If you’ve ever been curious about what a “Friday News Dump” was, just check out the afternoon our governor had today.
This Week in PM Blogging:
Michigan needs leaders, not cowards
Hey Michigan Republicans serving in Congress, the U.S. (and Michigan) needs leaders, not cowards. Stand up to the fringes of your party and your right-wing donors and try actually doing your job.
It was Primary Election Day on Tuesday, so we put together some key things you should know when you vote.
Voting Rights (get your) Act (together!)
It’s been half a century since the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, yet legislators continue to gerrymander our voting districts and voters are discriminated against in Dearborn Heights. That’s not democracy, but none of it will change unless we stand up, walk, drive, bike, take the bus, carpool, or do whatever we need to do to get to the polls and vote for leaders that will fight for us and our rights.
What do Terri Lynn Land and the (now former) head of MSHDA have in common?
TWIP Clips:
Woo(!)sley Quits
Well, that didn’t take long — and rightfully so.
On Thursday, we called for Governor Snyder to fire the head of MSHDA for living the high-life on the public dollar. And only one day later, Scott Woosley has decided to step down.
This is the third Snyder administration official to step down amid scrutiny and controversy. Ex-treasurer Andy Dillon, former EAA czar John Covington — and now Woosley — all left their positions after scandals broke.
What’s not clear is if Woosley will reimburse the taxpayer dollars he abused so he could ride around in limos, use the state’s private plane and have top-shelf booze on business trips. Woosley needs to reimburse the state for the money he misspent.
Given the high-profile nature of the scandals that have plagued Snyder’s administration, there needs to be an investigation into the senior-level officials that are under Snyder’s control. Abuse, cronyism and corruption have been rampant under his watch and Michiganders deserve better from their top elected official.
A Snyder spokesperson was quoted saying, “The Governor appreciates all that Scott Woosley has done…”
I imagine she was talking about how Woosley may have given Snyder some great restaurant recommendations. I mean, how else is a governor supposed to know where to find some decent foie gras?
Aramark gets slap on wrist
Today the governor announced that he will not fire Aramark, despite their utter failure to do their job, and instead he will fine them $200,000 and spend more state resources monitoring their performance.
I don’t know about you, but I have never been hired to do a job and not been fired for bad performance. Once again, Governor Snyder has turned off his “tough nerd” persona when it comes to dealing with a corporate bad actor.
Questions still remain for the governor to answer. How much more rope is he going to give Aramark? What happened to the 80-plus employees who are no longer allowed to work in our prisons? Are they working with our children in public schools? When will we see accountability out of the governor’s office?
Progressive Reads:
Proof of Terri Lynn Land’s lies about the source of her wealth continue to roll out
Could a minimum-wage earner in 1978 earn enough in a summer to pay a full year’s tuition?