(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/24/2024) Milford council member Kevin Ziegler, who is primarying incumbent Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) in the 51st House district as of the filing deadline Tuesday, spoke out Wednesday about his decision to run, which he said stemmed from Maddock’s voting record on a bill repealing a legal defense for spousal rape.
Ziegler was featured Tuesday in MIRS’ list of 10 primaries to watch.
“People have been asking me all day whether I am doing this because our State Representative made an international clown out of himself, by going on Twitter and declaring that the Gonzaga basketball team was busloads of Biden’s illegal aliens being shipped in from Metro Airport under police escort,” Ziegler said, referencing a post by Maddock on X.
“I want people to know that I decided to do this over a month ago,” Ziegler added, “when I first learned that Matt Maddock had voted to say it’s OK to drug and rape your wife.”
Ziegler is referring to Speaker Pro Tempore Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia)’s HB 4202, which repeals a legal defense for a person who rapes their mentally incapacitated spouse. It passed 103-5 with Maddock being one of the no votes.
Ziegler said that vote was what first spurred him to run, but added that he’s been bothered for some time by “how little regard my State Representative has for the communities he is paid to represent.
“He’s all about being seen on the statewide and even national stage, often to our embarrassment, but the only time I’ve even heard of him coming into our village offices is to complain about his own taxes,” Ziegler said.
A 15-year member of the Milford Village Council, Ziegler said Maddock’s inattention has been noticed in other communities he serves.
“I started talking to township officials in surrounding communities, and couldn’t find one elected official who said that Matt Maddock had ever darkened the door of their offices either,” he said.
Ziegler said he believes that despite Maddock’s incumbent status, people have begun souring on him as a candidate, even though many community members are conservative voters who agree on issues of spending, regulation and parental rights.
“The last time I saw Matt Maddock at a parade, kids were throwing the hard candy he was tossing out back at him,” he said. “I mean really. The only reason kids come to parades, unless they or a family member are in them, is to get candy! What does it take to get them to throw it back? That’s got to be a sign of what their parents think of the representation they are getting in Lansing.”
A sales representative for a dental supplier and a self-employed consultant, Ziegler added, “If I had adopted Matt Maddock’s work habits in my business, I would have been out screaming in the street about dentists secretly funding Big Candy to create cavities, instead of finding out what my customers needed and solving their problems.”
In response, Maddock said: “It’s just sad when people run a campaign on lies and bitterness. Sad!”
