Gop Rep. Paul Scott Recall Gets Enough Signatures To Make The Ballot

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Recall drive against GOP state Rep. Paul Scott turns in enough signatures; Snyder recall effort continues

 

BY KATHLEEN GRAY

 

DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

 

While recall campaigns are proceeding against more than two dozen state legislators and Gov. Rick Snyder, only one campaign — against state Rep. Paul Scott, R-Grand Blanc — filed enough signatures by Friday’s deadline to possibly get on the November ballot.

 

The organizers of the drive against Scott filed 12,200 signatures with the Secretary of State Friday, nearly 2,600 more than what is required to get on the ballot. The extra signatures provide a cushion if some of the names aren’t found to be valid registered voters in the district.

 

“That language clarity hearing was just two weeks ago,” said Doug Pratt, spokesman for the Michigan Education Association, which has provided funding for the recall drive. “Getting that many signatures in such a short amount of time is monumental.”

 

But Scott characterized the recall campaign as being spearheaded by outside special interests who just want to overturn the will of the voters in his southern Genesee County district.

 

“Lansing special interest group have picked a fight and have put our community in the cross hairs,” he said. “We look forward to carrying our message of making sure government lives within its means.”

 

Attorneys for Scott also filed a request with the SOS Friday morning asking them not to accept the petitions because his appeal of the language of the petition hasn’t been heard.

 

While the Scott recall is the only one that might get on the Nov. 8 ballot — the SOS has 35 days to verify the signatures — at least a dozen recall campaigns are in the works because of policies passed in the first seven months of the Snyder administration, including the emergency financial manager law, a tax on pensions and the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax.

 

The Michigan recalls follow the state of Wisconsin, where recalls against state legislators are rampant because of a fight over collective bargaining rights of public sector employees.

 

“The difference is that, rather than action taken in one fell swoop in Wisconsin to take away people’s collective bargaining rights, it’s being done piece-by-piece in Michigan,” Pratt said. “People in Michigan are waking up and realizing that they’re not getting the representation they voted for last year. People are genuinely angry.”

 

Lansing political pollster Bernie Porn said recall organizers, who are now aiming for getting recalls on the February ballot, will run into a problem because the only issue on that ballot so far is the Republican presidential primary, which will attract loads of GOP voters, but not as many Democrats.

 

“That would be an imbalance that will be very difficult to even out,” Porn said.