Election 2008
Candidate recommendations made by your colleagues back home, not by leaders at MEA headquarters
MEA posts a list of recommended candidates for political office every election cycle, and 2008 will be no different.
But don’t think that these recommendations are dictated by a handful of officers and leaders at MEA headquarters in East Lansing.
That’s not the case at all.
In fact, the recommendations are decided by more than 2,000 colleagues you work with in your home districts who sit on 100 local Screening and Recommendation (S & R) Committees around the state.
They will be conducting face-to-face interviews with candidates to determine who will receive the coveted MEA recommendation.
Candidates earn recommendations based on their positions on education issues only, including their support of public education, public school employees and matters that affect students in the classroom. Views on social issues, such as gun control or reproductive rights, are NOT considered.
Novi’s Tom Brenner, who chairs the 9th Congressional District S & R Committee, calls the process “a grassroots effort that gives MEA members a chance to get involved in political action.”
“It’s been said before—all decisions about our jobs are made by politicians, and I believe the more members we have involved in the process, the more influence we can have in the political arena,” he said. (Brenner’s committee recently recommended former state senator and lottery commissioner Gary Peters for the 9th District U.S. Representative seat. See story below.)
S & R committees face a busy year in Michigan as voters will be electing a U.S. Senator, filling all 110 State House seats, 15 U.S. Representative positions and two seats each on the State Board of Education, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the Wayne State University Board of Governors and the University of Michigan Board of Regents.
MEA political campaign consultant Linda Myers encourages S & R committees to complete their work as early as possible. “The earlier recommendations give us more opportunity to publicize candidates we favor and garner more support for them among MEA members.”
Check out www.meavotes.org for more information on Election 2008.
‘No Child must go,’ says 9th District congressional candidate Gary Peters
MEA’s recommended candidate speaks out against all unfunded mandates for public education.
Gary Peters: 'We need to uplift children in every school district.'
U.S. Representative candidate Gary Peters called for the repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act in a speech at the MEA Bargaining, Political Action and Public Relations Conference last month in Detroit.
“The federal government should stay out of education and repeal No Child,” said Peters, a Democrat running against eight-term Republican incumbent Joe Knollenberg in Oakland County’s 9th District. “It has to go—so far it’s been underfunded to the tune of $70 billion.”
Peters, MEA’s recommended candidate who served successfully in the state Senate and as Michigan’s lottery commissioner, said all unfunded mandates like No Child should be eliminated to strengthen public education.
He also called for:
• Full funding of Head Start and making a national commitment to pre-K-12 childhood education programs.
• Smaller class sizes.
• Cutting-edge technology in all schools.
• Paying teachers and education support personnel “what they are worth.”
“We need to uplift children in every school district in this state, not just some, and eliminate our over-reliance on testing,” he said.
Peters said his opponent “has one of the worst ratings by NEA in the country on public education.”
“My 90-year-old father was a proud member of MEA, and I will be proud to work with you for public education,” Peters said. “Let’s move forward together and fight for public education.”
For more information on Gary Peters, visit www.petersforcongress.com.