Elections & Recalls

Grand Rapids information

Perhaps the easiest way for the MEA to maintain its grip on education in Michigan—and suppress reform—is to actively recruit and support candidates for school boards.  It’s fairly obvious: if you can elect your friends with relatively little invested in low turn-out elections, they’ll be sitting across from you come contract negotiating time.

EAG compiled a page called ‘Follow the Money’ which lists all the contributions MEA-affiliated Political Action Committees (PACs) made to school board candidates.  Clearly they feel these will be their likely friends when the tough decisions need to be made.

On the state level, a large amount of MEA PAC contributions go to Democratic candidates, not taking into account the political ideology of its members.

The following is a chart which shows the percentage breakdown to state level candidates and entities, including political parties, legislative caucuses, state representative and senator, attorney general, secretary of state, governor and lt. governor, and state supreme court.  The evidence clearly shows a bias towards the Democratic Party.  Case in point: on August 16, 2006, the MEA PAC contributed $250,000 to the Michigan Democratic Party.  The total to the party itself in 2006 was over $751,000 and consistently earns itself a seat on the Democratic Party’s executive committee.

The coordination with the Michigan Democratic Party is clear.  On October 16, 2006, the MEA received a "Phone Bank Deposit" (see page 68 of 148) from the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee to the tune of $35,000 for likely use of MEA facilities to turn out voters for their party's candidates.

Regarding a recall intiative against House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.), director of government operations Ed Sarpolus, told MIRS May 9, 2008 (regarding Gov. Jennifer Granholm stumping for Dillon), "At the end of the day you'd want anyone involved with the Democratic Party working to defeat the recall. So it wouldn't just be her alone . . . it should be everyone."  Regardless of what one thinks of the recall, Sarpolus's commentary is telling of which side the MEA instinctively falls on.

Below is a list of current legislators, how much their campaign committees and/or leadership PACs have taken from the MEA PAC and how they voted on Senate Bill 418—now Public Act 106 of 2007. SB 418 was the most notable reform legislation which allows school districts to obtain anonymous claims data for bidding purposes.  To say the MEA and MESSA vehmently opposed it would be an understatement.  The amounts reflect contributions received since January 1, 2004.