Social media ads targeting Michigan residents, urging them to contact their state senator to approve a road funding plan, paints the Democrat-led Michigan Senate as the obstacle to one of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s top priorities.
The ads ran on Instagram and Facebook in June and early July, according to Meta, which owns both social media sites, and were paid for by America Works USA, which is allied with the Democratic Governors Association, according to InfluenceWatch, an organization that tracks money in politics. An organization that supports Whitmer’s policies, called Road to Michigan’s Future, gave $20,000 to America Works USA in 2020 and $11.25 million in 2022, according to federal tax filings available on the Internal Revenue Service’s website. Both America Works USA and Road to Michigan’s Future are nonprofits that are not required to disclose their donors.
Beginning this year, Whitmer has made a renewed push for lawmakers to come together to approve a sustainable, long-term road funding plan and offered her own sketch for a proposal. The GOP-controlled Michigan House has passed legislation to fund road repairs. The Democrat-led Michigan Senate hasn’t passed its own road funding plan and Senate Minority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, has instead pushed to incorporate road funding into ongoing budget negotiations.
In one of the America Works USA ads, a narrator states: “It’s pothole season in Michigan, and even with record road construction from state Democrats, Michigan drivers continue to face a bumpy ride. It’s time to invest in local roads with comprehensive funding.”
“Tell your state senator to support the MI Road Ahead plan,” text on the ad states, using the name Whitmer gave her road funding plan.
Whitmer Press Secretary Stacey LaRouche didn’t respond to a question from the Detroit Free Press on July 8 on whether the governor asked America Works USA to run these ads. Instead, LaRouche referred the Free Press to the Democratic Governors Association. Democratic Governors Association Communications Director Sam Newton referred the Free Press to America Works USA.
In a news release, America Works USA credited Whitmer and Senate Democrats for delivering road repairs but said future improvements are under threat without action by the Michigan Senate.
“It’s time for the State Senate to step up and ensure that Michigan drivers and businesses have reliable, safe infrastructure for decades to come,” said America Works USA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe in a statement. Donohoe didn’t respond to a follow-up question about Whitmer’s potential involvement in the ads. Gongwer News Service — a Lansing-based Michigan politics media outlet — first reported on the ads.
When she first ran for governor, Whitmer pledged to “fix the damn roads.” In her first term, lawmakers rejected her proposal for a 45-cent gas tax increase to fund road improvements. Instead, she decided to go it alone. The State Transportation Commission approved her request for $3.5 billion in bonds to rebuild state highways and bridges. Local roads didn’t benefit from the funding and Whitmer has called on lawmakers to deliver a sustainable road funding plan that would fix local roads, too.
Whitmer has applauded House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, for laying out a roads proposal which differs but also overlaps with hers. The GOP-led Michigan House passed legislation that would dedicate $3.1 billion annually to fix Michigan roads, but most Democrats in the state House opposed the nine-bill plan which would entail significant funding cuts to pay for repairs. Minority House Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, has stressed that a road funding fix requires new revenue.
Whitmer has put forward an outline of her own plan. Like the GOP proposal, hers also calls for ensuring 100% of the state taxes Michigan drivers currently pay at the pump go to roads.
Whitmer and Hall, however, disagree on whether to raise new revenue to fund roads. Hall’s plan would find road funding from existing revenue while Whitmer’s plan promises to bring in new revenue from big corporations and technology companies and a new tax on marijuana.
Hall has blasted Democrats in the Michigan Senate for not putting forward a detailed road funding plan of their own.
Brinks has indicated she wants to talk about road funding as part of state budget negotiations. Road funding would have an impact on the budget, she stressed during remarks to reporters July 1. “It makes sense to contemplate the whole altogether and it’s difficult to do it piece by piece without having some answers on how it impacts other pieces. So that’s where we’re at right now,” Brinks said.
Brinks spokesperson Rosie Jones declined to comment on the America Works USA ads. Gideon D’Assandro, who handles media inquiries for Hall, did not immediately comment.
The status of road funding negotiations remains unclear. Brinks and Whitmer’s offices didn’t provide an update and D’Assandro didn’t immediately weigh in on behalf of Hall.
Lawmakers have already blown past their self-imposed July 1 deadline for passing a state budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. They are scheduled to return to Lansing next week.
Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Road funding ads put pressure on Democrat-led Michigan Senate
Reporting by Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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