And they’re off!
In a clear statement that they mean business and are not pulling any punches, Michigan Rising the group setting out for a second attempt at recalling Michigan Governor Rick Snyder begins their petition language with the statement “Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan”.
Here is the petition language in full:
Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan. He cut thousands of children off food aid. He robbed $400 million from the School Aid Fund, then slashed school payments. This forced children into crowded classes. Then he signed more laws that privatize services, attack teachers and blame unions.Snyder raised taxes on retirees and low and middle income working people, to make them pay $2 billion a year. At the same time, he gave an 86% tax cut, $1.7 billion, to large corporations.
Snyder signed Public Act 4 of 2011, the Emergency Manager Law. Snyder used the law to take over cities and school districts. Snyder removed officials elected by the citizens. Snyder’s agents broke contracts and sold off public property cheaply to corporations.
Richard Snyder has failed to pass a single law that helps Michigan citizens get jobs. He signed a law that cut state unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks, and caused Michigan workers to lose 16 weeks of federal benefits.
Despite the rather inflammatory nature of the statement, the Washtenaw County Election Commission today approved their petition language. With that move, the effort to recall the governor can begin at any time.
Snyder’s attorney objected to the language, of course, but, in the end that was irrelevant.
Andrea Hansen, an attorney for Snyder, objected to the wording, which begins by claiming “Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan.”“The statement is not only offensive and inflammatory, but it’s really not understandable,” Hansen said. “It doesn’t really say what is meant by the abuse. Which children are abused? How he abused them. … You can’t make false statements like that without specifics.”
But under Michigan law, boards of canvassers are only to review the grammar and punctuation of recall petitions.
“There is no requirement for there to be any shred of truth in our statement at all,” said Marion Townsend of Dearborn, who filed the recall language last month.
Here is video of the hearing:
Recall Petition Clarity Hearing 4-9-2012 from Jan BenDor on Vimeo.
Stay tuned for more information on the recall effort which will begin with a kickoff on May 5th. An informational flyer for the event can be found HERE (pdf).
