Voters should get the chance to fix Michigan’s broken government
Reform Michigan Government Now!, a nonpartisan ballot initiative to reform state government, recently turned in nearly 500,000 signatures to the Secretary of State and is one step closer to going on the November ballot.
Michigan citizens from all backgrounds – Republican, Democrat and independent – signed petitions supporting the reform measures and are calling for us to fix our broken government. These reforms are at the core of building good government that will reduce waste, increase accountability and make our elected officials more responsive to working families, not the special interests.
The proposals in the Reform Michigan Government Now! proposal will give power back to working families instead of the wealthy special interests. The proposals include:
• Requiring all legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state to disclose their incomes and assets, as well as the incomes and assets of their spouses.
• Banning all legislators and top government officials from lobbying for two years after they leave office.
• Reducing the salaries of all legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state by 25 percent, as well as reducing the salaries of judges by 15 percent.
• Make elections fairer and more competitive by putting a bi-partisan panel in charge of drawing legislative districts, instead of political parties.
Michigan’s working families — especially union families — overwhelmingly support changing the status quo and fixing our broken government so Lansing can do the work of the people, not the special interests. Reform Michigan Government Now! will make Lansing more accountable to the people.
The power elites don’t want you to have the opportunity to vote on this proposal. Judges and powerful special interests like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to block the will of the people and stop the proposal from going on the ballot.
Every judge in Michigan has a conflict of interest because their excessive salaries and benefits would be cut under the proposal. The courts should stand aside and let the people decide in November on reforming Michigan’s broken government.
For citizens interested in real reform and good government, Reform Michigan Government Now! provides a path toward positive change. We need to lift Michigan’s government out of the toxic sewer of excessive partisanship. Reform Michigan Government Now! is a good step in that direction.
For more information or to get involved, go to
www.reformmichigangovernmentnow.com.