Some important news from Keith Fitzgerald for State House
Out-of-State Pro-Voucher Group Enters District 69 Race
All Children Matter Sends Benson Mailer
Last week, a Michigan-based special interest group called All Children Matter (ACM) paid for a mailer to State House District 69 voters promoting the campaign of Laura Benson. ACM is a pro-voucher organization whose major funders include the families of the founders of corporate giants Wal-Mart and AmWay. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ACM operates through a network of Political Action Committees and Electioneering Communications Organizations in states across the country.
Read more about ACM after the jump:
ACM's mission is to elect pro-voucher candidates.
ACM wants to privatize our state's public education system by implementing vouchers, which use tax dollars to pay tuition to private and religious schools. Vouchers drain money from our already struggling public schools.
ACM hides their agenda.
While ACM's mission is to elect candidates who favor vouchers (what they call "school choice"), the group makes their intentions far from clear. The group's website only mentions "the enactment of meaningful reforms." In fact, the group has launched negative attacks on candidates on issues that have nothing to do with education. For example, in August 2004, the group attacked a Republican primary candidate for State House District 46 on his position on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. (St. Petersburg Times, 8/27/04; All Children Matter, accessed 10/16/06)
ACM founder now disavows vouchers for his own state
... but continues to push for them in others.
As ACM founder Dick DeVos runs for governor in Michigan, he now says that he will not push for vouchers in his own state since Michigan voters rejected his initiative to let public tax dollars cover private school vouchers in 2000. But that hasn't stopped him from pouring money into other states, such as Florida, to buy the election of pro-voucher candidates. (AP, 10/14/06)
ACM Is Trying To Use Out-of-State Money To Buy The Future of Education In Florida.
In 2004, ACM pumped $1.6 million in out-of-state money into the campaigns of legislative candidates who supported vouchers. The group's activities in 2006 have included pouring money into attacks on incumbent Alex Villalobos in State Senate District 38. According to the Florida Division of Elections website, in January through September 2006 alone, ACM-Florida took in over $500,000 from out-of-state interests. (http://election.dos.state.fl.us/online/commsrch.asp Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, Committee Search, accessed 10/16/06; Miami Herald, 9/1/06)
Nearly all of the money funneled into the Florida ECO was from the group's Virginia State PAC. The Virginia PAC's largest contributor during that period was the estate of Wal-Mart heir John Walton, which contributed nearly $2.8 million in July 2006. ACM is also heavily funded by Dick and Betsy DeVos, the group's founders. Dick DeVos is also the son of AmWay founder Richard DeVos. (Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, Committee Search, http://election.dos.state.fl.us/online/commsrch.asp, accessed 10/16/06; Palm Beach Post, 4/17/06)
Keith Fitzgerald can't be bought.
Tallahassee has enough legislators who sell their votes to the highest bidder. Florida needs leaders like Keith Fitzgerald, who will stand up to special interests and bring a moderate, pragmatic approach to policy and politics.
Go Fitz Go!