Please Note: The content in this post was received via email from the Committee To Elect Michael Webber For State Representative – 45th District. It was posted solely as Mr. Webber’s opinion. No compensation was received by Rochester Media for posting it, nor should it be perceived as an endorsement of Mr. Webber’s campaign.
Dear Supporters,
Over the last two years, there has been a lot of discussion regarding Oil and Gas drilling in the Rochester area. This discussion has also been happening in other high density population areas across the state. It has gotten the attention of the Governor and the State Legislature, who have introduced legislation that could be a real game changer on this issue. Due to this pending legislation, I joined my Rochester Hills City Council colleagues in supporting a Six-Month Moratorium on the placement of any drilling well within Rochester Hills.
Because of our City Charter and DEQ regulations, which require a drilling well to be placed over 450 feet away from a residential building, there are not many locations within Rochester Hills to place a drilling well. Senate Bill 1026 was recently introduced by Republican State Senator Jack Brandenburg because of similar concerns in Shelby Township. The city resolution supports this bill and Senator Brandenburg’s efforts to pass it. The bill would not allow placement of a drilling well within a city or township with a population of 70,000 or more. The legislation would exempt Rochester Hills from drill placement.
This city moratorium and pending state legislation cannot take away people’s property rights to lease their minerals. As noted, there have been over 400 leases signed within the city of Rochester Hills. These leases do not include placement of a drilling well on site. As the discussion continues, we need to be mindful of these property rights. As a supporter of domestic oil and gas exploration, I am proud of our Republican Governor Rick Snyder and Republican state legislators like Brandenburg and State Representatives Tom McMillin and Pete Lund for leading on this issue. I have always maintained that this is a state issue – it is regulated by state law – and I believe the discussion over the past two weeks has confirmed this.
As we head into the General Election this fall, it is important to note the sharp contrast on this issue. I remain concerned about soaring energy and gasoline prices that will place added burden on our families and job providers. As someone who has served our community and has experience in state and local government, I believe that we need to strike a balance in order to gain energy independence.
I hope that you and your family have a great Labor Day weekend.
Sincerely,
Mike Webber
Candidate, State Representative
About Sarah Hovis
What Webber doesn’t say is that a moratorium does nothing. He voted to lease parks for drilling. This guy is the definition of politician and he is not ashamed at all of that.
Get a glimpse of Mike Webber’s history:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClEkPjo27Xk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fhVwuWosv8
I hope Mr Webber paid for that political advertisement. If Mr. Webber were really concerned about souring (sic) energy prices, he’d support solar and wind energy, instead of supporting oil and gas drilling in residential neighborhoods.
I wonder if Mr. Webber would support a drilling rig behind his home, along with the accompanying drop in his property value, the noise, the traffic, the 24/7 truck traffic and all the other negative consequences of having an oil rig in his backyard.
I think I know the answer. He’d be suing, just like the Exxon-Mobil executive who is suing to keep a fracking operation out of his own backyard.
Mr. Webber should resign for dereliction of duty and should certainly not be seeking higher office in the Michigan legislature.
Mr. Webber, FYI, it’s soaring energy prices, not “souring” energy prices.
Sarah, it looks like rather than a “reporter” you are a stenographer and not a very good one at that. Please proof read your writing before posting it.
When I first read this “story” I assumed it was just Michael Webber writing on his own behalf. Since it has a graphic of from his campaign, I hope he is reporting this on his campaign finance report as an in-kind contribution.
Bruce,
The information contained in the post did come directly from Michael Webber and his campaign, so any errors were his own. As such, it is always a fine line of how much correction I can do. But thanks for your comments. I’ll make sure to be a tad more vigilant going forward.
Also, Rochester Media received no compensation for posting the email, nor was it done as a ‘you scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours’ deal. It was simply to make Mr. Webber’s opinion public. Sorry if that wasn’t made clear.
Thanks!
Mike Webber is putting his spin on this issue. The “game changer” as he and all the others on the Rochester Hills City Council have been the people. Not this arrogant City Council. Mike is purely interested in his own political career and little else. I urge everyone to attend the Rochester Hills City Council meetings and judge for yourselves. Public apathy is the worst thing that can happen to our community and our country. The next meeting is 7PM Sept. 8th. See you there.
Mike Webber has chosen propaganda over public service. His council has encouraged individual citizens Home Owner associations to sign over their mineral rights. Trying to figure out how he sleeps at night after putting out this Christmas turkey refuse. He appears to be taking credit for the work of Don’t Drill in the Hills after he fought them for months. Shady.
This is what some of the residents had to say at the Emergency City Council Meeting on Tuesday.
http://youtu.be/anDwNeH2uno