Kim Gibbs Fell Fast & Was Extracted From Humanity

Kim seems to have had a long history in bankruptcies.

She also seems to have a history in tiny humans trust funds.

First, this happened...

Officials in Detroit suburb rebuke city commissioner who attended stay-at-home protest

Then, this happened...

Royal Oak mayor asks commissioner to resign after Lansing protest: Read the email

Then, this happened....

'I take full responsibility’: Royal Oak City Commissioner Kim Gibbs arrested for retail fraud

Then, this happened...

#maytheheavensfall

Royal Oak city commissioner Kim Gibbs dies at 48

 Kim Gibbs

Royal Oak — A city councilwoman who has been in the news over the past few months for attending an anti-lockdown rally and being arrested for shoplifting, died Thursday, two weeks after she was found unconscious in her Royal Oak home.

Kim Gibbs, 48, who had been on the city commission since 2017 and was running for an Oakland County commission seat this fall, had been comatose since Aug. 5, when her mother went to her Royal Oak address after she had not returned text messages for over a day.

Gibbs, who was single and lived alone, was taken to Beaumont Hospital, where she was put in hospice care two days ago. She died Thursday after life-support machines had been disconnected, said her friend and fellow councilman Randy LeVasseur. The cause of death is unknown.

“Kim never regained consciousness,” said LeVasseur. “I know she had been in an auto accident a few days before her mother found her and not sure if they might have had something to do with it.”

LeVasseur said Gibbs, who was diabetic, was dropping out of the county commissioner race due to health reasons.

“She had some medical problems but they certainly were aggravated by other things over the past four months,” he said. “She was under a great deal of stress.”

Subscribe for full access to stories, galleries, videos and more
Already a subscriber? Sign in for access
Learn about the benefits of subscribing
Story idea? Contact the staff
Gibbs made news April 15 after she was spotted, without a mask, attending a "Operation Gridlock" anti-lockdown rally in Lansing, leading her fellow commissioners to censure her.

She explained later she had attended the rally to "support the unheard voices of those who work for small business and may permanently lose their jobs" due to the state shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She complained afterward that she had received threatening emails and phone calls telling her to stay home.


In May, she was ticketed for shoplifting after attempting to leave a Royal Oak Meijer with unpaid groceries. She later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense and was sentenced to 12 months probation and community service.

In a public apology, Gibbs, an attorney, explained she was unemployed and made a bad decision over whether to spend money on insulin or food and chose insulin "because it keeps me alive." She rejected a suggestion by colleagues she resign from the city commission.

According to her friends, Gibbs was so traumatized by a series of personal attacks from acquaintances and strangers that she filed a police report and voice recording which had advised her to not leave her home. Following the April rally Gibbs self-quarantined and tested negative for the COVID-19 virus, friends said.

"I'm really disappointed, appalled, at how she was treated — by residents and by the city commission," said Pamela Lindell, one of Gibbs' Royal Oak friends. "It was like a witch hunt. If they would have asked citizens to march to city hall with pitchforks, I wouldn't have been surprised."

LIndell, who is running for Oakland County commission this November in Gibbs' place, said emails, including from some commissioners, were sent out before the censure vote encouraging citizens to call or email in on the pending action.

"They tormented her on social media, sent letters to her house, it was nonstop," said Lindell. "She wasn't mean, vindictive or a nasty person. I really believe they killed. You can't expect someone not to be affected by such treatment. She didn't deserve it."

Charles Semchena, a former Royal Oak city attorney and Gibbs' friend, described her as a quiet, gentle person who had been victimized by a politics and a "mob" of critics.

"She was a goldfish in a pond of sharks," Semchena said. "She was an advocate for neighborhoods and the Farmer's Market and often found herself opposed to actions a majority of other commissioners wanted to pursue.


Semchena said Gibbs called him on Aug. 3, two days before she was found, and asked him to help her locate a rental car after her own vehicle had been seriously damaged the weekend before by a hit-and-run driver on Telegraph Road.

"As we were riding to the rental she appeared physically fine but complained she was continuing to have panic attacks and was unable to sleep," he said. "She discussed disturbing emails and calls she received and was very upset about being censured by her fellow commissioners. She was humiliated by that.

"She said she planned to talk with a doctor and I assumed she meant that day in a teleconference," Semchena said.

"At one point she said, 'I think they're trying to kill me and they just might succeed.'"

City Commissioner Kyle DuBuc described Gibbs' death as "terrible... tragic."

"Our prayers go out for her and her loved ones," DuBuc said.

LeVasseur, who went to court this week to get Gibbs’s mother appointed her guardian and conservator, said funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Tales Of The New Crown: United Shores Got The Cooties

Helicopters all day.

Sirens all night.

I am being serenaded.

53 coronavirus cases linked to mortgage company United Shore

Fifty-three employees of Pontiac-based mortgage company United Shore have contracted coronavirus since June 29, and among them are some who worked in the company's headquarters when face masks weren't worn in violation of the governor's executive orders, according to Oakland County's top public health official.

County Health Officer Leigh-Anne Stafford slapped United Shore with an "Emergency Order" Wednesday afternoon, demanding the company enforce social distancing rules, require face coverings and begin daily illness screenings at the office. The order also tells the company to encourage employees to work from home, when possible.

https://unitedshore.com/

Failure to obey the order is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months prison time and $200-per-day in fines.

United Shore is believed to be the first business in Oakland County to have more than 50 employees get COVID-19, according to Stafford.

A company spokesperson said United Shore has  reviewed Stafford's order and believes the company  is in full compliance with its requests.

The order says that Oakland County Health Division received numerous complaints about the mortgage company violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders that mandate face coverings when indoors and require "minimal activities for business operations."

In an interview, Stafford said some of the employees who fell ill had been working from home, a circumstance that suggests that not all 53 COVID-19 cases may be connected to United Shore's headquarters office on South Boulevard in Pontiac.

“It is not necessarily United Shore; they just reported as being employed by United Shore," she said. "There's a lot of graduation parties going on right now ... there’s lots of activities that people are doing with groups of people."

The United Shore spokesperson issued a statement saying the company's office is operating at less than 50% capacity, and all workers who have returned have done so voluntarily or have a job that requires in-person attendance.

For those working from home, returning to the office is optional until January 2021.

"We have also taken additional precautions to keep team members safe, such as placing acrylic shields between desks, enforcing mandatory masks and providing free masks, making gloves available, installing extra hand sanitizer stations throughout the building, closing the gym and more," the company's statement said.






It continued, "If at any time a team member is exhibiting COVID symptoms, feeling ill, or we are notified of a positive COVID test, the team member along with anyone they have been in close contact with is sent to work from home immediately until a doctor’s note is provided allowing them to return."

The spokesperson said the sickened employees appear to be doing well and are anticipating full recoveries.

United Shore employs about 6,500 people and is one of the fastest-growing companies in Michigan, even hiring 1,500 new employees this spring and summer amid the coronavirus pandemic and recession. United Shore CEO Mat Ishbia has attributed his company's latest growth spurt to exceptionally low mortgage rates that have spurred refinancings and home purchases.

The company's primary business is wholesale mortgage lending, which is borrowing money to underwrite the loans of mortgage brokers. It is ranked No. 1 nationwide in that category by industry publications.

It competes with Detroit-based Quicken Loans in wholesale lending, although the majority of Quicken's business involves direct-to-consumer mortgage lending, which United Shore doesn't do.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

WXYZ FOIA Opens Up Email Scandal With Oakland County Commissioner

This is part of that foreign invasion I have been telling everyone about for the last 10 years.

DELETED EMAILS: Oakland County commissioner admits to telling colleagues to DELETE emails, after getting FOIA request from Heather Catallo WXYZ and Simon Shaykhet WXYZ this week. The emails involve the discussion of replacing the late county executive L. Brooks Patterson, who passed away from cancer days ago.

Family of L. Brooks Patterson calls board's decision 'unforgivable' and 'offensive'

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners have pushed back, for a second time, a meeting to consider appointing a new county executive.

Earlier Thursday, the family of the late L. Brooks Patterson expressed their disappointment following Acting Board Chair Marcia Gershenson's, D-Bloomfield Township, decision to consider the appointment during a 9:30 a.m. regularly-scheduled meeting on Aug. 15, the day of Patterson's funeral. 

A few hours after the family released a statement calling the decision "unforgivable", Gershenson switched gears, opting to hold the meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 16. 

"Out of respect for the family, we decided to move the meeting to Friday," said Gershenson. "We also heard from a lot of our constituents so we made the change to the interview process." 

The board will consider an appointment at that meeting following a five-day public application process and committee review of applications. The appointee would finish out Patterson's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2020. 

A community says goodbye to L. Brooks Patterson

Mary Margaret Patterson Warner said her father was a softee and someone who had a lot of love to give. 

Commissioner Dave Woodward resigns, public applications sought for county executive

A Thursday meeting to select the next county executive has been canceled and the leading candidate for the position has resigned from the boar…

Mary Margaret Patterson Warner, one of Patterson's daughters, called the board's initial decision to host a meeting the morning of her father's funeral a "heartless play for power."

"This is unforgivable and has offended the Patterson family," said Warner. "Our father has earned and deserves more respect than this.”

Gerald Poisson, who was sworn in as county executive Saturday following Patterson's death, said the board's decision was "inappropriate." He called the new interview process a "spectacle" and "sham.'

Poisson will remain the county executive until the board appoints a new one or a special election is held next spring. Per state law, the board has 30 days from Patterson's death to appoint a new executive. 

Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner said he agrees with the Patterson family. Meisner said he will not submit an application and continue working towards seeking the nomination in 2020. 

Board chair Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, resigned as county commissioner late Wednesday. He will be submitting an application for board consideration to become county executive. 

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

MDP Has A New Spokestoken

Brandon Dillon & Lavora Barnes

Brandon knows when to high tail it.

Can you say "Election Interference" in Oakland County?

No?

Well, I can.

She is absolutely clueless and is being used as a cut out op.

Michigan Democrats to elect new leader of state party

DETROIT (AP) - Michigan Democrats are poised to elect a new leader of the state party.

Democrats are gathering at Detroit’s Cobo Center for their convention Saturday. There are seven declared candidates, but the favorite to become the next chair is Lavora Barnes, who has worked as the Michigan Democratic Party’s chief operating officer for more than three years.

She has the backing of new Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, labor unions and others.

Current party chairman Brandon Dillon decided not to seek re-election after Democrats in November flipped control of top state offices and two congressional seats while making gains in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Barnes, who joined President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign after working many years as a staffer in the Michigan House, was later a deputy clerk/register of deeds in Oakland County.

She won.

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR PROPERTY TAX CASE

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear a case later this year in which officials took a man’s property for $8.41 in unpaid taxes.

The Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear a case later this year over government officials having confiscated a man’s property for $8.41 in unpaid interest on taxes and kept the $24,500 it fetched at auction.

Uri Rafaeli failed to pay the interest owed on property taxes for a rental property several years ago. Oakland County, Michigan eventually foreclosed on his property for the $8.41 plus $277 in additional interest and fees. The county sold his property at an auction in 2014 for $24,500 and kept the whole amount.

Rafaeli sued Oakland County for the difference, but a trial court ruled he had forfeited his property. An appeals court agreed.

The appeals court said the officials acted properly under the state’s General Property Tax Act, which requires officials to take property for any amount of unpaid taxes and keep all the proceeds if they sell it.

Fifth Amendment Case

The Pacific Legal Foundation asked the Michigan Supreme Court to review the case on the grounds Michigan’s General Property Tax Act violates property owners’ Fifth Amendment rights, says PLF attorney Christina Martin.

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the government cannot take private property “for public use, without just compensation.”

“The fundamental problem is that the Act fails to recognize that equity in real estate is protected by the Takings Clause in the U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution’s counterpart: Article X, Section 2,” said Martin.

“[The Act] claims the power to entirely swallow that equity, no matter how valuable the property or how small the debt,” Martin said.

‘More Than It Is Owed’

Martin says she hopes the Michigan Supreme Court will rule that when the government seizes property, it does not have a constitutional right to keep more than what the former property owner owes the government.

“We recognize that government has the power to sell property to collect a debt, including statutory penalties, costs, and interest,” said Martin. “But when government takes and sells property to collect a debt, it should not be allowed to keep more than it is owed. But that’s exactly what Michigan’s General Property Tax Act purports to authorize.”

A favorable ruling in Rafaeli’s case would require the government to give him the remaining funds from the auction of his property.

Most states do refund the surplus, says Martin, but Michigan is one of a few states which either require or allow the government to keep all the profits from the sale of private property.

Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oregon have such laws.

“At minimum, to respect the Takings Clause, when the government sells property to collect a tax debt, it should have to refund the surplus profits from the sale of foreclosed property to the former owners,” Martin said.

“In Rafaeli’s case, that would mean the government should have refunded the $24,215 from the sale of [his] house, which exceeded [his] tax debt, interest, penalties, and fees,” Martin said.

‘Poor Discretion’

Although the General Property Tax Act allows for seizure of property, it is against common sense for the government to keep more than it is due, says Patrick Wright, vice president of legal affairs at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

“It is fair to say that regardless of the constitutionality, refusing to accept a late payment for $8 is ridiculous,” said Wright. “The county officials seem to have exercised poor discretion in deciding to process this.”

Michigan’s property laws are primarily meant to be sources of revenue, like all tax laws, Wright said. “The presumption would be that people should pay a portion of the tax commensurate with the value of property.”

Oakland County made $22.5 million from tax foreclosure auctions from 2006 to 2015, according to the Detroit News.

The foundation’s appeal brief is due in February, and oral arguments before the court “will most likely be scheduled for October 2019,” Martin said.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©