Turn Michigan Around 

Suspends Petition Drive 

There is an important announcement that will soon be made regarding the future of Turn Michigan Around. We wanted to inform you–our valued supporters and volunteers–of this news before it begins to be widely publicized.

On May 29, the President and CEO of the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce, Steward Sandstrom, will be participating in the Detroit Policy Conference on Mackinac Island as part of a panel discussing the issues of a part-time legislature and term limits. At that panel, Sandstrom intends to announce that, barring an unforeseen influx of support and resources, Turn Michigan Around will be suspending its efforts to collect signatures that would place the issue before Michigan voters in November 2008.

The State of Michigan requires that signatures be submitted by July 7, 2008 in order to be considered for the November ballot. The decision was made to suspend the drive as signatures are not coming in sufficient numbers to meet the July deadline. We simply have run out of time despite your great efforts.

Although this issue will not appear on the November ballot, we have accomplished much in making it widely known that there is a strong need to restructure Michigan’s legislature into a part-time body. Your efforts have helped to elevate this issue to the forefront of Michigan’s political consciousness. Although we are ending this particular effort, we will be assessing the best way to continue to push for a part-time legislature in Michigan. As a result of your support, we have distributed more than 26,000 petitions, established 155 petition distribution sites in 54 counties, and collected thousands and thousands of signatures. Without these successes, we wouldn’t have the option of vying to place the issue on the 2010 ballot or wait for a Constitutional Convention in early 2011.

We sincerely appreciate the time, effort and resources you have invested in this campaign. Also, we would like to recognize and thank our partners in this effort: Reform Michigan Government; the National Federation of Independent Businesses; the Home Builders Association of Greater Kalamazoo; and the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce. As we bring this effort to a close, we will come very close to breaking-even on expenses; expenses that included the printing and mailing of thousands of petitions, legal fees, and the maintenance of our Web site. We could not have done these things without your support, and for that, we thank you.

For future efforts, it will be important to know the exact number of signatures we have collected. As such, please take the time to send in your remaining signed petitions, so we can get an accurate count.

Let’s keep fighting for a part-time legislature in Michigan!

Sincerely,

Turn Michigan Around