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One Michigan Lawmaker Faces Recall; Vote Pits Snyder Against MEA

TIM MARTIN, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Republican state House member from Genesee County was trying to avoid becoming the first Michigan state legislator recalled from office since 1983 as voters went to the polls Tuesday.

The state's largest teachers union targeted Rep. Paul Scott of Grand Blanc in part because of his leading role in crafting state laws that weaken the significance of teacher tenure. The recall election also is seen by some as a referendum on some of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's budget policies, with recall supporters citing Scott's votes to cut education funding and tax some forms of retirement income while reducing overall business taxes.

Snyder supports Scott, the chair of the House Education Committee, and campaigned on his behalf.

TheMichigan Education Association pumped $140,000 into the effort to recall Scott through mid-October. Scott supporters said the recall is an effort by the association to protect its own special interests, not an indication of substantial grass roots opposition to Scott or Republican policies.

Scott has defended his votes to balance the state budget and says the teacher tenure changes help students by making it easier to remove bad educators and keep good ones employed.

"People really understand," Scott said last week. "We're having economic difficulties here and we had to make some cuts, and we made them to the adults and not the kids."

Recall organizers say Scott's votes have hurt public education in the state.

"What he's done to education is unconscionable," said Gary Carnahan, a retired teacher and recall organizer.

Scott, 29, is in the first year of his second two-year term representing House District 51. He comes from a competitive legislative district, but won re-election last November with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Scott would be up for re-election in 2012 if he survives Tuesday's recall attempt.

He's the first state lawmaker to face a recall election since 2008, when then-Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon easily survived the attempt to remove him from office. The recall was over Dillon's support of tax policies including an increase in the income tax rate.

The last time a state lawmaker was successfully recalled was in 1983, when two Democratic state senators from southeast Michigan were recalled for supporting an income tax increase proposed by then-Democratic Gov. James Blanchard. Phil Mastin of Pontiac and David Serotkin of Mount Clemens were voted out of office.

Recall threats are becoming more common, in part because Michigan law allows a recall attempt to be launched on virtually any grounds, including a target's politics. More than 40 of Michigan's 147 state lawmakers, mostly Republicans but also some Democrats, have faced some level of a recall campaign targeting them less than a year into their current terms.

The vast majority of recall efforts fizzle before they collect enough voter signatures to reach the election stage, and Scott is the only one on the November ballot. But a few other state lawmakers could find themselves facing recalls in 2012 if the current efforts targeting them gain momentum.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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