Rep. Olumba watering his lawn instead of being in Lansing.
Meet John Olumba, the Detroit state representative who has been absent more and missed more votes than any of his colleagues.
That's what M.L. Elrick of Fox 2 reports.
Elrick compares him to Ferris Buehler, the character in the 1986 film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," who famously skips a day of school.
Elrick reports:
Here in Michigan, we have our own real life Ferris Buehler, and his name is John Olumba.
If you are asking who is John Olumba, here is a better question. Where is John Olumba?
Olumba holds a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, but he does not always use it. Even his fellow Democrats are buzzing.
On March 6, Representative Sam Singh tweeted, "Looking for my new seat mate." A day later, Singh zinged, "The watch continues: A Samuel Beckett sequel "Waiting for Olumba."
Elrick shows Olumba watering his front lawn in Detroit instead of being in Lansing on May 21. The next day, he was late for work while he sat on the front porch with his wife. He's also running for mayor.
Elrick confronts Olumba outside his Detroit office.
Elrick: Shouldn't you be in Lansing right about now?
Olumba: I'm headed to Lansing right now.
Elrick: You've got the worst attendance in the entire state House.
Olumba: But my voting record speaks for itself.
Elrick reports that he checked his official record and found that House members average nearly 99-percent attendance, compared to Olumba's 65 percent.
The reporter adds:
He has missed more than a third of the House sessions this year, failing to show up at least 17 times, and when he did bother to make the scene, he was often late. He has more than a dozen tardies.
According to MichiganVotes.org, Olumba also failed to vote more than 50 times. Again, that is more misses than any other lawmaker.
