I grew up in Flint, but my mom and I moved away when I was in late elementary school. I still care about the city a great deal. Seven years ago, I became remotely acquainted with a man named Dayne Walling who was running a non-profit to raise scholarship money for kids in Flint Public Schools. I signed up to host a small fundraiser in San Francisco, where I lived at the time. Dayne sent me a box of t-shirts, which I sold, and sent him back some money for the cause.

Years later, I stayed in loose touch with Dayne and learned that he was running for mayor of Flint. I followed the campaign, and sent him a modest contribution. He won and currently serves as Flint’s Mayor. I receive regular  re-election campaign updates by email.

On May 26th, I received an email from an account titled “Flint Political News”. I’ve pasted it at the bottom of this post. It, as you can see, is gibberish, with two misspelled words in the first sentence (“swears” and “Minneapolis”). The email is unflattering to Mayor Walling, insinuating that he was about to be arrested by the FBI. I chalked it up to junk mail, as I’m on a number of political email lists, or I assumed someone had built a list and found my address somewhere on the web.

The next day, Brynna McGarry, a long-time staffer of Mayor Walling’s campaign sent me an email clarifying their position on the accusations in the May 26 email, and explaining that “an individual posing as a volunteer gained access to Dayne’s email list during the last campaign.  We apologize that you are receiving emails now in this person’s effort to smear Dayne and encourage you to unsubscribe.” I’ve also pasted Brynna’s email below.

I was shocked. I’ve worked in and around a lot of campaigns and I’ve never seen that tactic. I unsubscribed from the “Flint Political News” list and assumed that was the end of this story.

Then, yesterday, I got an email from the Committee to Elect Scott Smith, who is running against Dayne for mayor of Flint. (Again, I’ve pasted this email at the bottom of the post.) The Scott Smith email is professional, pointed, and personable. I read Mr. Smith’s biography and he seems like a good guy with decent ideas. I assume he’s a viable candidate. But I’m troubled by the fact that the only way the Scott campaign could have gotten my email was through this fake volunteer who took a list from the Walling campaign without authorization. The vast majority of people on the Walling list are probably Flint residents and they’re probably on several lists of local clubs, organizations, companies, and events. So they may not have paid attention to how Scott Smith got their contact info. I have never lived in Flint or had any official relationship with any entity in the city in my adult life besides my contribution to the Walling campaign. I’ve never attended any events in Flint, and never had any working relationships with anyone besides Dayne in Flint,  so I can only assume the Scott campaign is now using the untowardly-obtained Walling list.

To me, that elevates this from one wack job who’s crazy enough to fake volunteer for a campaign to steal an email list and who has the word processing power to send the disjointed message below. Now, an actual campaign that otherwise looks serious has endorsed this nasty tactic. That doesn’t bode well for what Flint citizens could expect if Mr. Smith is elected.

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May 26 email from “Flint Political News”:

City of Flint raided by FBI Agents

Walling Denies he is the Target!

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, swares he is not the target, but is this Minneaplois all over again? Zimmermann, who represented the city’s sixth ward from 2001 to 2005, was charged in a federal indictment with four counts, three involving allegations that he took $7,200 in cash bribes from a property developer, Gary A. Carlson. He was convicted on three of the charges.According to court records Walling participated in that investagation as well and a Blogger posted these records on Minneapolis Confidental.

Or is this a “Short Dick” story? Richard Short, who is locked up in the Genesee County Jail stated, “He was assisted by the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce as well as Flint Mayor Dayne Walling’s office.”

Photos from Google Images and Flint Journal

Falling Short, again?

By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal

FLINT, Michigan — At the same time convicted embezzler Richard A. Short was working on snagging a multimillion-dollar tax credit from the state with the promise of bringing jobs to Flint, authorities say he was scamming thousands of dollars from an 86-year-old neighbor with dementia.

Short, 57, was arraigned Friday on 24 counts of felony fraud — one count of obtaining money under false pretenses, two counts of embezzlement and 21 counts of illegally using a financial transaction device, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.

He faces up to life in prison because of his habitual offender status, Leyton said.

Authorities allege Short illegally obtained power of attorney for his 86-year-old female neighbor while he was out on parole and living with a friend in a Flint Township mobile home park, Leyton said.

At his arraignment, Short told the judge that associating the criminal charges with RASCO and his plans to bring jobs to Flint was “inappropriate.”

Still, Judge John L. Conover of Flint’s 67th District Court set a $9.2-million bond, nearly the same amount as the state tax credit he was approved for earlier in the week.

Continue Reading

Copyright © *2011* * Flint Political News*, All rights reserved.

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May 27 email from Brynna McGarry:

Dear Friends,

Dayne asked me to send you a brief note based on the most recent activities at City Hall with federal authorities. Here are a couple of facts:

Dayne is not the target of any investigation.  In fact, he has taken specific steps to cooperate fully with the proper authorities in order to speed up the investigation and its eventual outcome.

Because of the respect for the process, there is not more he can say right now, but we all know that there are a number of old messes in Flint that have to be fixed. This is one more challenge among many and it is important that we support Dayne through this. You can hear the conviction in his voice when you talk to him. He is fully committed to rooting out any waste and fraud in Flint.

Also, an individual posing as a volunteer gained access to Dayne’s email list during the last campaign.  We apologize that you are receiving emails now in this person’s effort to smear Dayne and encourage you to unsubscribe.

Please understand that Dayne will continue to work to make sure that our successes with job growth, grant funding, and neighborhood stabilization continue. Working together, we have come this far and there is much more to be done for our community. Thank you for your commitment to see this through.

Sincerely,

Bryanna McGarry
The Walling for Mayor Team

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June 21 email from the Committee to Elect Scott Smith: