Petition-signing event for Snyder recall to be June 4 in Hancock

HANCOCK -- A petition-signing event for the Rick Snyder recall effort will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, at the Keweenaw Co-op Community Room, 1035 Ethel Ave., Hancock.

This is the first of several signing days in the Copper Country for the Rick Snyder recall effort. Come sign your name and/or pick up petitions to disseminate to your various communities/areas. Detailed instructions will be available during pickup.

VERY IMPORTANT: Park along the street ONLY. Do NOT park in the Co-op's parking lot to attend this event.

PLEASE NOTE: Allowing a group to use the Community Room does not in any way constitute an endorsement of that group's beliefs by the Keweenaw Cooperative Board of Directors, Keweenaw Cooperative management, or Keweenaw Cooperative staff; and no claim to that effect nor claim of Keweenaw Cooperative sponsorship may be used explicitly or implicitly, in advertising.

Reasons to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder:

Rick Snyder has indicated a desire to eliminate collective bargaining and other employee rights and favors tax cuts for the rich while taxing pensions and increasing taxes for the poor. He intends to assign emergency financial managers (EFMs) to any community or school district that has to request assistance in times of financial stress. The EFM will have the full authority to dissolve unions and overrule local governments.

We in the Upper Peninsula know that Lansing very often doesn't have our best interests in mind. According to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, nearly the entire Upper Peninsula is considered to be a "blighted" or "distressed" area. The prospect of a state-appointed financial manager from Lansing taking control of our communities and penalizing our public workers becomes all too real.

On top of that, Snyder has proposed to slash funding for K-12 and Higher Ed. Once again, the standards that are applied to school districts and public universities downstate rarely apply to us; and we may be forced to consolidate even further than we already have.

Join us here for some essential Yooper solidarity and join with our brothers and sisters downstate who also value democracy, community, and the simple values and inalienable rights of the middle and lower class.

For more information and updates about the effort please visit The Committee to Recall Rick Snyder Web site at http://firericksnyder.org/ Learn about the the local Upper Peninsula effort at www.facebook.com/yoopersagainstsnyder.

Event coordinator: Krissy Sundstrom

Click here for a map with directions to the Keweenaw Co-op.

Photo: "Recall Rick" sign at the April 2, 2011, Bridge Walk for Unity in Houghton protesting Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's budget with proposed cuts to schools, taxes on the working poor and seniors' retirement, and tax breaks for corporations -- as well as the Emergency Financial Manager legislation, which could allow the governor to fire elected officials and take over municipalities and school districts. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Click here to read our Apr. 4, 2011, article about the Bridge Walk for Unity.