FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Contact: Jessica Tramontana, (517) 974-6302, jessica@progressmichigan.org
Voters deserve accountability, not repeated lies in ads and mail pieces
LANSING – Today citizens watchdog group Progress Michigan called on Rep. Deb Shaughnessy (R – Charlotte) to schedule a series of public town hall meetings before Eaton County residents vote this November. Rep. Shaughnessy has held a handful of sparsely attended ‘office hours’ during the work week, but no open forums or town hall meetings that would allow workers in her district to hold her accountable for her record.
“It’s time for Lansing politician Deb Shaughnessy to face her constituents at public town hall meetings,” said Zack Pohl, Executive Director of Progress Michigan. “Shaughnessy clearly has the wrong priorities. She can’t keep ducking the tough questions about her votes to cut $1 billion from K-12 schools and raise taxes on seniors’ pensions. It’s time for Shaughnessy to schedule a series of town hall meetings and defend her anti-middle class record in Lansing.”
Rep. Shaughnessy’s campaign has paid for multiple radio advertisements asserting that her opponent “voted for lifetime healthcare for county politicians, like herself.” These ads are identical to attacks launched by the Michigan Republican Party in 2010, and are incredibly misleading. The Eaton County resolution to which the ad refers actually cut commissioners’ salaries to $7,743 annually, and includes boilerplate language only authorizing commissioners to receive health insurance from the county after they have served for 25 years.
Rep. Shaughnessy held just three public events in the month of September, and all were ‘office hours’ held on weekday mornings at small restaurants. She has three events scheduled in October, all of which will be held on weekday mornings at small restaurants.
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BACKGROUND:
Eaton County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes – July 16, 2008