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In the end, @kdmcdonald2020 crushed 3-term incumbent Jessica Cooper by a nearly 2:1 margin. Let me explain why this one was so important to me personally:
Before I begin, it& #39;s important to understand:
1. For more than a decade before I delved into being a healthcare policy analyst, I was a freelance website developer.
2. I& #39;ve had a long-standing policy of not discussing details of past clients publicly. This is the sole exception.
1. For more than a decade before I delved into being a healthcare policy analyst, I was a freelance website developer.
2. I& #39;ve had a long-standing policy of not discussing details of past clients publicly. This is the sole exception.
Back in 2012, I was hired by Cooper (who was then in her first term as Oakland County Prosecutor) to develop her re-election campaign website. It wasn& #39;t a huge job, and the site itself was a fairly standard campaign site for a county-level position. Nothing unusual.
My working relationship with Cooper was, to put it politely, problematic. She wanted to "be on social media" but didn& #39;t want anyone to be able to write anything or respond in the comments, in case someone who didn& #39;t like her wrote something unflattering, and so on.
For the most part, it was standard "headache client" stuff. However, after the election, I sent a final invoice consisting of two charges: One was for annual renewal of the web hosting & domain names; the other was for some billable time for oddball updates to the website.
I explained that the hosting/domain renewal was optional; many political candidates understandably let their campaign sites expire after the election, especially if the domain name includes the year (i.e., "cooper2012" etc), which was the case here.
I noted that the renewal portion was optional, but the billable time portion (which only amounted to $120) wasn& #39;t. That was for work which had already been performed before the election.
I sent it in November & heard nothing back.
I re-sent it in December and heard nothing back.
I sent it in November & heard nothing back.
I re-sent it in December and heard nothing back.
I left a voicemail or two and heard nothing back.
Finally, in January 2013, I re-sent it a 3rd time and explained that if I didn& #39;t receive payment by a certain date, the web hosting would be terminated and deleted (but she still owed the $120 past-due amount).
Finally, in January 2013, I re-sent it a 3rd time and explained that if I didn& #39;t receive payment by a certain date, the web hosting would be terminated and deleted (but she still owed the $120 past-due amount).
I received the following response on January 3rd:
Setting aside that she owed $120, not $105, here you have the COUNTY PROSECUTOR issuing a veiled legal threat to a private vendor to whom she owed money (and it was a nominal amount, to boot).
She also clearly didn& #39;t understand how web hosting works, so I tried to explain:
She also clearly didn& #39;t understand how web hosting works, so I tried to explain:
She responded with the following on January 4, 2013:
I thought the hosting had been paid for thru 12/31/12; she thought it was paid thru 6/30/13. It turned out to be in the middle--the hosting was technically paid for thorough April 2013 because it had taken 4 months for her to actually *sign* the contract...
...and the wording of the hosting portion of the contract had been "1.75 years" as opposed to a specific end date.
I responded:
I responded:
I eventually did receive the $120 payment a few weeks later. Aside from some technical confusion re. domain transfers on the part of their *new* web host, I never heard from her or XXXXX again.
Since this incident, I& #39;ve been praying for someone to challenge her in the primary.
Since this incident, I& #39;ve been praying for someone to challenge her in the primary.
She& #39;d already won re-election in 2012 ( #FunFact: Her GOP opponent who she beat was MIKE BISHOP, who would then go on to become a U.S. Congressman, who would eventually be defeated by Elissa Slotkin in 2018!), and no one challenged her in 2016, so that was that...until now.
One more #FunFact: In 2016, Cooper& #39;s GOP opponent was Mike Goetz. In 2020, McDonald& #39;s GOP opponent will be...Lin Goetz, Mike Goetz& #39;s wife. Huh.
Anyway, if she had simply been a run of the mill pain in the ass client, I& #39;d have shrugged it off, but again, this was the COUNTY PROSECUTOR of a county with 1.3 million residents.
Before that, Cooper was a circuit court judge, a district court judge and an appeals court judge.
Before that, Cooper was a circuit court judge, a district court judge and an appeals court judge.
"destroying what does not belong to you has legal ramifications. I do not take kindly to being threatened.”
"Perhaps you should consult an attorney with regard to intellectual property law.”
You& #39;re a freelance vendor owed $100. She& #39;s the County Prosecutor.
"Perhaps you should consult an attorney with regard to intellectual property law.”
You& #39;re a freelance vendor owed $100. She& #39;s the County Prosecutor.
I debated going public before the primary, but I admit to still being concerned about her seeking retribution even after all this time. I& #39;m also chair of our local Dem club, which doesn& #39;t generally endorse in Dem primaries, which added an awkward twist.
Finally, a week ago, I decided to go to the press...but it was too close to the primary for them to bother (and I don& #39;t blame them...it involves $120 from 8 years earlier which *was* eventually paid in the end, so it wasn& #39;t exactly a major scandal).
Anyway, she lost, and she lost MASSIVELY, and I& #39;m very glad she lost.
I& #39;m also very happy that Karen McDonald appears to be pretty awesome in her own right--I was prepared to support even a "meh" challenger to Cooper, so I was thrilled to learn that McDonald is pretty awesome!
I& #39;m also very happy that Karen McDonald appears to be pretty awesome in her own right--I was prepared to support even a "meh" challenger to Cooper, so I was thrilled to learn that McDonald is pretty awesome!
With all that in mind, please support the Democratic NOMINEE for Oakland County Prosecutor, @kdmcdonald2020 so she prevails this November! https://mcdonaldforprosecutor.com/ ">https://mcdonaldforprosecutor.com/">...
P.S. One final thing to keep in mind: Cooper had just *WON* re-election.
I could sort of understand being petty and trying to get out of paying lingering debts if she had *lost*, but she had just WON her 2nd term in office. Sheesh.
I could sort of understand being petty and trying to get out of paying lingering debts if she had *lost*, but she had just WON her 2nd term in office. Sheesh.
AS AN ASIDE, in the couple of hours since I started this thread, I& #39;ve raised over $4,000 more for Democratic candidates at the state & federal level. :)
Let& #39;s keep it going! After yesterday& #39;s primaries in 5 states (AZ, MI, KS, MO & WA), I& #39;ve updated several of my fundraising pages accordingly.
First, help #ExpandTheBlueHouse by donating to these swing district candidates! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/expandthehouse2020">https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ex...
First, help #ExpandTheBlueHouse by donating to these swing district candidates! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/expandthehouse2020">https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ex...
Next, consider donating to some of these "Tier 2" races...they& #39;re long shots, but Dems need to #CompeteEverywhere (and we could get lucky on a few of them!): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/competeeverywhere2020">https://secure.actblue.com/donate/co...
