DoublePlus UnGood - Unicam Does NOT Get Signatures
July 9th, 2006 | by christine |Note: This Press Release comes from Joseph Lukasiewicz, Spokesperson for Unicameral Michigan
NEWS RELEASE
Regretfully, I must report that, despite a truly remarkable effort by state-wide volunteers, we did not make our goal in securing the needed signatures for our initiative petition drive to abolish the Michigan State Senate. Its particularly sad in that state-wide support for this effort runs high. There will be many, many people around the state disappointed by this announcement. For many, it was the only hope they saw in reforming our government, finally making legislators accountable for their actions while forging a new course for Michigan.
Without some fundamental change in the way our legislature conducts our business, Michigan will never recapture the greatness among the states we once enjoyed. Lobbyist influence and partisan bickering have taken their toll. Michiganders have paid the price.
Neglecting to deal with critical issues through the years, our legislators have essentially ceded our leading role in manufacturing, agriculture, and knowledge transfer to other states and countries. We are now recognized as a state with NO JOBS and HIGH TAXES!
Our legislators have created a hostile business climate and an even worse quality-of-life for the citizens of Michigan. More businesses and citizens are now leaving the state than moving here. It’s been said more than once this past year in reference to our failing state, “Will the last one out, please turn off the lightsâ€.
Our core reasons for moving to a one-house legislature remain financially and politically sound. The arguments against us were weak or flat out wrong. Its an easy debate, but one which we were never really able to take to the people. For their self-serving reasons, the legislators ignored us. Lacking deep pocketed donors and celebrity behind our drive, much of the media was quick to dismiss the campaign as “doomed from the startâ€.
Admittedly, we started the signature drive late having spent nine months trying to appease the State Bureau of Elections on the petition language. In late January of this year, the State Board of Canvassers approved our petition “as to formâ€, minimizing the risk of challenges to our drive. By the time we officially launched the signature drive on February 1, we lost nearly all of our momentum. We were not able to recover from that loss.
The grass-roots method of proposing law through initiatives represents the essence of democracy. The harsh reality though is that in today’s political climate, a true grass-roots campaign does not stand a chance. The mere logistics of gathering 317,000 signatures requires money, and lots of it. Informing the citizenry of an issue takes cooperation from the media, but without a celebrity name attached to it, it gets ignored. Politicians know that. The media knows that. WE now know that!
A group of us are exploring continuing with this campaign, taking it to the 2008 ballot. The petition language would not change. The number of signatures needed will. Should we choose to proceed, the campaign will be very different. We will raise money to hire a company to collect signatures as every other ballot proposal has done. We will seek the early support and endorsements of sympathetic groups. We will recruit political and/or other celebrities to put a recognizable name or face to this issue.
We thank all those that supported our effort.
Joseph Lukasiewicz, Spokesperson
Unicameral Michigan
For Media follow-up, please contact:
Mr. Brian Reynolds, Candidate for the 87th Dist. House Seat
269-948-4163(h) or 269-945-3668 (w)
