The American Conservative Union has long been the premier organization rating members of Congress on how conservative their voting records are. Recently, ACU began rating state legislators on their voting records, and it just released its third ratings of the Michigan state legislature. I will summarize the relevant information here.
ACU State Ratings 2014--MI
ACU rated 12 house votes and 13 senate votes from 2013 and 2014. Ten of the bills are the same for both halves of the legislature. The most common topics for the state house votes were taxes (3 votes), spending (3), and regulation (3). The most common topic for the state senate votes were taxes (4 votes) and spending (4).
ACU Michigan state senate ratings 2013/2014:
100%: Pavlov, Emmons, Moolenaar
92%: Colbeck, Brandenberg, Rocca, Robertson, Proos, Jones, Schuitmaker, Green, Booher
85%: Marleau, Hune, Jansen, Hildenbrand, Meekhof
77%: Pappageorge, Kowall, Caswell, Richardville, Nofs, Kahn, Hansen, Walker, Casperson
62%: Hunter
31-33%: Hopgood, Andersen, Ananich
23%: Bieda
15-17%: Young, Johnson, Gregory, Warren, Whitmer
8-9%: Hood, Smith
The average for the Republicans was 86%, up from 78%. The average for the democrats was 23%, up from 9%. The overall average was 66%, up from 59%.
The biggest changes from 2012/13 were Hunter (+49), Hopgood (+25), and Casperson (+21).
The improvement probably has more to do with more generous vote selection by ACU than any substantial swing to the right in the Michigan legislature. Tupak Hunter does seem to have genuinely swung to the right.
The previous years' scores are available at the links at the bottom.
ACU Michigan state house ratings 2013/2014 (rounded to nearest 8%):
100%: Lund, Nesbitt
92%: Howrylak, Zorn, O'Brien, MacGregor, Hooker, Pscholka, Genetski, Kelly, Johnson, Franz, Rendon, Foster
83%: Forlini, Farrington, Lafontaine, Goike, Kesto, McCready, Kurtz, Shirkey, Outman, Yonker, Pagel, Lauwers, Daley, Callton, Victory, Leonard, Bumstead, MacMaster, McBroom
75%: Walsh, Heise, Somerville, Crawford, Rogers, Haines, Kowall, McMillin, Jacobsen, Denby, Graves, Jenkins, Lori, Bolger, Poleski, Verhuelen, Brown, Glardon, Lyons, Price, Haveman, Stamas, Cotter, Potvin, Schmidt, Dianda
67%: Clemente, Haugh, Muxlow, Lamonte, Brunner, Pettalia, Kivela
58%: Kosowski, Lavoy, Greimel, Smiley, Driskell, Cochran, Oakes
50%: Nathan, Darany, Slavens, Phelps, McCann, Abed, Brinks
42%: Knezek, Kandrevas, Lane, Rutledge, Segal, Dillon
33%: Olumba, Cavanaugh, Yanez, Stanley,
25%: Robinson, Durhal, Stallworth, Geiss, Townsend, Lipton, Irwin, Zemke, Schor
17%: Tlaib, Santana, Hobbs, Barnett, Faris, Singh, Hovey-Wright
8%: Roberts, Switalski
0%: Banks, Talabi
The house average was 62%, up from 53%. The average for (current) house Republicans was 82%, up from 75%. The average for current house democrats was 39%, up from 29%. Both caucuses were closer to the center that their senate counterparts, particularly the democrats.
The members who scored 100% are (term-limited) Pete Lund and Aric Nesbitt. The lowest-scoring Republicans were Paul Muxlow and Peter Pettalia at 67%. The top-scoring democrats were Terry Brown (term-limited, lost a state senate race) and Scott Dianda at 75%.
The largest positive changes were Clemente (+47), Haugh (+46), Brown (+45), Darany (+40), Kosowski (+33), McCready (+33), Zorn (+32), Lori (+30), Kivela (+29), Kandrevas (+27), Howrylak (+27), Rutledge (+27), Foster (+27), Slavens (+25), Nesbitt (+25), Forlini (+23), McBroom (+23), O'Brien (+22), Pscholka (+22), Brunner (+22), Johnson (+22). Several of them faced competitive primary or general elections.
The largest negative change was Faris (-21).
As with the senate scores, the improvement probably has more to do with more generous vote selection by ACU than any substantial swing to the right in the Michigan legislature.
Of course, the usual caveats apply to any legislative ratings system. Legislators' scores will vary from year to year, so it will be interesting to compare these scores to future years' scores. Also, ratings only cover issues that were actually voted upon, so controversial issues that never made it to a vote can't be scored.
Nonetheless, ratings such as this are a valuable tool for voters in future elections.
Previous:
2012-2013 ACU Michigan Legislature Ratings
2012 ACU Michigan Legislature Ratings
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
2015 Kalamazoo Election Preview
This article was last updated August 20, 2015.
Michigan will see several elections in 2015. This is a preview of elections in Kalamazoo County. The November election will have Kalamazoo and Portage city elections.
February 24: Kalamazoo Township passed a road millage.
May 5: Proposal 1 would have raised Michigan taxes by 2 billion per year to pay for road improvements and many other things. It was defeated 20%-80%. There was a KRESA millage that narrowly passed.
August 4: There will be a bus tax millage on the ballot in much of Kalamazoo County.
Pay for Your Own Buses!May 5: Proposal 1 would have raised Michigan taxes by 2 billion per year to pay for road improvements and many other things. It was defeated 20%-80%. There was a KRESA millage that narrowly passed.
August 4: There will be a bus tax millage on the ballot in much of Kalamazoo County.
November 3: This is the day for local city elections.
Kalamazoo City Commission
All seven seats on the Kalamazoo City Commission are up for election. The seven commissioners are Mayor Bobby Hopewell (on since 2003), Don Cooney (1997), David Anderson (2005), Barb Miller (2005), Robert Cinabro (2010), Jack Urban (2013), and Eric Cunningham (2015). Cunningham was appointed to replace Stephanie Moore, who was elected to the Kalamazoo County Commission.
In 2014, Kalamazoo voters passed a charter amendment changing the charter by electing the mayor separately and implementing staggered four-year terms for the other seats (similar to the system Portage uses). This year, all six commissioners will be elected together, with the top three winning four-year terms, and the next three winning two-year terms.
Hopewell, who has been mayor since 2007, is running again. He is being challenged by Kris Mbah. Both are black liberal democrats.
Cooney, Anderson, Urban, and Cunningham are seeking reelection as commissioners, while Miller and Cinabro are not. Eleven other candidates are running:
Leona Carter: travel trainer/outreach specialist for Disability Network of Southwest Michigan
Cody Dekker: community organizer
Grant Fletcher: director food and nutrition and retail services for Bronson Methodist Hospital
Sonjalita Hulbert: supervisor with Coventry Cares health services, mainstream Republican
Erin Knott: Obamacare enrollment organizer
Jason Milan: small business owner
Matthew Milcarek: construction manager and frequent Mlive commenter
Kevin Staten: politics unknown
Shannon Sykes: social justice consultant
Daniel VanSweden: Withdrew from the race
Reid Youngs: politics unknown
16 candidates file Kalamazoo City Commission, 2 for mayor
Portage City Council
The mayor of Portage, Peter Strazdas (mayor since 2005), is running unopposed for reelection. Three of the six seats on the commission were also up for election. Those seats are held by Patricia Randall (2009), Jim Pearson (2011), and Richard Ford (2013), who are all running for reelection. Ford was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Elizabeth Campbell.
In recent years, a divide has developed on the council between two factions. One faction consists of Strazdas and councilmembers Claudette Reid and Terry Urban. The other consists of councilmembers Randall, Pearson, Ford, and Nasim Ansari. Strazdas is a moderate Republican, while the others do not strongly identify with a party.
There are two other candidates for council:
Jeff Bright: financial advisor
Tim Earl: fire safety consultant
Five file for three four-year terms on Portage City Council; Strazdas unopposed for mayor
There will be a proposal on the ballot to decriminalize marijuana in Portage.
Marijuana decriminalization will be on November ballot in Portage
Homeless Tax
There will be a tax increase on the ballot countywide to support homeless families.
Tax to assist homeless Kalamazoo County families headed to Nov. 3 ballot
Upton 56% Conservative in 2014
Congressman Fred Upton scored a 56% rating from the American Conservative Union (ACU) in 2014. These are the votes rated by ACU where he voted the wrong way.
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1. HR 3547 (Roll Call 21) Omnibus Appropriations. This $1.1 trillion spending bill for Fiscal Year 2014 increased spending by $45 billion over the Budget Control Act of 2011 with a massive increase of 25-29% for Obama Administration programs in the Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education and State Department sections. It also included bills that have nothing to do with appropriations, such as an extension of flood insurance subsidies. ACU opposes these bills that are written in secret and passed with no amendments allowed. The House passed the bill on January 15, 2014 by a vote of 359-67.
3. HR 2642 (Roll Call 31) Farm Bill. This bill is the final version of the farm bill that replaces direct payments to farmers with a more expensive increase in crop insurance subsidies with no caps on subsidies for wealthy farm corporations. ACU has long opposed these Depressionera programs and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on January 29, 2014 by a vote of 251-166.
6. H Con Res 96 (Roll Call 175) Conservative Budget. The Woodall amendment to the budget bill presented a conservative alternative that would have balanced the budget in four years by freezing domestic spending at $60 billion below current levels, reformed entitlement programs, and eliminated wasteful programs that ACU has long opposed. ACU supported this alternative as a reasonable attempt to stop increases in our national debt which reached $18 trillion in 2014.The House defeated the amendment on April 10, 2014 by a vote of 133-291.
11. HR 4660 (Roll Call 243) Wasteful Spending. The Pompeo amendment to the Commerce, Science, Justice Appropriations bill would have eliminated the Economic Development Administration and used the funds to reduce the deficit. ACU has long opposed this agency that uses taxpayer money for pork barrel projects that serve as monuments to politicians, such as the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in Las Vegas, and so supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on May 29, 2014 by a vote of 129-280.
13. HR 4660 (Roll Call 253) Legal Services Corporation. The Austin Scott amendment to the Commerce, Science, Justice Appropriations bill would have eliminated funding for the Legal Services Corporation. ACU has long opposed funding for this agency that has not been authorized by Congress for the last 34 years and is filled with waste and fraud and so supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on May 29, 2014 by a vote of 116-290.
15. HR 4745 (Roll Call 274) Government Housing Programs. The Chabot amendment to the Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill would have reduced the Section 8 housing voucher program by 10 percent and apply the funds to deficit reduction. ACU opposes welfare programs that have no time limits or work requirements and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on June 9, 2014 by a vote of 127-279.
20. HR 4870 Roll Call 334) Biofuel Mandates. The Gosar amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill would prohibit the Defense Department from using biofuels instead of far less expensive petroleum based fuels. ACU opposes diverting funds that should go for national security purposes to politically-motivated global warming programs and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on June 20, 2014 by a vote of 205-208.
21. HR 4923 (Roll Call 377) Energy Subsidies. The McClintock amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill eliminates $3 billion in energy subsidies. ACU opposes these programs that pick winners and losers in the marketplace and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on July 9, 2014 by a vote of 97-321.
22. HR 4923 (Roll Call 388) Labor Law. The Steve King amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill would have barred the use of funds to enforce the DavisBacon Act. ACU has long opposed this act’s requirement to pay “prevailing wages” on federal projects, thus driving up their cost, and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on July 10, 2014 by a vote of 181-239.
24. HR 5272 (Roll Call 479) Immigration. This bill reverses President Obama’s Executive order deferring action on some illegal immigrants but not others. ACU opposes this type of executive action that allows the president to change existing law without legislation and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on August 1, 2014 by a vote of 216-192.
25. HR 83 (Roll Call 563) Omnibus Appropriations. This 1,600 page bill uses $19 billion in budget gimmicks to comply with spending caps, increases funding for pork barrel programs such as Community Development Block Grants and includes hundreds of pages of bills that have nothing to do with appropriations and that have not been voted on by either the House or Senate. ACU opposes these bills that are written in secret with no amendments allowed and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on December 11, 2014 by a vote of 219-206.
--------------------------------------
1. HR 3547 (Roll Call 21) Omnibus Appropriations. This $1.1 trillion spending bill for Fiscal Year 2014 increased spending by $45 billion over the Budget Control Act of 2011 with a massive increase of 25-29% for Obama Administration programs in the Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education and State Department sections. It also included bills that have nothing to do with appropriations, such as an extension of flood insurance subsidies. ACU opposes these bills that are written in secret and passed with no amendments allowed. The House passed the bill on January 15, 2014 by a vote of 359-67.
3. HR 2642 (Roll Call 31) Farm Bill. This bill is the final version of the farm bill that replaces direct payments to farmers with a more expensive increase in crop insurance subsidies with no caps on subsidies for wealthy farm corporations. ACU has long opposed these Depressionera programs and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on January 29, 2014 by a vote of 251-166.
6. H Con Res 96 (Roll Call 175) Conservative Budget. The Woodall amendment to the budget bill presented a conservative alternative that would have balanced the budget in four years by freezing domestic spending at $60 billion below current levels, reformed entitlement programs, and eliminated wasteful programs that ACU has long opposed. ACU supported this alternative as a reasonable attempt to stop increases in our national debt which reached $18 trillion in 2014.The House defeated the amendment on April 10, 2014 by a vote of 133-291.
11. HR 4660 (Roll Call 243) Wasteful Spending. The Pompeo amendment to the Commerce, Science, Justice Appropriations bill would have eliminated the Economic Development Administration and used the funds to reduce the deficit. ACU has long opposed this agency that uses taxpayer money for pork barrel projects that serve as monuments to politicians, such as the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in Las Vegas, and so supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on May 29, 2014 by a vote of 129-280.
13. HR 4660 (Roll Call 253) Legal Services Corporation. The Austin Scott amendment to the Commerce, Science, Justice Appropriations bill would have eliminated funding for the Legal Services Corporation. ACU has long opposed funding for this agency that has not been authorized by Congress for the last 34 years and is filled with waste and fraud and so supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on May 29, 2014 by a vote of 116-290.
15. HR 4745 (Roll Call 274) Government Housing Programs. The Chabot amendment to the Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill would have reduced the Section 8 housing voucher program by 10 percent and apply the funds to deficit reduction. ACU opposes welfare programs that have no time limits or work requirements and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on June 9, 2014 by a vote of 127-279.
20. HR 4870 Roll Call 334) Biofuel Mandates. The Gosar amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill would prohibit the Defense Department from using biofuels instead of far less expensive petroleum based fuels. ACU opposes diverting funds that should go for national security purposes to politically-motivated global warming programs and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on June 20, 2014 by a vote of 205-208.
21. HR 4923 (Roll Call 377) Energy Subsidies. The McClintock amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill eliminates $3 billion in energy subsidies. ACU opposes these programs that pick winners and losers in the marketplace and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on July 9, 2014 by a vote of 97-321.
22. HR 4923 (Roll Call 388) Labor Law. The Steve King amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill would have barred the use of funds to enforce the DavisBacon Act. ACU has long opposed this act’s requirement to pay “prevailing wages” on federal projects, thus driving up their cost, and supported this amendment. The House defeated the amendment on July 10, 2014 by a vote of 181-239.
24. HR 5272 (Roll Call 479) Immigration. This bill reverses President Obama’s Executive order deferring action on some illegal immigrants but not others. ACU opposes this type of executive action that allows the president to change existing law without legislation and supported this bill. The House passed the bill on August 1, 2014 by a vote of 216-192.
25. HR 83 (Roll Call 563) Omnibus Appropriations. This 1,600 page bill uses $19 billion in budget gimmicks to comply with spending caps, increases funding for pork barrel programs such as Community Development Block Grants and includes hundreds of pages of bills that have nothing to do with appropriations and that have not been voted on by either the House or Senate. ACU opposes these bills that are written in secret with no amendments allowed and opposed this bill. The House passed the bill on December 11, 2014 by a vote of 219-206.
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