2008 Democratic State Convention
The Platform Committee recommends the adoption of the proposed 2008 Platform and the adoption of the following resolutions:
Resolution on Saving Manufacturing Jobs
WHEREAS, our manufacturing base is steadily being eroded; and
WHEREAS, this loss of jobs is harmful to our nation and the communities we live in; and
WHEREAS, this decline in the manufacturing base of the United States has been a part of the general shift in public economic policy over the past thirty years – sometimes known as Reaganomics. This trend includes:
- The increasing domination of U.S. economic policy by corporate interests
- The diminishing and discrediting of the role of government in the economy
- And the relentless shift in the distribution of income and wealth into the hands of the top one-percent of our economy and out of the pockets of the rest of us; and
WHEREAS, while those good paying jobs are lost, a growth in lower paying non-union jobs is driving down the standard of living for all working families; and
WHEREAS, the loss of our core manufacturing industry will mean the loss of both our technological edge and vital skills and will result in reduced tax revenues for schools and public services; and
WHEREAS, every manufacturing job creates seven others and supports small businesses directly and indirectly related to manufacturing; and
WHEREAS, the $170 billion we are annually spending on the war in Iraq takes away money that could be better used to rebuild our industrial base and retrain workers; and
WHEREAS, by rebuilding our industrial base and with it the construction of mass transit, environmentally friendly autos, affordable and energy efficient housing, and the modernization of our infrastructure, we will create jobs, provide cleaner air for all of us, lower individual family’s energy bills, and allow greater energy independence for Americans; and
WHEREAS, in rebuilding our industrial base a priority needs to be placed on locating these new facilities in communities with high unemployment and historic manufacturing centers, such as Detroit, Pontiac, Grand Rapids and Flint and other areas hit hard by loss of jobs;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we call on the Presidential candidates to state their support for taking one-half of the money currently being spent in Iraq to be used instead to rebuild industry and provide jobs in the United States.
Resolution on Public Authorities
WHEREAS, creation of public authorities to provide essential public services has become increasingly popular; and
WHEREAS, the use of public authorities can result in disruption of public employees’ rights to wages, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment; and
WHEREAS, the use of public authorities can result in reduced accountability to the taxpayer; and
WHEREAS, there are appropriate tools available to use public authorities where needed without the adverse effects stated;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that any instrument creating a public authority should fully protect the collective bargaining rights of workers transferred to the new authority, including representation, wages, hours, benefits, retirement and all other terms and conditions employment; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the use of public authorities be limited to those situations where established units of government are unable to fully provide the public service without the creation of a new entity.
Resolution Supporting Child Care
WHEREAS, child care has become a necessity for many Michigan workers in achieving a quality life and in protecting and providing for their families; and
WHEREAS, “welfare reform” at both the federal and state level requires low-income families with even the youngest of children to participate in work activities thereby requiring them to rely on child care and child care subsidies; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to improve the quality of child care in Michigan and to promote school readiness for the at-risk children of Michigan; and
WHEREAS, Michigan relies heavily on in-home child care, with a majority of subsidized care – 60 percent –delivered in-home; and
WHEREAS, quality child care requires the attraction and retention of quality child care workers; and
WHEREAS, many Michigan child care providers are paid less than $2 per child, per hour to provide care, school preparedness, food and shelter; and
WHEREAS, most in-home child care providers do not have access to affordable healthcare for themselves and their dependents;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party recognizes the importance of quality child care and expresses its appreciation to the workers who provide this essential service; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party recognizes that quality child care cannot be provided without retaining and attracting quality child care providers and, therefore, encourages the Michigan Legislature to properly fund child care allowing child care providers to receive fair and just compensation for the essential services they provide; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party urges the Michigan Legislature to assure a system that guarantees health care coverage for Michigan in-home child care providers.
Resolution Opposing Privatization/Outsourcing
WHEREAS, outsourcing of jobs has long been a tool used to undermine workers in both the public and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, outsourcing of public sector jobs to private companies has become an increasing threat to good paying union jobs and non-represented workers in the public sector; and
WHEREAS, so-called “privatization” does not transfer any responsibility or cost to private employers but often transfers union jobs to non-union low-wage jobs; and
WHEREAS, so-called “privatization” has failed to prove either economical or efficient; and
WHEREAS, outsourcing of public sector jobs to the private sector has reduced accountability to the taxpayer, reduced quality, siphoned public dollars from workers to profiteering; reduced public services and opened the door to charges of public corruption; and
WHEREAS, Michigan law deprives non-instructional public school personnel of the right to collectively bargain over the issue of outsourcing;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party urges the Governor and theMichigan Legislature to support efforts to stop or limit outsourcing and privatization; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party supports legislative efforts to restore full collective bargaining rights to non-instructional public school employees by amending P.A. 112 to eliminate the prohibition against collective bargaining on the issue of outsourcing; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party urges that any private contracts paid by public taxpayer dollars be preceded by a full review that demonstrates clear savings to the public entity after considering all ancillary costs such as reduction of services, increased cost of public oversight and increased threats to public safety.
Resolution in Support of Safe Patient Care Legislation
WHEREAS, Michigan is experiencing a severe nursing crisis that will intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows; and
WHEREAS, Michigan is expected to have a shortage of about 7,000 registered nurses by 2010 and a shortage of 18,000 RN’s by 2015; and
WHEREAS, there are not enough nurses to do what needs to be done on any given shift and the nurses who are on duty are exhausted and stressed; and
WHEREAS, the exhausting environment in which nurses work is a breeding ground for medical errors which will continue to threaten patient safety until substantially reformed; and
WHEREAS, a 2007 study in the American Journal of Nursing found that among new RN’s 64% work overtime regularly; 66% work 12-hour shifts; and 32% say that three or more days a week they have more work than can be done; and
WHEREAS, 37% of RN’s who leave their first job cite stressful working conditions as the reason; and
WHEREAS, there is a bill currently in the Michigan Legislature that could go a long way toward improving the working conditions in our hospitals, and at the same time, greatly improve the quality of care that patients receive; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 4339, the Safe Patient Care Act, will ban the use of mandatory nurse overtime and will require hospitals to develop staffing plans and implement minimum registered nurse to patient staffing ratios; and
WHEREAS, the California Nurses Association found that after the enactment of California’s staffing ratio law in 2004, the number of actively licensed nurses in California increased by 60%;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party supports House Bill 4339; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party respectfully asks the leadership in the House of Representatives to act on House Bill 4339 before the end of the current legislative session; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to Speaker Andy Dillon and Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman.
Resolution Supporting Infrastructure Improvements
WHEREAS, poorly maintained roadways and state highways reduce safety and increase the cost to our citizens; and
WHEREAS, many of our schools are decaying and becoming unsafe for our children and the staff who serve them;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that funding needs to be provided for skilled workers to receive wages for working on our roads, bridges and schools.
Resolution on Reducing Income Inequality
WHEREAS, in 2007 a record-breaking 24% of all income in the United States was received by the top of 1% of all households while the bottom 50% of all households received only 11% of all income; and
WHEREAS, this gaping income inequality threatens to wipe out the middle class and create a nation of “haves” and “have-nots”; and
WHEREAS, this enormous income inequality was even recognized by President Bush in his January, 2007 State of the Union speech, even though he failed to acknowledge that his disastrous economic policies have helped create it;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party will work urgently, in a bipartisan manner if possible, to reduce income inequality.
Resolution Supporting an Employees’ Bill of Rights
WHEREAS, individuals should have the freedom to exercise and express their constitutional rights and be able to improve their careers and talk and meet with other potential employers without fear of losing their livelihood and represented workers have mechanisms and processes by which to protect their livelihood and non-represented professional employee do not; and
WHEREAS, the current laws which were meant to protect non-represented employees (i.e., disability, ERISA, Family and Medical Leave and non-discrimination) have been decimated in the courts by corporate tyrants; thus, it is impossible for non-represented employees to find justice and fairness; and
WHEREAS, there is no mechanism or process to appropriately resolve disagreements between the non-represented professional employees and the company regarding earned benefits and how they can be used; “off-shoring” non-represented professional employee functions without concern or input from the non-represented employee; and an increasing number of corporations which are unilaterally reducing and restructuring health care insurance and retirement benefits as well as other benefits (i.e., permitted sick time, vacation time, overtime, etc.); as to all of which the non-represented professional employee has no legal standing to object and /or protest these changes and is thus disenfranchised; and
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan’s unemployment rate is above the national average and a large number are non-represented employees, and the non-represented employee makes up a large portion of the taxpaying middle class; and
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan needs to retain, nurture and grow its professional work force, and theMichigan Democratic Party is in support of establishing a more educated and professional work force in the State of Michigan, and has always stood with the worker whether that worker is a professional non-represented worker or not; and
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan wants to broaden its economic base and encourage entrepreneurial start-ups and those start-ups are primarily created with non-represented employees; and
WHEREAS, since there is an effort to make Michigan a so-called “right to work” state which, if successful, will result in a major economic decline, it is imperative, in order to maintain the integrity and security of the Michigan workforce, that Michigan codify an Employees’ Bill of Rights which will once and for all put an end to any effort to make Michigan a “right to work” state; and
WHEREAS, Senator Glenn Anderson and others made an effort in 2007 and submitted some initial legislation (i.e., Workers First (SB 458-465), a package of bills that proposed an initial set of changes to hiring laws to protect both employers and employees from unfair hiring practices and the House recently passed HB 4532, 4887, 4926 and 4927 which are “Employee Privacy Protection Acts,” they have not yet passed the Senate nor do they completely address the issues; and
WHEREAS, the 2006 Michigan Democratic Party Platform in the section titled “Income and Taxes – Rewarding Work” states “An Employees’ Bill of Rights. Employees’ rights are threatened by the use of off-duty, non-employment related activities to make employment decisions, up to and including discharge. Employees need protection from work-related discrimination based on off-duty firearm ownership and so forth,” and in the section titled “Social Justice and Equal Treatment Under Law” it states “Non-represented Workers Bill of Rights. We support the right of non-represented workers to a fair, equitable, collaborative and economically healthy work environment which will enable a shared accountability between employer and non-represented employees for the betterment of thee economic environment in Michigan”; and
WHEREAS, the near future political environment both locally and nationally offers an opportunity for theMichigan Democratic Party membership and leadership to espouse and enact legislation which supports Democratic values and beliefs; and
WHEREAS, as Michigan is actively encouraging new industries to come to Michigan, it should simultaneously encourage individuals to come to Michigan to live and pursue their careers by establishing an environment which respects the employee’s right to make a living without fear of corporate tyrants; and
WHEREAS, corporations cannot exist without employees and vice versa, a new win/win, non-competitive approach/environment must be created to address the needs of both the employee and employer in the 21st Century.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) will take a leadership position and shall organize, coordinate, convene and conduct a task force open to MDP membership within the next calendar year for the purpose of (1) producing, publishing and distributing a document titled “Michigan Employees’ Bill of Rights” and (2) drafting specific legislation which will be provided to the Governor and legislative leadership by December 31, 2009 which will codify an “Employees’ Bill Of Rights” within the State of Michigan; thus establishing Michigan as a leadership state that addresses the needs of both business and employees in the 21st century; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Chair of the MDP shall report twice to the State Central Committee during 2009 on the status of the task force.
Resolution in Support of Action to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions
WHEREAS, 72,000 homes were foreclosed upon last year, and twice as many foreclosures are expected this year; and
WHEREAS, home foreclosures and evictions are a crisis in Michigan; and
WHEREAS, this crisis demands immediate action by the government; and
WHEREAS, action must be taken which will:
- Enable people to stay in their homes and make reasonable payments based upon their income thereby also allowing local governments such as cities and townships to continue to collect taxes for police and fire services and other important government functions;
- Stop all sheriff sales for two years, or extend the redemption period of a foreclosed house from six months to two years which will allow people to remain in their homes, stopping or slowing down blight, dangers to the communities, and keeping property values up;
- Crackdown on predatory lending, fraudulent appraisals and other practices which helped create this crisis;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party commends all Democratic elected officials who are taking action to address this crisis and urges them to continue their efforts.
Resolution Supporting True Equity In School Funding
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan funds school districts by a per pupil funding formula; and
WHEREAS, some districts are funded at a higher dollar amount per pupil than others; and
WHEREAS, this inequity has been going on since 1994; and
WHEREAS, all children in the State of Michigan should be treated equally;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan House and Michigan Senate craft legislation that would bring up all districts’ per pupil funding to the level of the highest district in a timely manner.
Resolution on Solving America’s Health Care Crisis
WHEREAS, the lack of health care for millions of people in the richest nation in the world is a moral outrage; and
WHEREAS, fifty-seven persons die each day in the United States due to the lack of proper health care; and
WHEREAS, as a nation that values the worth and dignity of every human life, we must affirm that health care for all is a right; and
WHEREAS, the debate surrounding health care must move beyond words, beyond what is politically feasible, beyond ideological differences to a commitment to affordable and comprehensive health care; and
WHEREAS, employers, municipalities and residents would find relief from burdensome health care responsibilities and lessen the likelihood of bankruptcy due to medical costs; and
WHEREAS, in Congress, legislation for a single payer program that provides for all Americans, offers the most comprehensive and least expensive solution; and
WHEREAS, justice in health care demands that American’s health care solution include:
- Coverage of everyone
- The needs of ill Americans be placed above profit
- Augmentation of our government’s role in guaranteeing health security, as it now does forMedicare
- Elimination of health care costs causing bankruptcy (over 50% of bankruptcies are because of medical bills)
- End of discrimination from the delivery of health care
- Reducing the lack of health care as a national security issue (40,000 people at a medical clinic exposed to dirty needles – thus hepatitis and HIV)
- Use of our taxes for actual health care costs and not for insurance companies, cutting administrative costs by 25%
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party supports the passage of national legislation providing a universal, single payer health plan such as HR 15 sponsored by Congressman John Dingell and HR 676 co-sponsored by Congressman John Conyers.
Resolution on Improving Health Care
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Party evidences a critical need to reduce the cost of health care to enable health care providers to serve the health care needs of all citizens; and
WHEREAS, single payer health care would reduce the cost and increase the efficiency for health care providers; and
WHEREAS, enabling Medicare to negotiate the purchase of drugs would reduce the cost of health care; and
WHEREAS, creating a universal electronic system with adequate security for tracking the health records of individuals would reduce the cost of the health care system; and
WHEREAS, limiting advertising of prescription medications from the media would reduce the unnecessary use of prescription medications and reduce the cost of providing medications to consumers;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Michigan Democratic Party that action on all of the above options be considered to improve the delivery and reduce the cost of health care to enable equitable health care for every American.
Resolution Supporting Making Unemployment Compensation Benefits Tax-Exempt From Federal, State and Local Taxation
WHEREAS, taxing unemployment compensation benefits is double taxation; and
WHEREAS, before 1981 unemployment compensation benefits were tax-exempt from federal, state, and local taxation; and
WHEREAS, unemployment compensation benefits were established to help working families who have lost their employment with financial aid; and
WHEREAS, those receiving unemployment compensation benefits need all their benefits to pay for heating fuel, electricity, food, housing, health-care coverage, prescription medications, etc.; and
WHEREAS, taxation on unemployment compensation benefits is a heavy burden on everyone; and
WHEREAS, returning unemployment compensation benefits to a tax-exempt status would help our economy by putting additional cash flow back into our economy; and
WHEREAS, we believe in helping those who need it the most at the federal, state, and local levels; and
WHEREAS, other government assistance programs are tax-exempt and so should unemployment compensation benefits;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Michigan elected federal, state, and local officials are urged to reinstate the tax-exempt status on unemployment compensation benefits.
Resolution on Holding the Bush Administration Accountable
WHEREAS, President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney and other administration officials have falsified intelligence and grossly misled Congress and the public regarding the threat posed by Iraq in order to justify a new war against Iraq; and
WHEREAS, Bush leads one of the more secretive and intellectually obstructionist Administrations in the history of America; and
WHEREAS, examples of the Bush Administration’s secrecy include its steadfast resistance to any investigation of its handling of the war or intelligence and the Administration’s refusal to reveal to Congress the names of business executives and others who met with Vice President Cheney’s energy task force before it proposed a new energy policy;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Congress should continue to aggressively investigate the Bush Administration’s so called intelligence failures and other abuses of its war making and intelligence powers; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that members of the Bush Administration be held civilly and/or criminally liable for any serious abuses of power.
Resolution Supporting Establishment of a Department of Peace
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Party believes that violence is not the solution to the problems facing the United States, both at home and abroad; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Party believes that war and other forms of violence are not inevitable; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Party believes that peaceful and harmonious relationships between all peoples is an achievable goal; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Party believes that achieving that goal requires governmental support on a par with the Department of Defense and the Pentagon; and
WHEREAS, we need to create a cabinet level Department of Peace to support the goal of peace; and
WHEREAS, a Department of Peace would carry out its mission by providing problem-solving options, providing practical and nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict, develop policies and allocate resources to effectively reduce the levels of domestic and gang violence, child abuse, and various other forms of societal discord, and advise the President and Congress on the most sophisticated ideas and techniques regarding peace-creation among nations; and
WHEREAS, a Department of Peace would provide much-needed assistance to efforts by city, county, and state governments in coordinating existing programs as well as develop new programs based on best practices nationally, teach violence prevention and mediation to America’s school children, effectively treat and dismantle gang psychology, rehabilitate the prison population, build peace-making efforts among conflicting cultures both here and abroad, support our military with complementary approaches to peace-building, and create and administer a U.S. Peace Academy, acting as a sister organization to the U.S. Military Academies;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party supports legislation to establish a Department of Peace.
Resolution Urging the Preservation of Wetlands and Dunes
WHEREAS, Michigan is home to many unique dunes and wetlands with environmental, historical and/or cultural importance; and
WHEREAS, many of these dunes and wetlands are threatened with development, destruction and/or degradation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan State Democratic Party will vigorously uphold and support all existing laws and statutes of the State to protect dunes and wetlands, and oppose any efforts to change existing laws that protect dunes, wetlands, and rivers to preserve such lands for the long-term benefit of Michigan’s greatest natural resource, the Great Lakes.
Resolution Supporting Expanding the Michigan Bottle Deposit Law
WHEREAS, landfills and roadsides in Michigan are being filled with bottles that are not being recycled; and
WHEREAS, we need to expand the Michigan bottle deposit law to include all beverage containers, especially water.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Michigan should expand the bottle deposit law.
Resolution on Protecting the Endangered Species Act
WHEREAS, the 1973 Endangered Species Act provides for the conservation of ecosystems upon which threatened and endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants depend and requires Federal agencies to insure that any action authorized, funded or carried out by them is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or modify their critical habitat; and
WHEREAS, for 35 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected wildlife at risk of extinction; and
WHEREAS, the Bush/Cheney Administration is attempting to eliminate vital checks and balances that are crucial to protect our polar bears, wolves and other imperiled wildlife; and
WHEREAS, on August 11, 2008, Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, announced devastating changes to this landmark Endangered Species Act, signaling the end of protection for thousands of imperiled species, both plant and animal. The new regulations would:
- Exempt thousands of federal activities from review under the Endangered Species Act.
- Eliminate checks and balances from independent oversight.
- Limit which effects can be considered harmful.
- Prevent consideration of a project’s contribution to global warming.
- Set an inadequate 60-day deadline for wildlife experts to evaluate a project in the instances when they are invited to participate – or else the project gets an automatic green light.
- Enable large-scale projects to go unreviewed by dividing them into hundreds of small projects; and
WHEREAS, the Bush/Cheney proposal would severely limit scientific review by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Services of projects that could harm imperiled wildlife, and would explicitly limit the ability of these expert agencies to consider how greenhouse gas emissions from such projects could impact the environment in general, and in particular animals such as polar bears, wolverines, black-footed ferrets, and other wildlife that may go extinct due to global warming; and
WHEREAS, agencies proposing projects such as highways, dams, mines, oil or gas drilling and virtually any other activity would be allowed to decide for themselves, i.e., to make unilateral decisions as to whether a project is likely to jeopardize any of the nearly 1,400 species currently protected by the Endangered Species Act – without the crucial independent review now provided by scientific experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Most of these agencies do not even have biologists or other qualified staff to make such a decision;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party urges our Senators and Representatives in Congress to do everything in their power to stop this 11th hour assault on the Endangered Species Act which was recently proposed by the Bush/Cheney Administration; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the vote on this issue be postponed for at least 100 days to allow further examination of the harmful consequences and sufficient time for the public to comment and express opposition to the proposed changes.
Resolution on Oil Drilling
WHEREAS, the removal of the moratorium on off shore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will have detrimental effects on the environment and increase the risk of environmental degradation, and not continuing to ban directional drilling for oil under the Great Lakes and Michigan rivers also carries a significant risk for environmental degradation; and
WHEREAS, whatever oil reserves may be developed from these areas would not increase the supply of oil for at least a decade and will not have any significant effect on the price of oil in the near term; and
WHEREAS, the development of these areas will only serve to continue the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and continue the detrimental effects of fossil fuels as regards global warming and climate change;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party urges U.S. Senators and Representative to vote to continue the moratorium on off shore drilling and drilling within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to vote to continue the ban on directional drilling for oil under the Great Lakes.
Resolution Urging University Compliance with Local Ordinances
WHEREAS, in 2008 the Michigan Legislature clarified the authority of local units of government to make and approve master plans guiding development within their jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, local units of government by virtue of their more direct connection with the residents of a community have the responsibility to determine via ordinance and regulation the standards that define a community’s quality of life; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan Constitution provides that the controlling boards of public institutions of higher education have general supervision of each institution and control and direction of all expenditures of the institution’s funds; and
WHEREAS, public institutions of higher education have regularly used this general authority to evade local regulations that define the character and quality of a community, including, for example, refusing to abide by reasonable local noise regulations and constructing buildings in conflict with the publicly determined planning and zoning of an area; and
WHEREAS, this historic conflict between “town” and “gown” is unnecessary in an age where intergovernmental cooperation, public engagement and communications are so sophisticated; and
WHEREAS, residents and institutions of higher education have a shared interest in the viability and quality of the communities they share;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Michigan Democratic Party nominees for trustees, governors and regents of our public higher education institutions support policies that effectively engage community residents in development decisions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Michigan Democratic Party nominees for trustees, governors and regents of our public higher education institutions support policies that require compelling evidence that the mission of the institution would otherwise be irrevocably compromised to override local plans, ordinances or regulations; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the platform of the Michigan Democratic Party regarding local control be amended with the addition of the following language:
“The Democratic Party recognizes the compelling need for residents to have control over the character of their community while simultaneously engaging inter-governmentally in issues that are of greater-than-local concern, including mobility, economic development and environmental stewardship. Within a community, overlapping units of government, including public universities and the state, should abide by the standards established in the community by ordinance, especially those that relate to character of the community – such as master planning or zoning – or those that define the community’s quality of life – such as living wage ordinances or noise regulations. To this end, the Democratic Party insists on the adoption of collaborative governing practices by its candidates for and representatives in public office at all levels.”
Resolution on Presidential Nominating Process
WHEREAS, the Michigan Democratic Primary Election was moved to January 2008 in violation of National Democratic Party Rules; and
WHEREAS, the early primary caused confusion among candidates and resulted in candidates removing their names from the ballot; and
WHEREAS, since all candidates were not named on the ballot, Michigan voters were not given the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choosing; and
WHEREAS, in addition to citizens losing the opportunity to vote, the disputed date deprived the State of the economic benefit of an active Democratic campaign and created a negative impression of Michigan nationwide; and
WHEREAS, the process followed in the Presidential Primary initially caused the Michigan Democratic Party disenfranchisement of their delegates to the National Democratic Convention; and
WHEREAS, the voters in Michigan were not allowed full participation in the process of electing the Democratic Presidential candidate;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party continue to lead the effort to reform the presidential nominating process, and work to achieve that reform prior to the start of the next presidential nominating cycle.
Resolution Opposing Consolidation of MediaMarkets
WHEREAS, the airwaves are a publicly held resource and that a well-informed electorate is vital to a well-functioning democracy;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that legislation be enacted to restore the fairness doctrine, reduce the number of radio stations one company can own in a local market, and reinstate the 25% national TV ownership cap.
