| Gregory Creswell | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1957 Detroit, Michigan |
| Residence | Detroit, Michigan |
| Other names | Greg |
| Ethnicity | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Some College |
| Alma mater | Wayne County Community College District |
| Known for | Politician, Civil Rights Activist |
| Home town | Detroit, Michigan |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Religion | Christian |
| Spouse | married |
| Children | two |
| Website | |
| http://www.webcitation.org/5W8Pi6NoK | |
Gregory “Greg” Creswell (born February 1, 1957)[1] is a Libertarian politician from Michigan. He made the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative the centerpiece of his 2006 campaign for governor. The measure passed, by a 16% margin,[2] even though it was opposed by Creswell's gubernatorial rivals and a conglomerate of groups called “One United Michigan”.[3] Creswell placed third, with less than 1% of the vote, behind incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm, Democratic, and Dick Devos, the Republican candidate, but ahead of Douglas Campbell, the Green Party Candidate.[4][5]
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Creswell was born in Detroit in 1957. He was a graduate of Chadsey High School in 1975 and Wayne County Community College District student. He has been married for over 20 years and is the father of two.[6][7]
Creswell claims to have donated his time, skills and earnings to charities and social causes such as his church and the pro-gun organization, Brass Roots.[6] Creswell continued doing volunteer work for the Libertarian Party of Michigan, including work at its headquarters.[8] Creswell was a vocal representative of the petition drive to put the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on the ballot.[9]
Creswell was nominated on May 13 at the 2006 Libertarian Party of Michigan convention in Chelsea, Michigan.[10][11][12] His campaign raised over $16,000 in donations.[13] which was dwarfed by the Granholm and Devos campaigns,[14][15] but in excess of that raised by Douglas Campbell,[16] or that raised by Bhagwan Dashairya[17] both of whom qualified for a reporting waivers (only available to campaigns with budgets under $1,000). The Creswell campaign spent over $10,000 on radio advertising. The largest investment was made in advertisements on Detroit AM Radio stations WJR and WXYT.[18] These commercials specifically targeted Devos and Granholm by referring to them as candidates of “the two old parties,” and berating them for supporting state-supported preferences based on race and sex.[19]
Creswell's campaign was shared with his Lieutenant Governor candidate Scotty Boman. Boman was Chair of the Libertarian Party of Michigan at the time. Boman, a college professor, had run for a variety of offices as a Libertarian. He had also been a member of the Wayne State University Student Council,[20] had run for the Detroit City Council,[21] and had run for State Board of Education.[22]
On November 19, 2006, Creswell received The Libertarian Party of Michigan’s Spokesperson on Liberty Award at their annual Liberty Fest in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[23]
Creswell’s position statements focussed on what he called, “racial preferences.” On his campaign’s site he claimed to be the only gubernatorial candidate supporting the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, and he defended the validity of the associated petition effort.[24] His position statements referred to Affirmative Action as “state-sponsored discrimination,” when it set different standards based on a person’s race or gender.[7] He claimed this was the position of the Libertarian Party of Michigan which addresses this topic in its platform.[25][26]
In his position statements, Creswell said his approach to civil liberties was based on the belief that people should be free to engage in any “peaceful and honest” activity. He claimed he would protect civil liberties by supporting equal rights for gay couples, medical marijuana, and “the right to keep and bear arms.” He also claimed there was a link between civil liberties and fiscal responsibility.[27] He also opposed restrictions and taxes on internet transactions.[7][28]
Creswell rejected “government planning,” and expressed the belief that what he called a “free-market economy” would create jobs, lower costs, and improve the standard of living. He supported changing government policies by letting the single business tax expire (without replacing it), cutting the budget, ending what he called “corporate welfare” and lifting regulations which he claimed were “burdensome,” on small businesses.[27] He also opposed restrictions and taxes on internet transactions.[28]
He claimed that politicians didn’t created jobs but, “…only shifted jobs from the private sector to government employment.” He accuse them of rewarding “mismanagement and irresponsibility” with “taxpayer funded bailouts.”[27]
While opposing mandatory taxes, Creswell supported what he called a “Tax me more fund,” so those who supported higher taxes could pay them.[29]
In his position statements, he advocated the removal of taxes on private property, fuel and the internet. He also supported the privatizing licensing. He claimed that many licensing laws were “designed to entrap people.” He argued that people should not have to “…spend more on permits than materials to improve their homes.” He called for an end to what he called the “abuse of fines and forfeitures.”[7][30]
Creswell said politicians should stop "wasting money" on what he called “non-violent crime.” In his published statements, he accused politicians of keeping people in prison who were no threat to the public. He argued that it was too expensive to use prisons in this manner when people had what he called “real expenses.” He articulated the belief that prisons existed to protect citizens from what he called, “brutal criminals who would not hesitate to prey on others,” and said it was a “waste” of money and “immoral” to imprison people for what he termed, “unhealthy alternative lifestyles, seeking non-traditional medicine for terminal illness, or trying to relieve the suffering of others.
If elected, he vowed to pardon “people imprisoned for medical marijuana, physician assisted suicide, non-payment of taxes, and substance related charges.” He supported what he called, “penalties that result in restitution to the victims and the taxpayers” for what he referred to as “non-violent property offenses.” He also spoke in favor of diverting more money to arresting those he called “violent offenders,” and “enforcing laws against theft and fraud."[6][7]