Walled Lake — The political landscape in this small city of about 7,000 is getting bizarre.
From the outside looking in, Walled Lake ostensibly appears to be a deep-red city of conservative voters. The homes along the lakefront are affluent and expensive, property values are high, and the area has not historically been viewed by neighboring communities as any type of liberal enclave.
“You’d definitely get the impression this is a Republican-controlled city by the Trump signs adorning boats docked on the lake, but that’s not entirely the reality here,” said a long-time resident who sees the deeper issues at play. “There’s something more tribal going on here, possibly class warfare, having less or little to do with right vs. left.”
The powers that be in Walled Lake, led by Mayor Linda Ackley, who has been involved as a council person or mayor since biblical times, appear willing to fight any possible threat to the status quo.
A tired trope at this point playing out in virtually every suburban city in Metro Detroit is that the Boomers who’ve clung to power for decades have become unhinged at the prospect of younger more qualified people coming with fresh ideas and political views.
Enter Richard Gunther, a small business owner and former executive at Ford and Chrysler. A political newcomer without even a hint of ideology about him, Gunther has held positions on the Walled Lake Zoning Board of Appeals and the Tax Board of Appeals for several years.
Not terribly interested in the gamesmanship and ass-kissing that comes with politics, Gunther says he was too busy to consider any type of local political campaign, but after talking with residents and hearing complaints of mismanagement and hints of public corruption, he decided to throw his hat into the race for mayor of Walled Lake.
Strange packages started landing on Gunther’s front door. Gunther, well aware of insipidly childish behavior on the part of the Walled Lake political establishment, was prepared for the game of shadows, but this time the game has changed.
Talking with city residents, it appears Gunther could win based on his popularity, or more accurately, the mayor’s lack of popularity.
Gunther shared with Michigan Enjoyer photos of the letters and items sent to his house, which he asked not to be published due to the sensitive nature. These packages are clearly meant to harass him into bowing out of the mayor’s race.
One item sent to his wife was an enormous black dildo, with a coarse letter directly mentioning the upcoming election. Another more dangerous package suddenly appeared at his door, filled with a powdery substance meant to seem like anthrax. Other annoying but less harmful items have arrived at his home, including erectile dysfunction pills.
Gunther and his family have been forced to file police reports and instigate investigations into the sources of these packages, though he knows that local police won’t likely get involved in a local political battle like this.
Residents of Walled Lake seem to be keenly aware that the “powers that be” do not enjoy having their leadership questioned. This was shown best during an awkward moment during a September City Council meeting when Mayor Ackley and the council were made aware of illegal campaign signs calling for her re-election and the election of a slate of council candidates that were placed on a local weed dispensary owned by Jerry Millen. These signs apparently violate city rules stating no such ads could be posted until October 5.
Ackley clumsily denied having knowledge of such signs—hard to fathom unless she’s secretly living 100 miles away from the city—until handed photographic evidence to which she quickly replied, “We’ll look into it.”
The question for residents of Walled Lake who support Richard Gunther is: Who is playing dirty tricks in the mayor’s race?
The even larger question is why would anyone do this? The mayor’s office is a $50-per-meeting job, with the actual city governance resting in the hands of the city manager, an unelected appointee of the mayor and city council.
Out of frustration, Gunther has hired a handwriting expert who’s identified the culprit with a 95% degree of accuracy, though he’s refrained from naming this individual without more evidence.
These “dirty tricks” of Walled Lake aren’t only meant for the few individuals attempting to buck city hall. The message someone wants to send through the harassment is this: “Don’t even bother.”
Jay Murray is a writer for Michigan Enjoyer and has been a Metro Detroit-based professional investigator for 22 years. Follow him on X @Stainless31.
