FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
September 22, 2016
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
Progress Michigan Launches Program to Highlight Legislative Action Putting Campaign Donors Ahead of Kids
Program to run in 11 districts across the state, includes cable & digital ads, mail, and canvassing
MICHIGAN — Today, Progress Michigan announced a program to educate the people of Michigan about the failed DeVos family backed GOP Education Plan. The plan, which has been implemented over the last six years of total Republican control, has included cuts to education funding to give a $1.8 billion tax cut to big businesses and diverting $1 billion per year from neighborhood schools to unaccountable for-profit charter and cyber schools. Over the past six years, the DeVos family has poured millions of campaign contributions into this failed agenda.
As part of the program, Progress Michigan has launched a new website (www.GOPEducationPlan.com) explaining the education policies pushed by Republican legislators.
“Voters deserve to know the truth about the Michigan Republican education plan. For the last six years, Republicans in Lansing have put the wants of the DeVos family and other corporate donors over the needs of Michigan students and taxpayers,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “There is a lot of spin coming from Lansing about education, but parents and teachers who have dealt with cuts and seen first-hand the state of schools know that the GOP education plan has been a failure.”
Progress Michigan’s program includes cable and digital ads, mailers, and door-to-door canvassing in 11 state house districts. The goal is to encourage residents to contact their elected officials and urge them to stand up for kids over theGOP education plan, while thanking those who have stood up for students and our neighborhood schools. The cable ads will run on popular channels such as MSNBC, TNT, USA Network and others starting Friday.
“Our aim is for Michiganders to not only know the truth about the GOP education plan, but to remind them that these elected officials are supposed to answer to their constituents, not wealthy donors. They have a voice in Lansing and we’re urging them to use it,” Scott continued. “For six years the GOP leadership in Lansing — from Gov. Rick Snyder to his enablers in the legislature — have done the bidding of wealthy corporate special interests and their campaign donors while ignoring average Michiganders. It’s time for the voice of the people to be heard when it comes to protecting quality public education.”
The program will run in the following districts:
HD 21 – Representative Kristy Pagan
HD 23 – Representative Patrick Somerville
HD 25 – Representative Henry Yanez
HD 30 – Representative Jeff Farrington
HD 39 – Representative Klint Kesto
HD 62 – Representative John Bizon
HD 71 – Representative Tom Barrett
HD 76 – Representative Winnie Brinks
HD 91 – Representative Holly Hughes
HD 99 – Representative Kevin Cotter
HD 101 – Representative Ray Franz
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