FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Contact: Greg Moore

June 23, 2009                                                       (269) 967-9196

Nofs: “Put Public Safety First”

                   Calls on Govenor to Save the Troopers, Stop the Triangle Project

BATTLE CREEK - Former State Rep. Mike Nofs, a candidate for the vacated 19th state Senate District, applauded legislation recently approved by the Michigan Senate that forbids tax dollars from being spent on a new Michigan State Police (MSP) headquarters currently under construction in downtown Lansing.

“Given the $1.7 billion budget deficit facing our state, spending millions on a new MSP headquarters that wasn’t even requested is an example of wasteful spending and misplaced priorities,” Nofs said. Nofs, who retired from the Michigan State Police in 2002, said the money would be better spent on keeping state troopers on the road. “We just got through spending over $8 million to train these new troopers and now we’re going to lay them off to save $1.7 million,” he said. “And we wonder why people get frustrated with Lansing.”                                                   

The so-called "Triangle Project" has been a major source of contention since it was announced the state police would abandon its previous location, which had been rented for a mere $1 per year. The new facility, located in downtown Lansing, was awarded via a no-bid contract and lacks many of the necessary resources found at the current location, including a helipad, warehouse, and general staging area for emergency responses.

Attorney General Mike Cox recently announced it would be within the state's legal rights to cancel its lease on the new headquarters, which prompted the introduction and passage of  legislation last week in the Senate.

Nofs has been a vocal critic of the plan since it came to light two years ago and even testified in opposition to the project before the Senate Homeland Security and Emerging Technologies Committee in 2007. “The bottom line is, shiny new buildings don’t respond when people need help”, Nofs said. “Police officers on the street do.”

Mike Nofs retired as commander of the Michigan State Police's Battle Creek post in 2002 after serving with the force for 25 years.

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Citizens Supporting Mike Nofs – 5420 Beckley Rd., Box 350, Battle Creek, MI  49015