second time last
Friday to keep Spreen off the ballot.
The board found that Spreen was more
than 2,100 short of the 17,674 valid
signatures he needed to enter the
primary.
Riley was the board member who
made the motion to rule Spreen off the
ballot. That action had been recom-
mended by the staff of the state Elec-
tions Division.
Spreen said yesterday he will
challenge the board's decision but has
not yet decided in which court he will
appeal.
RILEY, IN A telephone interview,
said he sees no conflict in the fact that
he is an associate and campaign con-
tributor of McCollough and voted to
keep one of his opponents off the ballot.
"Everyone here in the law office gave
him a small contribution to get him
started," he said.
"I'm not in his campaign or involved'
in it in any way. In fact, he really hasn't
been active in the office for about a
year now - ever since he started cam-
paigning."
CAMPAIGN records show Riley's
contribution to McCollough's campaign
was made last October. Under the
campaign funding law, McCollough
also wa§ able to collect another $200
from the state, making Riley's con-
tribution worth a total of $400.
"I don't see any conflict," Riley said.
"I suppose there are a lot of members
of the board who've contributed to
campaigns."
Riely said Spreen's candidacy "was
doomed from the outset."
"THERE'S NO way he could have
made it," Riley said, noting that Spreen
filed just over the minimum signatures
needed. A 15-to-20 per cent cushion of
signatures is recommended to make up
for invalid signatures.
"This isn't a question of Spreen ver-
sus anybody else," he said. "It's a
question of Spreen meeting the
statutory requirements to get on the
ballot - and he didn't."
'I don't see any conflict.'
-Canvasser
Wallace Riley
Riley said he also has contributed to
the campaign of Republican Gov.
William Milliken.
AN AIDE TO McCollough said he
agreed with Riley that no conflict
existed.
"He wasn't representing Pat - he
was there as a Republican member of
the board,"' said Larry Tokarksi.
"I don't think he's probably though
about it - we hadn't."
Tokarksi said McCollough and Riley
"rarely see each other."
The other Democrats in the primary
for governor are state Sen. William Fit-
zgerald of Detroit, former Public Ser-
vice Commission member William
Ralls of Okemos and East Lansing ac-
tivist attorney Zolton Ferency.
perodic)
Rctrea
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