STATEMENT ISSUED JULY 25 BY THE CENTER FOR MICHIGAN STEERING COMMITTEE:

Last fall, we spoke out in opposition to organized efforts to recall legislators who voted to increase taxes in connection with Michigan's budget crisis. We said such recalls amounted to blackmail that stifled lawmakers' ability to do what voters sent them to Lansing to do - vote their conscience. Happily, none of last fall's recall efforts were successful.

In recent weeks, we have been asked whether The Center has been involved in the Reform Michigan Government Now ballot proposal. No. We were not involved in any way.

Indeed, we find it necessary now to register our concerns about the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal.

RMGN has been presented as a way to streamline state government and make it more accountable to the people. But, after careful review, we find the RMGN proposal is so broad and so complex that it goes well beyond the requirements for amending the constitution by ballot initiative. In addition, RMGN appears to be designed to provide long-term partisan advantage to one party rather than as a fair-minded attempt at constitutional reform. Just the perception that this proposal is motivated by partisan politics will further polarize our already divided state at a time when Michigan is badly in need of civility, consensus-building and problem-solving.

Some aspects of RMGN have merit and should be carefully explored in the future. These include attempts to increase accountability in elections, reform redistricting, increase political disclosure, tighten lobbying rules and reduce fringe benefits for lawmakers.

But these possible plusses are overshadowed by troubling features. Our specific concerns include:

SECRECY: Weeks into this campaign, the authors and financial sponsors still remain unknown. As a matter of principle, our constitution should never be changed in such secrecy.

SUPREME COURT TINKERING: The proposal would eliminate two Michigan Supreme Court justices and various appeals court judges. The positions to be eliminated are almost exclusively held by Republicans. This appears to be an attempt to impose purely partisan considerations on our judicial branch – a trend that is already much too advanced for the good of the state.

DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF VOTERS: The most important part of the RMGN proposal deals with redistricting. The RMGN proposal would set up a non-partisan, independent panel to review 10-year legislative districts in 2011 – on first glance an important reform to get rid of gerrymandering. More careful review, however, shows that the redistricting part of the proposal would draw districts so that the vast majority of seats would be very likely safe for either Democratic or Republican candidates, leaving only around one quarter of House and Senate seats truly competitive. If adopted, this proposal would disenfranchise millions of Michigan voters, who would be denied participation in truly competitive elections. And it would further entrench highly partisan state party machines. We support truly independent, non-partisan redistricting, but it should maximize, rather than minimize, the number of fairly drawn and competitive races so that candidates would compete on the merit of their ideas rather than their party affiliation in gerrymandered districts.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM BY INITIATIVE: At heart, the RMGN proposal amounts to a selective, piecemeal approach to amending the constitution by ballot initiative, instead of through a comprehensive, carefully considered process. If our present constitution has defects – and many believe it does – those would best be cured by holding a proper constitutional convention. Our present constitution requires a vote on this question in the 2010 election. We urge careful consideration of this question in the coming months.

We encourage voters to hold our elected representatives and community leaders to responsible, pragmatic and bipartisan problem solving in this era of upheaval and uncertainty in our state. The RMGN proposal does not meet this test.

Signed,

Richard T. Cole, Chair, Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Retailing, Michigan State University

Paul Courant, Professor, Ford School of Public Policy and Department of Economics, University of Michigan

Paul Dimond, Of Counsel, Miller Canfield

Elisabeth Gerber, Director, Center for Local, State and Urban Policy, and Professor, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Paul Hillegonds, Senior Vice President, DTE Energy; former President, Detroit Renaissance, and former Speaker, Michigan House of Representatives

Jack Lessenberry, Professor of Journalism, Wayne State University, and Senior Political Analyst, radio station WUOM

Mark Murray, President, Meijer Stores, Inc. and former president of Grand Valley State University.

Phil Power, President, The Center for Michigan

Glenda Price, President Emerita, Marygrove College

Milt Rohwer, President, The Frey Foundation.

Doug Rothwell, President, Detroit Renaissance, and former CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Craig Ruff, Senior Policy Fellow, Public Sector Consultants

Marilyn Schlack, president, Kalamazoo Valley Community College

John A. ("Joe") Schwarz, former member of Congress and former Michigan State Senator

S. Martin Taylor, retired corporate executive