TRAVERSE CITY -- Meijer, Inc. co-chairman Hank Meijer signed a letter that criticized Acme Township's elected officials just days before a February recall election, but he now contends the company's top officials knew nothing of a plot to topple the township board.
Grand Rapids public relations firm Seyferth Spaulding Tennyson Inc., billed Meijer at least $30,000 in its campaign to remove Acme's Board of Trustees, including a charge for a Feb. 21 telephone conversation between a Seyferth employee and Stacie Behler, a Meijer vice president, "on Meijer plan for Forum/ad."
In a large display advertisement published in the Record-Eagle on Feb. 25, two days before the recall election, a letter signed by Hank Meijer discussed the company's frustrations with the Acme Township board.
"After all these years ... we have been unable to begin construction even though we believe we have followed the law, and, more fundamentally, the will and the preferences of a majority of township residents," the letter signed by Hank Meijer stated.
"Yet restrictions and obstructions imposed by the Township Board continue to block action. We don't think this is right," the Meijer-signed letter continued.
Meijer purchased advertising space for the Hank Meijer-signed letter after initially attempting to submit it as a Forum in the newspaper's Op-Ed section. The letter was rejected as a Forum because it was submitted after a deadline for election-related materials.
Behler denied a Record-Eagle reporter's requests to interview Hank Meijer and company President Mark Murray. But in a Grand Rapids Press story published Thursday, Hank Meijer cited a lack of "internal controls" that led to the company's involvement in the recall campaign without the knowledge of its top executives.
"It's not the sort of activity we would ever condone," Hank Meijer said. "We will take whatever corrective actions that are appropriate whenever we find out what happened."
State law prohibits corporations from contributing to political campaigns. It is a felony violation with a maximum fine of $10,000, although violators rarely are prosecuted and no charges have been filed in this matter.
Seyferth crafted recall language, devised election strategy, wrote campaign literature and used local residents as figureheads, according to the records. The contributions weren't reported to the state.
Documents obtained by the Record-Eagle are from a civil lawsuit filed by township Treasurer William Boltres. He sued Meijer in April, alleging the company damaged his public reputation, health and "peace of mind."
Meijer announced last week that it had reached a settlement in the suit. A mediation panel in November unanimously recommended that the Grand Rapids-based retailer pay $3 million to Boltres.
In a written statement issued Thursday, Meijer said it had obtained the services of Lansing attorney John Pirich to conduct an "independent review of allegations made by the media regarding corporate involvement in Acme Township. Once the review is complete, Meijer and Seyferth will immediately take any necessary steps to comply with reporting requirements."
Kelly Chesney, a spokeswoman for the Michigan secretary of state's office, said Meijer officials recently contacted the office about the situation "and committed to resolving it immediately."
Despite the effort, all seven members of the township board survived the recall vote. The project remains in limbo as Meijer weighs its options for a site on M-72 just south of Grand Traverse Resort.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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