Campaign to recall Gov. Snyder to kick off Saturday with rally

BY DAWSON BELL

Opponents of Gov. Rick Snyder and his agenda will gather at the state Capitol again Saturday to kick off a long-shot recall campaign and to rally opposition to the governor’s budget proposals.

The back-to-back events run from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and will bring together a range of anti-Snyder groups, including teacher and other public sector unions.

But the rally will begin with the semi-official launch of the campaign to recall Snyder, a herculean task that will require organizers to collect the signatures of more than a million registered voters in just 90 days.

Tim Kramer, an organizer of the ad hoc recall committee, said Friday the group will rely heavily on grassroots activists, social networks andvolunteers to collect the signatures.

“We’re swamped with people who want to get involved,” Kramer said, while saying the campaign lacks funding or formal support from the same union and activist organizations that will join them at the Capitol.

Kramer said the recall committee had raised only a few thousand dollars so far and spent most of it printing petitions.

The recall kickoff will be followed by a rally organized by the Michigan Education Association and a group called We Are the People, liberal activists opposed to Snyder’s business and income tax overhaul, budget plan and other measures they regard as an assault on organized labor.

Weekday rallies promoted by the same groups have drawn several thousand people to the Capitol lawn on multiple occasions earlier this year.

For information on the Snyder recall campaign, go to:www.firericksnyder.org