McGonegal calls Ward out on vote against jobs
BRIGHTON – Mike McGonegal, candidate for the 66th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, said he was amazed that his opponent would not only vote against economic development and keeping jobs in Michigan but criticized the Governor for signing the bill that made it happen.
Chris Ward and his Livingston County colleague, Joe Hune. issued a joint press release Tuesday for criticizing the Governor for signing Public Act 351 that would open the Michigan Youth Correctional Facility in Baldwin that was closed last year, devastating the local economy of the small community 65 miles north of Grand Rapids. The prison is one of Lake County's largest employers with more than 230 full-time people and pays $5.3 million in property taxes. The non-partisan House Fiscal Agency that analyzed the bill said the prison is “vital to the economic development” of the area.
“My entire campaign is about keeping and creating jobs, and this is a clear vote against it,” McGonegal said. “It also further demonstrates Mr. Ward’s inability to work with other people to benefit Michigan, as well as an apparent lack of understanding of how government works.”
House Bill 5800 was introduced by a member Ward’s party that has a clear majority in both the House and Senate, passed the House by a vote of 72-31 and after passage it was moved by Ward to give the bill immediate effect. The Senate passed it by a vote of 36-1, including a yes vote by Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell.
Ward and Hune objected to the bill because it allows inmates or detainees from other local, state or Federal agencies to be housed at the prison, and they rationalize if Hamburg Township’s Camp Brighton, which employees more than 60 full-time employees, were ever closed this could be used to re-open it if it were ever closed. The press release also compared human beings to Canadian trash.
“This is a cheap, political trick to criticize the Governor for doing what’s best for the state and working with the opposition party to do that,” McGonegal said. “Comparing human begins to trash is just disgusting.”
* * *
posted by Communications guru @ 10:45 AM
3 Comments:
Another great observation. The Youth Facility will bring back jobs to the area & serve the sentenced people. We actually need to educate people before they make make poor life choices and wind up in jail. The current Republican Legislators want to cut taxes and deny education &jobs to anyone struggling. VOTE THEM OUT.
Thank you for posting. I agree with you. This entire press release Mr. Ward and Hune put out really bothers me for a number of reasons.
They went to the trouble to have the state-paid Republican Communications Caucus put out a press release criticizing the Governor for cooperating with the party that controls the House – their party.
But the worst thing, at least for me, is comparing people who have made mistakes in their life and are paying the price for it to Canadian trash. They are calling those people trash. Does that mean we can just throw them away like trash and chuck them in a Michigan landfill, Mr. Ward and Mr. Hune?
That “trash” is somebody’s son, husband, brother or father.
That comment is just insensitive, unintelligent and disgusting. No one is trash, and the entire goal is to rehabilitate people and after they have paid their debt to society.
Post a Comment
<< Home