The Michigan Conservative Dossier

MIRS NEWS
The Case Of The 300,000 McCain Fliers

A pair of Republican activists let go as part of John McCAIN’s major Michigan scale-down were threatened with legal action by the Michigan Republican Party (MRP) on Monday evening when they attempted to dole out 300,000 McCain door hangers to local activists.

With the blessing of Jennifer HALLOWELL, the McCain campaign’s regional manager, the activists had loaded dozens of boxes of door hangers onto a truck when MRP Executive Director Jeff TIMMER called, the activists told MIRS.

Apparently, Timmer told the activists that the MRP had paid for the literature, the activists were not to touch it and if one piece of literature was moved, the police would be called, said Scott GREENLEE, the former deputy director of the MRP’s Victory operation and the person who had organized the distribution effort. The boxes were put back in the exact spot at the McCain Victory Center in Farmington Hills and activists went home.

“To say it was one of the strangest things I have seen in politics is correct,” Greenlee wrote in an e-mail distributed to folks within Republican circles. “The brochures do no good in the office. They need to be out in people’s hands to help keep the polls close and give us momentum.”

MRP Spokesman Bill NOWLING said the matter was simply an instance where some recently let-go employees of the McCain-Republican effort needed to be reminded that they were not authorized to distribute the literature. The MRP bought the lit so it could be put on doorknobs throughout the state three days before Election Day.

Nowling said he didn’t believe there were any threats of legal action.

Greenlee said the first thing Timmer told him when he picked up the phone was that the conversation was being recorded so “it’s admissible in a court of law.” Asked if MIRS could listen to Timmer’s alleged tape recording to put the question of legal threats to rest, Nowling said, “no.”

“There’s no misunderstanding here,” Nowling said. “Some people didn’t understand that they were no longer employees and had no authority to move those boxes. Once that was clarified, the boxes were put back.”

The case speaks to the frustration leftover when nearly 50 paid staffers from the McCain campaign and the MRP were either reassigned or laid off when McCain pulled significant resources out of the state for other battleground states (See “McCain Sheds The Mitten,” 10/2/08).

Greenlee said on Saturday, the day after he declined an offer to go out-of-state to help McCain elsewhere, he was speaking with other activists who were determined to volunteer their time to help McCain win Michigan. The roughly 250 boxes of literature that had been sitting in McCain headquarters in Farmington Hills were mentioned.

The lit had apparently been sitting there for more than a week and grassroots activists were clamoring to receive more material that could be handed out at the doors. Greenlee e-mailed Hallowell and asked if he could pick up the lit and distribute it to the McCain point-people across the state using the same distribution formula that had been used to distribute yard signs and bumper stickers.

Greenlee said the e-mail he received back read, “Absolutely, thank you!”

So with Hallowell’s blessing, the Grand Rapids man rented a truck and drove to Farmington Hills. Once there, he, Justin ZATKOFF and two other volunteers began loading the boxes into the truck.

Behind the scenes, the situation is being described as another battle in the turf war between MRP Chair Saul ANUZIS and his loyalists and former Michigan National Committeeman Chuck YOB, who is in tight with the recently departed McCain operation in Michigan. Greenlee and Zathoff are seen as “Yob” loyalists.

In an e-mail to Republican supporters, MRP Political Director Larry WARD wrote, “This is an example of game-playing that is distracting from our efforts this fall. It has been leaked to the press and being circulated by the same old group of troublemakers who are more interested in intra-party political silliness than helping Republicans win general elections.”

Yob told MIRS today he knew nothing about the literature pieces being moved until after the incident. He stressed that he didn’t ask anybody to move anything. A call to Hallowell was not returned.

Greenlee said that nobody is disgruntled. Both he and Zatkoff want a McCain victory in Michigan and his motivation was simply to arm grassroots activists with campaign material. For his part, Zathoff said, “I would not go over there if I were you as you may get arrested as well. I have never heard of anything like this in politics.”

Today, you may have received an email from a disgruntled former employee, Justin Zatkoff that is an example of game-playing that is distracting from our efforts this fall.  It has been leaked to the press and being circulated by the same old group of troublemakers that are more interested in intra-party political silliness than helping Republicans win general elections.

To make our situation clear, I just wanted to fill you in on some information regarding equipment, collateral materials and supplies as we allocate resources in the coming days.

Since last Thursday when the news came out about the McCain campaigns withdrawal from Michigan, we have been actively working on a plan to allocate remaining resources around the state.

In the meantime, there have been several individuals, including some disgruntled former employees, who have tried to take advantage of the situation by stealing cell phones, and other electronic equipment, as well as substantial amounts of collateral materials.  In at least one instance there was an employee who vandalized their victory center on the way out the door.

We have done everything in our power to hold on to these resources until we can re-allocate them appropriately.  Some of those decisions had to wait until we had a chance to determine which victory centers would stay open and which staff would stay in place.  Some of these resources are designed specifically for the 72 hour program.  If we disperse that now, we will have nothing for the final days of the campaign.

I would like to assure you of three things:

1. we are implementing a plan to make sure that what precious resources we have are distributed and used to maximum benefit for the entire state
2. we will do whatever is necessary to protect any of our equipment and resources from “growing legs” and walking out the door
3. We will prosecute anyone who attempts to take valuable collateral or equipment that belongs to the Republican party or the victory program and inhibits our effort to achieve victory in November.

Unfortunately this is what happens when there is any kind of confusion and I thank you for your patience and confidence in our efforts.

Larry Ward
Political Director, Michigan Republican Party
8th District GOP Chairman

Justin Zatkoff who is often the focus of this blog was terminated from his MIGOP Victory Center staff job on Friday the 3rd by his own ommission.

This morning Zatkoff sent out an email saying that he was trying to “distribute” McCain literature when MRP Executive Director Jeff Timmer called him and told him that if he took any literature he would call the police.

This apparently makes sense to everyone besides Zatkoff who understand that sometimes disgruntled employees perform acts of sabotage. It’s my guess that the MRP felt that Zatkoff may throw the literature in a dumpster as opposed to distributing it. Given his history, it’s not too far fetched.

Below is Zatkoff’s email:

From: Justin Zatkoff <jzatkoff@me.com>
Date: October 7, 2008 7:59:00 AM GMT-04:00
To: Justin Zatkoff <jzatkoff@me.com>
Subject: Sorry, No Literature Today

Hey Everyone,

Hey – I know that I told you I would get your county’s allotment of the 300,00 pieces of the John McCain literature over to your HQ last night and this morning, but a funny thing happened.  Sad actually. As you know, that literature has been sitting in Farmington since last week and hasn’t gone out to anyone!  This literature does us no good sitting in the office collecting dust when it could be out in the hands of our grassroots activists! In accordance with our arrangements with the County and McCain grassroots leaders, like you, we were going to get it out all over the state as mentioned and had a plan to get it everywhere in the state in 48 hours – most places by this morning (or last night!), and even had direction from Jennifer Hallowell, the Regional Campaign Manager of the McCain Campaign, to do so.

Anyway, we got the van half loaded (a lot of work to load 300,000 pieces of lit!) and then got a call from Jeff Timmer, the Executive Director of MIGOP, who had heard about our plan to distribute literature to you guys. The first thing he said was, “I’m recording this conversation so it’s admissible in a court of law.”  Then Jeff Timmer told us that if we take even 1 piece of literature he was going to call the police and have us arrested. Seriously! All because we want to keep fighting here in Michigan and deliver the lit to people who need it – like you. He was going to have us a arrested for this!

I am really frustrated by all of this. Actually, three of us volunteers yesterday were those who got fired from the Michigan GOP Victory Program on Friday. And we still wanted to help turn Michigan red! Two of them even drove over from Grand Rapids and paid for gas and a van to do this.  Anyway, I guess I can’t help on this one, and I would not go over there if I were you as you may get arrested as well.  I have never heard of anything like this in politics.  What good does the stuff do over there in an office?  When will they ever get it out?  Oh well, as I mentioned I am frustrated and venting now.

Take care and I will keep trying to help you as much as I am able to.
__________
Justin Zatkoff

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