Hall Attacks Mayor, Rodgers, in Tirade After News of Recount Request
MIDLAND, Mich. — Pam Hall, the recent victor in the race for the Ward 1 seat on the Midland City Council, went on a public tirade Thursday on Facebook after news broke that her opponent, Jeremy Rodgers, will formally request a recount.
Ms. Hall’s bombastic comments attacked Midland Mayor Maureen Donker and falsely accused Mr. Rodgers of being a white supremacist and of conspiring with the Midland County Sheriff “to do illegal background checks” and of “shameless cheating.”
“Jeremy Rodgers is arrogant, like Trump. It is disturbing our mayor supports him. Several people have approached me about their own interest in Ward 2 over the last couple years I’ve served because of her indifference to protecting citizens,” Ms. Hall wrote. “People like her and Annette Glenn are extensions of the worst kind of male privilege and do not truly help free other women. They are Stepford Wives, Handmaiden’s Tale.”
Ms. Hall defeated Mr. Rodgers 1362 votes to 1351 votes, a difference of just 11. Mr. Rodgers announced Wednesday night that he would formally request a recount of the votes.
“Privileged arrogant white boys like Trump demand recounts,” Ms. Hall wrote. “Women stop enabling these ‘polite’ narcissists, Harvey Weinsteins types, you’re helping provide Shelterhouse more tenants.”
Ms. Hall also accused Mr. Rodgers of “sucking up to people in charge of vote counts,” saying that it “could land them in real trouble with the law.”
Mr. Rodgers declined to comment in response to Ms. Hall’s posts other than to say they were so absurd, they didn’t warrant a response.
Ms. Hall was elected to the Midland City Council in 2018, beating Mr. Rodgers by just 28 votes. She is known for her non-traditional views, including numerous bizarre posts on Facebook such as saying she thinks her messages are being intercepted, that psychics help police solve crimes, calling Christianity misogynistic, and that the solution to this year’s flood and dam failures would be for the City Council to address climate change, and that an inter-dimensional race of lizards has controlled the world for thousands of years.
Finally, Ms. Hall criticized Mr. Rodgers for electing to request a recount and falsely said that he attended a “DeVos” school.
“My opponent for City of Midland Council is deeply entrenched in the Repub [sic] party and has spent at least $8000 on his 2020 campaign for City Council, which only makes $4200 year,” Ms. Hall wrote. “He is spending another $150 to challenge the vote that I won. ASK YOURSELF WHY. Who is he beholding [sic] to…DeVos is where he went to school. There are a group of younger, white males in Midland that are poised to be the new white Supremists [sic] in town.”
Mr. Rodgers attended Central Michigan University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in history. Because Ms. Hall’s unofficial margin of victory was less than .5 percent, the Rodgers campaign will pay $25 per precinct, or $150, and then another $150 to recount absentee ballots, for the recount. Mr. Rodgers raised over $8,000 for the race, and submitted campaign finance reports to the Midland County Clerk’s Office. Ms. Hall did not file any campaign finance reports, but was chastised by the clerk at one point during the election for not including ‘paid for by statements’ on her campaign literature.
The new Midland City Council is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday, Nov. 9.
Michael Westendorf is the chairman and executive editor of Chemical City Paper. As Executive Editor, he leads the City Paper’s news coverage and editorial team.