Cocktails & Popcorn: Brenda Jones Is Going To Meet Paul Ryan In D.C. - Congress Forgot To Pass The Special Election Resolution

On this exciting episode of Cocktails & Popcorn, Nancy Pelosi has been nominated Speaker of the House for the 116th Congress with Hakeem Jeffries as the Congressional Caucus Chair.

Pelosi Wins Democratic Caucus Nomination for Speaker

Hakeem Jeffries Wins Democratic Caucus Chair Race Against Barbara Lee

Now, what exactly does that mean for Detroit?

Let us begin with the City of Detroit Election Commission.

Detroit Election Commission

The Detroit Election Commission consists of the City Clerk, Janice Winfrey, Corporate Counsel, Larry Garcia, and the Mayor Pro Tem, Brenda Jones, who just so happened to be a Democratic Candidate for the 13th Congressional District Special Election.

Brenda won but the Primary Election was so jacked.

Really jacked.

I mean jacked beyond belief.

The Primary Election was so jacked the Wayne County Board of Canvassers had to pass it off the State Board of Canvassers who has yet, as of this posting, to certify and record the Primary Election of 2018.

The following is a complaint by a 2018 Primary Election worker, Yvonne Cross, to Janice Winfrey on the fraud that took place on her watch.

Detroit Election Commission... by on Scribd

Janice told Yvonne that she was to come testify in front of the Detroit Election Commission, but the day of the hearing, she told Yvonne that it was cancelled and that her complaint would be sent to the State Board of Canvassers where she would testify in Lansing.

But that never happened.

So, I am posting Yvonne's complaint so the public can learn what went on in her precincts, oh, and also to let the public know that the Detroit Election Commission threw her complaint in the trash.

Now, you understand why the Primary Election, including the Special Election, could never, ever be certified, but it was.

Wayne County Board of Canvassers

Jonathon Kinloch presides as chair of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers.

MINUTES OF MEETING WAYNE COUNTY BOARD OF CANVASSERS 2018 Primary Election Certification 8-21-2018 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Wayne County Clerk has no record
of my vote for the 2018 Primary
and Special Elections.

The vote was never certified because it never addressed any of the Primary Election, including the Special Election complaints, or irregularities, as witnessed above.

As a matter of fact, I can prove my vote and the majority of the vote of my Precinct were not counted.

Kinloch certified the 2018 Primary Election but not the Special Election because there is no report and it was deferred to the Michigan Secretary of State Board of Canvassers.

Michigan Secretary of State Board of Canvassers

These are the members of the State Board of Canvassers:

Chair: Norman D. Shinkle - Republican
Vice-Chair: Julie Matuzak - Democrat
Jeannette Bradshaw - Democrat
Colleen Pero - Republican


Jeannette Bradshaw was not in attendance for the certification of the 2018 Primary & Special Elections.

Her absence was wise because the certification and recording of the vote becomes partisan, and that is never a good thing, particularly when dealing with such a historic and litigious action.

The 2018 Special Election was never certified nor recorded, because the Wayne County and Michigan Board of Canvassers never certified nor recorded the vote for the 13th Congressional District.

So, if the 13th Congressional District Special Election was never certified, nor recorded, that would mean that the rest of the Primary Elections could not be certified.

Michigan Board of Canvassers Certification of Wayne County 2018 Special Election Minutes 08-24-18 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

So, this takes us to the next lever for certification of the vote.

The U.S. Speaker of the House

Paul Ryan, U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives115th Congress

Paul Ryan is the U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 115th Congress.

How can Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan was mean to my Sweetie.

Nancy Pelosi was mean to my Sweetie.

Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi are going to be mean to my Sweetie, again.

How Congress can pass a special resolution enter the recording of the certification of the 2018 Special Election if it was never certified?

http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx

NOTE TO SELF: PULL H.R. 1161 ONCE THE INK DRIES FROM THE HOPPER

How is Paul going to swear in Brenda if there is not even a vote count for the 2018 Special Election?

How is Nancy going to swear in Rashida Tlaib in the 116th Congress when the 2018 elections were so jacked up?

It does not matter because Hakeem Jeffries now possesses the powers to initiate expulsion.

But hey, what do I know

I know that you need to get popcorn.

We are dealing with "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) so you are definitely going to need cocktails for this one, too.

Jones to be sworn into Congress after deal reached

Washington — Democrat Brenda Jones is expected to become Michigan's newest congresswoman when she takes the oath of office Thursday after U.S. House leaders reached a deal on seating her. 

It is the first time Michigan's 13th District will have representation in the U.S. House in nearly a year, since the resignation of former Rep. John Conyers Jr. last December.

Jones, 59, of Detroit will only serve a matter of weeks until January after winning a special election this month to finish out Conyers' term. She lost her bid to replace Conyers next year to former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit.

House Speaker Paul Ryan had delayed seating Jones in part because she has not stepped down from her position as president of Detroit City Council, and there's no precedent for an individual to serve in the U.S. House while holding locally elected office.

“The House had a precedent dating from 1909 that made clear that service as both a member of Congress and a state or local official were not compatible. However, Ms. Jones was duly elected by the constituents of the 13th District of Michigan," Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said Thursday.

"Ms. Jones has written the speaker and indicated that she will abide by guidance from the Ethics Committee to minimize the conflict between her service as a member and her duties on the Detroit City Council during the short time she’s here. The House will carve out a narrow exception to the 1909 precedent."

Prior to the administration of the oath around noon Thursday, the House is expected to adopt a resolution authorizing Ryan as speaker to swear in Jones, effectively creating an exception to the earlier precedent.

Under the deal between Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Jones may accept no pay from Detroit's council and participate in no council votes while serving in Congress — conditions advised by counsel to the House Ethics Committee and which Jones previously attested to.

Ryan's office had previously warned that any House member could have objected to Jones holding two offices, at which point the matter would have been referred to the House Committee on Administration. 

While the Constitution doesn't prohibit members from simultaneously holding state or local office, the House has historically taken the position that "high state office is incompatible with congressional membership," as stated in the House Ethics Manual.

But Jones this week released a copy of the unofficial opinion provided by counsel for the House Ethics Committee that said her position with Detroit City Council "does not appear to be incompatible" with her potential position in the U.S. House.

The Ethics Committee counsel said Jones' dual office-holding is only compatible given the "very limited time" Jones would be representing Michigan; given that she does not accept compensation from the council (including back pay); and given the council remains in recess during her term in Congress.

The opinion gave the example of a mayorship that overlapped three days with a House position and was not considered an incompatible office by the Ethics Committee when the House member did not accept pay for the mayoral position and recused from all work on behalf of the city for that time. 

The House precedent from 1909 that Strong referred to relates to GOP Rep. George L. Lilley, who was sworn in as governor of Connecticut without resigning his House seat.

In Lilley's case, the Judiciary Committee determined that serving as governor and congressman to be incompatible and recommended vacating the office and removing Lilley's name from the clerk's rolls. The House later agreed to a resolution to that effect. 

Jones' brief stint in the House will likely be among the shortest in history but won't set a record.  

That distinction belongs to George Sheridan and Effingham Lawrence of Louisiana, who both served for one day only on March 3, 1875 — the final day of the 43rd Congress.

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