LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Votes of Local Democrats Hurting Education

The Votes of Local Democrats Hurting Education

Ann Arbor is quite often viewed as the liberal hot-spot of Michigan. Ann Arbor is a Democratic stronghold, as one cannot win an election in this town if they are a Republican. Our Governor, Rick Snyder is a Republican. He created a non-profit in Ann Arbor that runs a for-profit fund for wealthy investors — none of the returns from that fund go back to the public.

Now, many Democrats are critical of Snyder and they criticize him for how he supposedly is not helping education enough. I do think he deserves some criticism for that, but he doesn’t deserve all the criticism. This is not a criticism of the Democratic Party as a whole, but of the Democratic Party in Washtenaw County and how it sends a signal to the rest of the Democratic Party in Michigan.

Ann Arbor is a key symbolic stronghold of the Democratic Party, and we must realize that an important Democratic City Council (which is composed of one Independent and the others are Democrats)  voted to support the non-profit that Snyder created.

In particular, they voted in favor of a 15 year contract that will send $57 million to his non-profit.  They haven’t won the contract yet from the State, but City Council voted in favor of it.  Within that contract it states that it will take the money from the School Aide Fund. Even if it doesn’t take the money from schools in Ann Arbor, it is screwing some other school in this Great State. You see, the majority of Democrats on City Council in Ann Arbor, in one of the most Democratic city of Michigan, voted in favor of doing that — and yet they complain about Snyder hurting schools.

Not all of the city council members voted in favor of it, but the majority did. The Republican Party in Michigan needs to point this item out. I am not Democratic nor Republican, as I’m just looking for truth. And the truth in this town is that (a majority of the elected) Democrats supported Snyder’s non-profit and they voted in favor of raiding the School Aide Fund to do it.

Democrats who voted in favor of this, just sent a huge vote of symbolic confidence to the Governor of Michigan that it is fine to raid the School Aide Fund and give it to a non-profit that runs a for-profit fund.

Before any Democrat spends time criticizing Governor Snyder for his educational policies, Democrats need to take a hard look inwards and for the role that they played in supporting Snyder and hurting education.  Democrats, don’t just talk the talk, but make sure you walk it as well.

You claim you don’t want to hurt the schools, but then you went and did just that.

Kai Petainen

Ann Arbor, MI