Carpe Diem

It was high drama at Wednesday night's meeting of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners as members of the Washtenaw County Republican Committee rose in defense of Republican Commissioner Mark Ouimet, shown below. "This is politics at its worst," said GOP Chairman Mark Boonstra, scolding the Democrat-controlled board. "These unfounded attacks have slandered the good name of a good man who has served this county well." Ouimet's expense record has been in question for the past two weeks, with the Washtenaw County Democratic Party calling for an investigation into $35,000 in per diem payments and mileage reimbursements he collected. County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum released a report on Wednesday, showing more than $10,000 of the payments don't appear to be eligible under county board rules. Read the story here.