For Genereaux, Chatfield’s name brought one thing to mind: How the young lawmaker avoided criminal charges after being caught in July 2018 with an unregistered, loaded .380-caliber handgun in a carry-on bag while going through security at Pellston’s airport.

The county prosecutor chose not to pursue criminal charges, arguing the state’s failure to update its law made it impossible to enforce. Chatfield called the episode an accident and apologized (“It was a mistake that certainly became a life lesson for me,” he told Bridge) and eventually paid nearly $2,000 in fees to the Transportation Security Administration.

Genereaux said he’s “got nothing against (Chatfield) personally,” but said in his view a regular person wouldn’t have been let off the hook.

“Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law,” he said. “That just shows me about the good ol’ boys club.”

Added a waitress listening nearby: “I’d still be sitting in jail if it was me.” Several employees and diners murmured agreement.

That sentiment was common among roughly a dozen people Bridge spoke with at shops, gas stations and restaurants near the tiny outposts of Levering, Pellston and Alanson in Chatfield’s mostly Republican district. Many saw the incident as another indicator of a broken political system that favors those in power.

Anonymous wrote:How the hell is Chatfield only 33?!? He was leader of the MI House in his friggin 20s.

I will say one thing about Republicans - they promote from within at a very young age. They have a singular focus on leadership development. Democrats need to take a page from this, minus the rape and molestation

Anonymous wrote:Cain, meet Abel. His own brother. That's pretty low.

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
How the hell is Chatfield only 33?!? He was leader of the MI House in his friggin 20s.

I will say one thing about Republicans - they promote from within at a very young age. They have a singular focus on leadership development. Democrats need to take a page from this, minus the rape and molestation


Term limits brought in all sorts of dipsh*ts. Can only serve in the State House for max 3 terms or 6 years total. Most try to then segue to State Senate for max 2 terms or 8 years total. And the pay is fairly low, around $75k. But if you can hang around for 6 to 14 years, you glide off into congress or some lobbyist or "nonprofit" executive role like he tried to do. He was handed a $400k-plus business nonprofit executive role, but media pressure made him step down.

It seems really obvious the dossier on this young dipsh*t was a mile long. Everyone knew he was a creep and living way too lavish and fast for a middle class Bible thumper. Seems he was a compromised puppet.

$75K + whatever the family is grifting from their church goes a long way in Petoskey.


I'm not so sure about that. Real estate is more expensive than you might expect for a northern MI city, especially for anything with lake frontage or lake view.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How the hell is Chatfield only 33?!? He was leader of the MI House in his friggin 20s.

I will say one thing about Republicans - they promote from within at a very young age. They have a singular focus on leadership development. Democrats need to take a page from this, minus the rape and molestation

Term limits brought in all sorts of dipsh*ts. Can only serve in the State House for max 3 terms or 6 years total. Most try to then segue to State Senate for max 2 terms or 8 years total. And the pay is fairly low, around $75k. But if you can hang around for 6 to 14 years, you glide off into congress or some lobbyist or "nonprofit" executive role like he tried to do. He was handed a $400k-plus business nonprofit executive role, but media pressure made him step down.

It seems really obvious the dossier on this young dipsh*t was a mile long. Everyone knew he was a creep and living way too lavish and fast for a middle class Bible thumper. Seems he was a compromised puppet.

$75K + whatever the family is grifting from their church goes a long way in Petoskey.

Anonymous wrote:

Why in the world would their dad defend the creeper eldest son and not the younger son whose wife the creeper was screwing?

Prediction: More bombshells will drop next week involving the creeper, the preacher dad, and the dad's church/school.

Most definitely. Anyone involved with that "community" needs to run.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why in the world would their dad defend the creeper eldest son and not the younger son whose wife the creeper was screwing?

Prediction: More bombshells will drop next week involving the creeper, the preacher dad, and the dad's church/school.

Why would that guy believe a woman, ever? It’s against his religion.

Why in the world would their dad defend the creeper eldest son and not the younger son whose wife the creeper was screwing?

Prediction: More bombshells will drop next week involving the creeper, the preacher dad, and the dad's church/school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why Republicans think everyone else is a pedophile and a rapist. Just because conservatives do this and allow it to continue to happen doesn't mean the rest of us do.

+1 the projection is real. Rebekah is so brave- this must not have been easy at all, especially in that family.

Anonymous wrote:Why in the world would their dad defend the creeper eldest son and not the younger son whose wife the creeper was screwing?

Prediction: More bombshells will drop next week involving the creeper, the preacher dad, and the dad's church/school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How the hell is Chatfield only 33?!? He was leader of the MI House in his friggin 20s.

I will say one thing about Republicans - they promote from within at a very young age. They have a singular focus on leadership development. Democrats need to take a page from this, minus the rape and molestation

Term limits brought in all sorts of dipsh*ts. Can only serve in the State House for max 3 terms or 6 years total. Most try to then segue to State Senate for max 2 terms or 8 years total. And the pay is fairly low, around $75k. But if you can hang around for 6 to 14 years, you glide off into congress or some lobbyist or "nonprofit" executive role like he tried to do. He was handed a $400k-plus business nonprofit executive role, but media pressure made him step down.

It seems really obvious the dossier on this young dipsh*t was a mile long. Everyone knew he was a creep and living way too lavish and fast for a middle class Bible thumper. Seems he was a compromised puppet.

Anonymous wrote:How the hell is Chatfield only 33?!? He was leader of the MI House in his friggin 20s.

I will say one thing about Republicans - they promote from within at a very young age. They have a singular focus on leadership development. Democrats need to take a page from this, minus the rape and molestation