MCRI back to gathering signatures[bans race preferences]

The Michigan Daily ^ | September 22, 2004 | Aymar Jean

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When the campaign to ban race-conscious programs in Michigan faced lawsuits and internal disagreements this spring, most assumed it would implode and fade away.

But the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is still active, and its leaders expect to finish its goal in the next month. The group is currently gathering signatures to eliminate the use of race in public education, employment and contracting. It must collect 317,757 signatures by January 2005 to get its issue on the ballot for 2006.

MCRI began this January and sought to complete its drive in July to place the proposal on the November ballot. But a lawsuit questioning the language on its petition stalled the campaign. Only when the state Court of Appeals ruled in MCRI’s favor in June did it have the chance to make a definitive decision on whether to continue or throw in the towel.

But the court ruling came too late for this year’s election. In late June, MCRI officials decided to postpone the campaign and aim for the 2006 ballot. They restarted the petition drive on July 6 and now have 180 days to collect thousands of signatures.

Those involved with the campaign say they are succeeding. MCRI officials estimate they will be finished by mid-October, more than two months before the new deadline. The campaign, however, is not committing to a specific date. MCRI will not release the number of signatures collected so far.

“We had a monkey wrench in the works because of that (initial court) ruling,” said Tim O’Brien, who coordinates volunteer petition gatherers. But now, he said, “things are looking just fine.”

Paid petitioners are collecting most of the signatures. MCRI Director of Outreach Chetly Zarko would not release information on how many paid gatherers the group has. But one circulator estimated that number to be between 150 and 200, and the campaign, according to its website, is still hiring more. About 1,500 people are volunteering to collect signatures.

Since legal challenges have only delayed the campaign, the opposition group Citizens for a United Michigan is working to stop the campaign. But it has not done its best in trying to stop MCRI, spokesman David Waymire said.

“This is not about anything except ending affirmative action,” Waymire said. “They’re getting the vast majority of the signatures by deception and deceit,” he added. MCRI’s opponents say it uses the rhetoric of civil rights and equal protection even though it seeks to ban affirmative action programs for women and minorities.

In a major state circuit court ruling in March, Judge Paula Manderfield echoed that statement, saying that the campaign seeks to overturn rights already guaranteed in the state constitution.

United Michigan is still working to slow the initiative’s momentum. Failing that, the group will dip deeper into its campaign coffers, as it perseveres until a possible showdown in November 2006.

“We have a lot work to do to inform people about this,” Waymire said.

On campus, some members of the Young Americans for Freedom — a nationwide conservative group — are actively involved in collecting signatures for MCRI. These petitioners have collected at football games and mass meetings. Some receive pay for their work.

This summer, news reports revealed that almost all of the funding for the campaign came from the American Civil Rights Coalition, in California. Opponents, including United Michigan, used the information to say that MCRI was an “outsider” campaign. Records showed that MCRI had raised about $150,000.

But ACRC, led by University of California regent and affirmative action opponent Ward Connerly, has not filed its report yet, Zarko said.

That report should show that some of ACRC’s money came from Michigan donors, he said.

O’Brien, who runs a separately funded committee but still works with MCRI, has also not filed. His list should be comprised of predominantly Michigan donors, O’Brien said. He expects to file in January.

To Zarko, MCRI’s funding sources do not matter. “It’s irrelevant, the people of Michigan want to vote on the issue,” he said.

Both officials also noted that United Michigan has reported large contributions — totalling more than $300,000 — from corporations and other wealthy donors.

MCRI has seized upon this information to say that United Michigan is obstructing democracy and the will of Michiganders by accepting funding from relatively few people.

Polls have shown that the majority of the public is against “preferences based on race.”

“That goes to show that Michigan voters are really in support of this, that it’s just the few that benefit from the use of racial preference who want to continue it,” Davis, from YAF, said.

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I received the following email from Ward Connerly regarding MCRI a few days ago.

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Jennifer Gratz, Executive Director of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, has informed me that MCRI has collected approximately half of the required signatures to qualify MCRI for the November 2006 Ballot. As of today, the campaign has roughly 240,000 signatures and needs 317,000 valid signatures to qualify. This means that we should get about 480,000 to ensure that we have enough. The deadline for gathering all signatures is January 6, 2005, but this date is misleading as a barometer of how much time we actually have because of the inclement weather in Michigan during December and part of November.

The opponents are politically correct corporations, the NAACP and other national entities. Unfortunately, our side does not have national affiliates upon whom we can call for help. So, I am using whatever resources we can muster to match our opponents.

If MCRI qualifies and passes, we will deal a severe blow to the Supreme Court decision of last year that allowed the use of these factors to achieve "diversity." Having the people of a bellwether state such as Michigan vote against preferences to achieve "diversity" will be profoundly significant.

I am asking those of you who oppose preferences based on race, skin color, national ancestry, national origin or sex to help financially. You don't need to write huge checks to be helpful. $100, $50 or $25 from a lot of people can make a big difference, especially when we have some who write checks for $2,500 or more, as we have had. And, in addition to your check, contact friends, family and associates and ask them for 20 bucks or something to help the cause. This is a national effort and we need you.

Checks should be made payable to MCRI and sent to P.O. Box 188350, Sacramento, CA 95818, and Jennifer Hatges will ensure that every penny is sent to Jennifer Gratz and MCRI in Michigan. If you have ideas about how we can contact others, please let me know. Each signature is costing $1.40 and we need help.

Thanks,

Ward