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Tue Mar 07, 2006 at 01:53:28 AM EST
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UPDATE by Matt:
I have corrected an error of fact pointed out by Rep. Leon Drolet (R-Clinton Twp.) Read our exchange here.
First - a disclaimer. National Petition Management (NPM) is certainly
not the only signature-collector-for-hire firm out there - California-based Kimball
Petition Management, for example, is frequently mentioned as NPM's chief
competitor. However, because of NPM's extensive work in Michigan
- and the fact that it is apparently (?) headquartered in our state - it makes for an interesting case study.
Another note: to my knowledge, NPM isn't doing anything illegal. As for
the moral implications of what they do, well...I'll leave that to you.
Does the house pictured above look like the headquarters of a firm
that's taken in well over $16 million from political campaigns and
spearheaded over 50 ballot proposals around the United States? Well, up
until about a year ago this modest abode on Tulane Avenue on Lansing's
east side was just that - as the office of National Petition
Management. An interesting aside: phone records also indicate NPM shared a phone number with
Valerie Tillstrom, Treasurer for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' congressional
campaign.
Depending what newspaper article you're reading, NPM is either a
Michigan company or a California company. According to incorporation
documents on file with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic
Growth, NPM is registered in California. Incorporation information on
file with the State of California give NPM's current address as
Brighton, Michigan - and list Lee B. Albright as the firm's president.
Here in Michigan, you may have seen NPM in the news a lot lately. They're the friendly folks
that Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson plans to pay $800,000 to collect over
300,000 petition signatures supporting his plan to cut the state budget
by $1.9 billion dollars. If NPM comes through - and they probably will
- the Republcan controlled state Legislature will be able to eliminate
the state Single Business Tax without the approval of Governor Granholm or the voters of Michigan.
The Patterson-DeVos plan to gut the state budget isn't the only one of
NPM's recent Michigan projects. The anti-affirmative action ballot
proposal backed by former University of California regent Ward
Connerly is another. (see correction) And then there was 2004's infamous proposal attacking the
civil rights of gays and lesbians. As a matter of fact, here's a list of NPM's
Michigan projects (that we know about) and how much they were paid
(where that information is available):
ST
|
YR
|
Proposal
|
NPM paid
|
| MI |
2006 |
Reapeal
SBT Initiative |
$800,000.00 |
| MI |
2006 |
Michigan Civil
Rights Initiative |
$850,000.00 |
| MI |
2004 |
Citizens
for the Protection of Marriage |
$136,316.45 |
| MI |
2004 |
Let
Voters Decide Yes on Proposal 1(gambling/racinos) |
$1,276,176.93 |
| MI |
2002 |
COM
TO ELECT ELIAS J ESCOBEDO JR JDG |
$8,358.00 |
| MI |
2002 |
Healthy
Michigan Initiative (money grab by hospitals) |
$677,754.50 |
| MI |
2001 |
People
Who Care about Kids (anti-concealed weapons) |
$204,500.00 |
| MI |
2000 |
Kids
First Yes! (Dick DeVos vouchers) |
$162,912.80 |
| MI |
2000 |
Let
Local Votes Count |
$680,000.00
|
| MI |
1998 |
Citizens
for Detroit Jobs |
?
|
| MI |
1996 |
Michigan
First! (gambling in Detroit) |
?
|
| MI |
1992 |
Michigan
Cut and Cap Property Taxes |
?
|
| MI |
1992 |
Michigan
Lower Rates Now |
?
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
$4,463,106
|
No doubt, it's an impressive list. Yet - there is more to California or
Michigan based National Petition Management. Read below the fold to see
a few of some of the other "grassroots" campaigns NPM has worked for. |
| matt :: Meet National Petition Management |
| AK |
1989 |
Alascom
(telecom industry) |
? |
| AZ |
1990 |
Arizona
Consumer Choice Insurance |
? |
| AZ |
1988 |
English
as the Official Language of Arizona |
? |
| CA |
2005 |
Citizens to
Save California (Schwarzenegger) |
$1,430,378 |
| CA |
2005 |
Coalition for
Employee Rights (anti-union) |
$844,454 |
| CA |
2005 |
Californians
for Fair Elections |
$1,349,588 |
| CA |
2004 |
Yes on 64 -
Californians to Stop Shakedown Lawsuits |
$1,120,744 |
| CA |
2003 |
Taxpayers
Against the Governor's Recall |
$24,383 |
| CA |
2003 |
Yes on 71 -
Coalition for Stem Cell Research and Cures |
$2,368,353 |
| CA |
2003 |
Riverside
Co. CA building proposal
|
?
|
| CA |
2003 |
Coalition
for a Better San Diego (hotel industry) |
? |
| CA |
2003 |
Contra
Costa Citizens for Choice (pro-Wal-Mart) |
? |
| CA |
2003 |
Corona
Residents for Responsible Utility Service (power company) |
? |
| CA |
2002 |
Racial Privacy
Initiative (Ward Connerly) |
$1,794,318 |
| CA |
2002 |
Inglewood
Committee for Open Competition (Pro-Wal-Mart) |
? |
| CA |
2001 |
Glendora
Recall |
? |
| CA |
2001 |
Santa
Monicans Fighting Against Irresponsible Regulation (anti-living wage) |
? |
| CA |
2000 |
Prop38yes.com -
Vouchers |
$643,796 |
| CA |
1999 |
Long
Beach Citizens for the Right to Vote (Edison Power Co.) |
? |
| CA |
1998 |
Californians
for Indian Self-Sufficiency |
? |
| CA |
1998 |
Fess
Parker Hotel Initiative (Santa Barbara, CA)
|
?
|
| CA |
1998 |
Greenbelt
Initiative (Fairfield)
|
?
|
| CA |
1998 |
Land
Fill and Siting Initiative (Colusa Co.)
|
? |
| CA |
1995 |
California
Bay Meadows Initiative (San Mateo) |
?
|
| CO |
1998 |
Citizens
for a Strong Rural Economy |
? |
| CO |
1988 |
English
as the Official Language of Colorado |
? |
| FL |
2003 |
Floridians for Patient
Protection |
$25,000 |
| FL |
2002 |
Pre-K Committee (Parents for
Readiness E (PAC) |
$1,270,508 |
| FL |
1997 |
Coalition
to Save Coral Gables |
? |
| FL |
1996 |
Coalition
for a New Miami |
? |
| FL |
1996 |
Stop
New Arena Committee |
? |
| FL |
1992 |
Protect
our Communities and Save our Parks (Dade Co.) |
?
|
| FL |
1988 |
English
as the Official Language of Florida |
? |
| ID |
2002 |
Idaho
Coalition for Indian Self-Reliance |
$51,327 |
| IN |
1996 |
Indiana
Presidential Ballot Qualifications |
? |
| KA |
2002 |
Kansas
Bi-state Renewal Committee (sports and arts tax) |
? |
| MA |
2005 |
MA
Food Assoc for Consumer Convenience in Wine Sales (ease liquor
laws) |
$329,372 |
| MA |
1997 |
Massachusetts
Committee for Tax Fairness |
? |
| MO |
1999 |
St.
Louis cable TV referendum (AT&T) |
? |
| MO |
1998 |
Missourians
for Fairness and Jobs |
? |
| MO |
1996 |
Missouri
Term Limits |
? |
| NE |
1996 |
Let
People Vote Committee (gambling) |
? |
| NV |
2004 |
Nevada
Statutory Initiative (insurance industry) |
$187,930 |
| OH |
2005 |
Reform
Ohio Now |
? |
| OH |
2002 |
Ohio
Taxpayers Association - City of Columbus rental car |
? |
| OH |
2001 |
No
on State Control of Property Taxes |
? |
| OH |
1998 |
Save
the Doves |
? |
| OH |
1997 |
Save
our Children's Future (Cleveland tax abatement limit) |
? |
| OH |
1994 |
Ohio
Campaign Finance Reform |
? |
| OH |
1994 |
Ohio
Tax Issues Committee |
? |
| TX |
2003 |
Lancaster
Citizens for Economic Growth/Rowlett Partners for Progress (liquor law
amm'ts) |
?
|
| WA |
2000 |
K-12
Initiative |
? |
| WA |
2000 |
Washington
Charter Schools |
? |
|
|
(non-Michigan)
TOTAL
|
$11,440,151
|
As you can see most - but not all - of the proposals listed above tend
to be Republican-oriented. NPM president Lee Albright doesn't seem to
give much to political candidates. But he does have one $200
contribution: to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. In 2005, he was registered to
vote at the Tulane Avenue house in Lansing.
Another interesting observation above: look at how much money went into
the California stem cell initiative. There's also apparently a stem
cell proposal now being floated around in Missouri too. I support stem
cell research - but I have to admit - the sums of money that seem to be
flowing into these proposals kind of creeps me out.
"When failure is not an option." That's the motto that appeared on
NPM's website until they took it down last month (thank Heavens for
Google cache and the Internet Archive) - and they really mean it. In
each one of these cases listed above, someone, some group, or some
company with a ton of money decided their idea really needed to go
before the voters. NPM's paid petition circulators did whatever they
had to do to make it happen. News accounts abound in Michigan and
around the country that describe the various shady tactics of for-hire circulators.
Anyway, this is how direct democracy works these days. Thought
you'd like to know. |
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