December 5, 2019
Letters, Michigan

Former lawmaker responds to candidate’s letter

Letter to the editor | Midland Daily News | Thursday, December 5, 2019 | www.ourmidland.com

As chairman of the House Energy Policy Committee, I lost a state Senate primary last year after “dark money” front groups for major utility corporations spent an estimated $1.2 million opposing my election. (Read Tuesday’s Detroit News for an in-depth investigative report on that.)

A “dark money” group funded by Consumers Energy lobbyists also spent an estimated $250,000 supporting Democrat Sarah Schulz. The front group “spent an estimated $184,000 on broadcast TV ads touting Schulz,” more than on any other House candidate statewide, Michigan Campaign Finance Network reported, not counting thousands more for cable, radio, and newspaper ads.

It’s no surprise, then, that during May’s meeting of her Women of Michigan Action Network – later broadcast by Midland Community Television – Schulz mocked rural residents who oppose construction of utility wind turbines near their homes.

Schulz “thanked” me in a letter Monday for sharing video of her comments. You’re welcome, Sarah. Voters should know what you say about them when you think only fellow liberals are listening.

As to her false allegation that her comments were “doctored,” Schulz should post the entire video of WOMAN’s hour-long meeting on her website, and let voters decide. But what should we conclude if she refuses?

Read Schulz’s comments about Beaver Township residents testifying at a hearing she attended on proposed wind turbines:

“It was super hot in the room, and person after person just, like, speaking the, sort of echoing, regurgitating the fear-mongering of folks who are anti-wind because they stand to lose money or they stand to not gain as much money as they think they need, right? So things like wind turbines cause cancer, wind turbines kill all the birds, wind turbines cause lights to flash in your house and it’ll give you a seizure, wind turbines decimate your house and property value, without any sort of scientific or any proof behind what they were saying, people believed them, and there’s a lot of angry people in the room.”

After reading her comments, and knowing what utility lobbyists spent trying to elect her, who should voters believe Schulz would really “listen” to?

GARY GLENN

Midland


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/12/05/former-lawmaker-responds-to-candidates-letter/