Not conservative enough: Senate Majority Leader, not Snyder, facing recall

While numerous petitions are pending seeking the recall of Gov. Rick Snyder, it’s Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, who played a key role in the passage of controversial election laws last month, who faces a recall drive.

Recall petition language targeting Meekhof, a west Michigan Republican, was approved on Thursday by the state Board of Canvassers. However, in Meekhof’s staunchly Republican 30th District (Ottawa County), the driving force to oust the Senate leader is the recent tax increase package for road improvements, not campaign or election bills.

In November, the Senate and House approved a road funding plan that will gradually raise the gas tax from 19 cents per gallon to 26.3 cents and will impose a 20 percent increase in vehicle registration fees.

On a Facebook page advocating for Meekhof’s recall, prominently displayed is a quote from Paul Mitchell, who led a successful campaign to defeat the Proposal 1 road funding plan that appeared on a May statewide ballot:

“We elected a Republican supermajority to the Legislature based upon the promise that they would enact conservative solutions to our state’s challenges, but what we get is more taxes and more spending.”

Meekhof presides over a veto-proof GOP majority in the Senate, with a 27-11 edge over the Democrats.

While some Republicans claim that Meekhof is not conservative enough, Democrats have blasted the senator and other GOP leaders in the Legislature for bills – signed into law by Gov. Snyder – that encourage the formation of superPACs, eliminate straight ticket voting, and impose a 60-day “gag order” on elected officials prior to elections.

According to The Holland Sentinel, in an emailed statement Meekhof’s staff said: “It is the right of the petitioners to pursue a recall. The reason sought for the recall seems to be that the petitioners take issue with the senator doing his job by supporting a plan to fix and fund Michigan’s roads.”

Recall organizer Frank Boersema, who launched two prior, unsuccessful efforts to oust Meekhof, must collect 22,388 voter signatures in the 30th District. Those signatures calling for a recall election must be gathered within a 60-day window over the next 180 days.

If the drive is successful, under Michigan’s revised recall process, a primary election would be held to select a Democratic opponent. A general election would likely be held in August with Meekhof facing off against the Democratic nominee and possibly third-party candidates.