Progress Michigan Calls out Sen. Randy Richardville for Blatant Hypocrisy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News from Progress Michigan

June 4, 2014

Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org

Progress Michigan Calls out Sen. Randy Richardville for Blatant Hypocrisy

On minimum wage, the legislature knows best, DIA a different story

LANSING — In an act of stark hypocrisy, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said yesterday that voters should have the right to vote on the Detroit Institute of Arts millage. His statement comes only a week after a bill he sponsored was signed by the governor in an effort to silence the voices of over 300,000 voters who want to vote on the Raise Michigan Coalition’s ballot measure to increase the minimum wage to $10.10.

“This type of blatant hypocrisy is sickening, but is surprisingly common from the conservative leadership in Lansing,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Sen. Richardville cannot pick and choose when voters should have the right to vote. Today he is saying people should have the right to vote on important issues, but only last week he pushed through a bill that aims to silence the voice of hundreds of thousands of Michiganders.”

On Tuesday, a piece of legislation that would have prevented the DIA from renewing a 10-year operating millage was shot down in the Michigan Senate. Sen. Richardville said he didn’t believe the right for citizens to vote should be taken away.

“It’s kind of strange that the Legislature would say we’re not going to let local governments make their own decisions or have a vote of their own people,” he said. “And so I think that was the part we all had problems with.”

Last week, Sen. Richardville’s minimum wage bill, SB934, was signed by the governor after being pushed through the legislature in a matter of hours. That law sought to end the Raise Michigan Coalition ballot drive and silence the voices of over 300,000 Michigan voters. Sen. Richardville said himself that the goal of the bill was to end the ballot drive — effectively silencing the voice of voters.

This isn’t the first time the GOP-controlled legislature has endorsed hypocritical lawmaking. Conservative lawmakers have silenced voters’ voices on the emergency manager law and those speaking up against wolf hunting.

“Democracy shouldn’t be a matter of convenience — following the will of the voters should be standard practice,” Scott continued.

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