The organization that tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to recall Republican Governor of Michigan Rick Snyder has reformed into a Super PAC called “Michigan Rising”.
Yes, the times are certainly exciting and the optimist in us says that they are also changing for the better. Nationwide November election results clearly indicate a shift in public opinion when it comes to radical legislation. Ohio’s defeat of SB5, Mississippi’s smack-down of their proposed “Personhood Law”, Arizona’s recall of Russell Pearce – the Anti-Immigration Champion, all made headline news and rightly so.In Michigan the victory belongs to the voters who successfully recalled Paul Scott and of course, the volunteers who collected enough signatures to put that recall on the ballot.
We have undergone some significant changes too:
- We filed new paerwork and established a new PAC. Henceforth we will be known as Michigan Rising and since we are a Super PAC we can once again accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporate donors alike.
- We built a new web site. MichiganRising.org will be our home for the foreseeable future and it is once again from here that we will recruit volunteers, disseminate relevant information and to some extent, educate the public as to Snyder’s impact on Michigan.
Other changes being worked through include but are not limited to:
- Developing more comprehensive Resource Guidelines for Regional and County Coordinators, as well as for Volunteers to help them with organization, better defined instructions and procedures, PAC policies, state laws etc.
- Developing better training systems, including short training videos, Power Point slide shows, and more comprehensive written material.
- Developing feedback systems to assist in keeping the flow of information traveling both up and down within the organization moving more efficiently.
- Developing a system for counting, verifying, and tracking the number of signatures as they get turned in to allow for periodic releases of numbers to volunteers.
- Evaluating the feedback we received from active volunteers and implementing changes within our structure and procedures based on the suggestions sent in.
- Developing our Articles of Organization (ByLaws) defining our internal structure, specifying the job titles, duties and responsibilities of individual board members, and further refining our decision making procedure.
- Establishing separate but equal committees in the fields of Communication, Tech, Visual, Fund Raising and Big Events. Our hopes are that we can draw on the wealth of talent amongst our current volunteers to fill these committees and come up with creative solutions and ideas.
If you feel that you want to be part of one of the above mentioned committees please, send us an email to admin@michiganrising.org listing the committee you wish to be part of and your experience in that specific field.All of the above is being implemented in a bid to renew the effort to recall Rick Snyder. However these steps will also help us in becoming a permanent political force in Michigan – one with broader goals and ambitions and at the same time allow us to take advantage of the successes gained during the first campaign. We believe that moving towards the status of a bonafide, legitimate political organization will also allow us to foster lasting relationships and partnerships with both state-wide and national organizations that aspire to common goals in the long term.
With that we can today officially announce the closure of our first recall campaign.Total signatures gathered: 481,749 in the 90-day window up to September 30th
Total friends made: Innumerable
Total experience gained: PricelessWith this we signal a continuance of the fight into the future and we invite you to join us.
Regards,
Julius Muller
Marty Townsend
Dennis Pank
Jan BenDor
Teresa Blundell
