Glad to hear:
http://www.mlive.com/...
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer made a pitch for the women who "drive Michigan’s economy" by saying he'd work for such benefits as unpaid pregnancy leave and restoring the child tax credit, if elected governor.
At a press conference on Wednesday, he cited strong women in his life, such as his mother and grandmother, and said he wants to amend the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to add equal pay requirements. If elected, he would also call for stiffer penalties for wage discrimination based on gender.
He also pledged to restore the child tax credit, which was eliminated in 2011 tax reforms championed by current Gov. Rick Snyder. And he'd extend paid sick leave, establish stronger job protections for pregnant women and protect women’s access to health care by repealing the “rape insurance” law, he said.
Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Lisa Brown said Schauer would fight for women and kids in school.
“We cannot afford another four years of Rick Snyder. Mark Schauer and I will fight for women and families, not against them,” Brown said.
He said he would require companies with 50 or more employees to allow pregnant or sick employees up to three months of unpaid leave.
“It helps keep trained productive workers with that company, and it’s the right thing to do,” Schauer said.
He said it’s already in federal law, and it’s good for business.
“It’s job security for the employee, but it’s also employee security for the business owner. - MLive, 7/24/14
Schauer's campaign revealed some more details and bashed Governor Rick Snyder's (R. MI) record on women's issues:
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/...
"Under this governor, Michigan's women and middle class families are routinely disrespected, discounted and dismissed," says Lisa Brown, Schauer's running mate.
The candidate outlined what he would do for women if elected. Schauer says he will:
1) Cut taxes for parents raising kids
2) Fight for equal pay for equal work
3) Expand paid sick leave
4) Urge stronger job protections for pregnant women
5) Protect equal access to health care and reproductive rights
The Snyder campaign provided business woman Nancy Marr for a reaction, but when Fox 2 political analyst Tim Skubick reports when asked several times to comment on the Schauer proposals, she would only say, "We're just thrilled to pieces with what governor Snyder is doing and that's why we're thrilled to support him."
The Snyder campaign media secretary dismissed the Schauer event as a "political stunt" and "an old attack from a career politician." - My Fox Detroit, 7/23/14
Here's some more details:
http://www.cadillacnews.com/...
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer on Wednesday said Michigan's $600-per-child tax credit should be restored and businesses with more than 50 employees should provide 40 hours of paid sick leave a year.
The former congressman unveiled the proposals and others while outlining his economic priorities for women and families, which include ensuring "equal pay for equal work" and establishing stronger job protections for pregnant women such as letting them transfer to less strenuous work with a doctor's recommendation.
"Michigan women drive Michigan's economy. That's why I'm running for governor — to make Michigan's economy work for women and their families and not just the wealthy," Schauer said outside the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame in Lansing, where he was joined by running mate Lisa Brown, abortion-rights groups, nurses and female elected Democrats.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's campaign dismissed the event as a "political stunt" and said women recognize an improved economy under Snyder's watch. State Republican Party spokesman Darren Littell drew attention to Brown being accused of firing a legislative aide in 2009 because the staffer was pregnant.
Brown, a former state representative who is now Oakland County's clerk, sued Ericah Caughey for defamation last year after she appeared in TV ads and videos opposing Brown's clerk candidacy. Brown's lawsuit said Caughey "invented" the story of being discriminated against because of her pregnancy, and Schauer spokeswoman Cathy Cunningham said Wednesday that Internet videos in which Caughey appeared were taken down after Brown sued.
The suit has since been dropped.
Schauer's strategy of wooing women voters mirrors what Democrats recently have emphasized nationally — pay equity and family leave issues — in an attempt to turn out women, who are increasingly important to Democrats' election hopes.
The $600-per-child income tax deduction was eliminated in 2011 by Snyder and GOP lawmakers to help replace lost revenue from a business tax overhaul. Schauer declined to say if or how he would replenish the $57 million that state government would lose if the tax break is reinstated, saying it's not a "big cost item" in the state budget.
"It will put more money in families' pockets to spend on things like gas and groceries and school supplies and clothing and diapers for their kids," Schauer said. - Cadillac News, 7/24/14
Of course Snyder and the RGA are trying to accuse Schauer of wanting to raise taxes:
http://www.mlive.com/...
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer is crying foul over a new attack ad from the Republican Governors Association that indicates he supported higher taxes 40 times as a state lawmaker in Lansing.
"Taxes: That's his answer for everything," says Tiffany Pignataro of Battle Creek, who is featured in the ad holding a baby while her husband sits with two children in the background. "Mr. Schauer, I can't pay any more taxes. My taxes are too high already."
Schauer spokesman Zack Pohl said the ad was still "out of touch" because it featured an Ohio license plate and a Kentucky-made Toyota Camry rather than a vehicle made in Michigan. He called the commercial "the latest in a string of missteps" from the RGA, which previously released a Michigan ad criticizing Schauer for supporting a law that Snyder extended.
The family in the ad is likely paying higher taxes due to the elimination of credits under Snyder in 2011, Pohl said. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson called the ad "the height of hypocrisy." - MLive, 7/24/14
Nice rebuttal. If you need another reason to vote for Schauer, here's a good one:
http://www.msnbc.com/...
By any objective measure, the state of Michigan has been economically transformed under the tenure of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. City agencies and entire school districts have been outsourced or privatized; public employees have been laid off in droves; municipalities have sold off vast swaths of public land; and city employee unions have seen their contracts whittled down to nothing. All of this was accomplished in the space of three and a half years. Michigan’s Emergency Manager system is what made it possible.
Under Public Act 4, which Gov. Snyder approved shortly after taking office in 2011, the state has the authority to place cash-strapped cities and school districts under the stewardship of Emergency Managers (EMs). A city’s EM has the power of the mayor and the city council combined, and then some; they’re even allowed to unilaterally rewrite public union contracts. Essentially, placing a city under emergency management suspends the powers of its elected officials and invests all that authority in a single, un-elected figure. The system has been described as “financial martial law,” and it is the force behind Detroit’s recent bankruptcy negotiations, pension cuts and water shutoffs.
Now Snyder’s Democratic challenger, former congressman Mark Schauer, is promising to undo the EM system. Speaking on Saturday at the liberal conference Netroots Nation in Detroit, Mich., Schauer said that he planned on “restoring democracy” in Detroit if elected governor. In an interview with msnbc, he explained that he intended to scrap the EM law entirely.
“Look, it provides unlimited power to an un-elected official,” he said. “It sets aside elected officials, collective bargaining agreements, with accountability to only one person, and that’s the governor.”
Instead of EMs, Schauer says he would like financially stressed cities and school districts to receive “financial transition teams” that would work collaboratively with mayors, city councils, and superintendents. These teams would not act in a purely advisory capacity – Schauer said there would be “accountability measures” baked into the new system – but much of the city’s power would remain in the hands of elected officials, and it is not entirely clear what authority the transition teams would have to impose their will. - MSNBC, 7/21/14
By the way, this will make you laugh:
http://www.politico.com/...
Mark Schauer, the Democratic candidate for governor in Michigan, voted in the 2012 Republican primary, likely for Rick Santorum in order to embarrass Mitt Romney in his home state.
But Schauer, a former congressman, has discouraged activists from meddling in this year’s competitive GOP primaries, including a closely watched House race outside Detroit. Michigan’s primary is Aug. 5.
In 2012, with Romney marching toward the GOP nomination, some Democrats crossed over to support Santorum. They wanted to extend the Republican nominating process as a way to strengthen President Barack Obama, as Republicans had meddled in the 2008 primaries with “Operation Chaos.”
“To be clear, President Obama was running unopposed in the 2012 primary,” emailed Zack Pohl, a spokesman for Schauer, who is challenging Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. - Politico, 7/23/14
Pretty funny. By the way, some people don't understand why Snyder's record is met with ambivalence:
http://www.businessweek.com/...
The business community adores him for overhauling the tax system and delivering many cuts for private enterprise. He also signed on-time state budgets and other commerce-friendly measures. But conservative activists are angry about his embrace of the Medicaid expansion in the health care overhaul, Common Core education standards and proposed higher gasoline taxes to improve roads.
Snyder also defied fellow Republicans by committing state money to help Detroit emerge from bankruptcy and vetoing GOP gun, abortion and voter ID bills.
"I expect someone with an 'R' by their name to promote the Republican Party's platform at the very least," said Joan Fabiano, a Lansing-area tea party leader.
Snyder has incensed voters on the left, too. Labor leaders were enraged that he made Michigan a right-to-work state and toughened a law giving the state more control over financially distressed local governments. Unions have targeted him for defeat. The Democratic Governors Association has spent more than $5 million on TV ads to help opponent Mark Schauer, a former one-term congressman.
Snyder remains the favorite, and most polls have shown him ahead of Schauer, who is still unknown to many voters. No first-term Michigan governor has lost re-election in 52 years.
But the former accountant's job-approval and favorability ratings are lagging. And an EPIC-MRA poll conducted in mid-July showed the candidates about even among 600 likely voters: Snyder with 46 percent, Schauer at 43 percent, with a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
"This is a governor who is stuck in the mid-40s" in the polls," Schauer said. "There is a combination of anger and motivation for change."
Some observers question whether independents will stay in Snyder's corner and whether the GOP base will be excited enough about a second term to vote in large numbers. - Bloomberg Businessweek, 7/24/14
Polls have showed Schauer closing the gap and gaining on Snyder. We can win this race, we just have to get the base out. So click here to get involved and donate to Schauer's campaign:
http://markschauer.com/