The defeat of Proposal 1 is certainly disappointing. Passage of it would have meant long-term adequate funding for Michigan’s transportation network for decades to come. Many will speculate on all the things that went wrong and why the campaign was unable to convince voters to vote yes, but in the end, none of the various opinions will matter much. What will matter is what we do next.
MITA staff has already begun working on various legislative solutions and have initiated discussions with legislative leaders. What became clear throughout the campaign and during election night was that the voting public expects the Lansing lawmakers to do their job and fix our roads. The public wants other spending areas in government to be dealt with separately, and finding a road funding only solution immediately should be the legislature’s top priority.
The MITA staff and membership couldn’t have put more time, effort and resources into the promotion of Proposal 1. Ultimately, the proposal was a deeply complex hand that the legislature dealt our industry, and they fully expected us to be all in to try to get it passed. The efforts given by the MITA membership were absolutely incredible. Members worked tirelessly on raising money for the campaign, educating their employees, speaking to friends and families on the importance of increased road funding and getting their employees out to vote. The staff at MITA thanks all of you for your tremendous efforts. In the end, this effort did have a very positive outcome in that the public is now fully engaged in the road funding debate and is educated at a level never before witnessed.
Working on a legislative solution before lawmakers go on their summer recess is now our number one priority. There are some who are even suggesting the legislature continue with a special summer session to find a road funding solution. A lot will shake out over the next several days, and we will continue to keep you informed, as it is certain MITA will be in the middle of all the discussions.
For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@mi-ita.com.
