Voter Voice taps grassroots

by Larry Meyer
MRA Chairman and CEO

I've asked Eric Rule, MRA's director of governmental affairs, to be my "guest colmnist" this month.
—Larry Meyer.

A bill that would require all school districts in the state to start school after the Labor Day weekend—House Bill 4803—recently passed the House and is now before the Michigan Senate. Retailers may finally see the action they want on this perennial issue.

To mobilize our grassroots on the issue, MRA used a powerful computer software communications tool called Voter Voice to send a “member alert” to those members for whom we have fax numbers or e-mail addresses. Member input on this issue was phenomenal—we received over 200 responses, more than we’ve seen on other issues.

The response shows that tourism and travel in Michigan is vital to retail and important for the state’s economy. More important, it shows that we can move an issue via grassroots through avenues like Voter Voice. Grassroots politics are of critical importance in Michigan for crafting sound policy.

The legislative response to the grass-roots activity has been good as well. As a result of MRA’s and other groups’ efforts, Senate Republicans have apparently said this issue will come up for a vote—which was not the case previously.

The level of response from members and the legislature shows that to be successful, we need to increase our grassroots presence in Lansing. Your help in this effort is vital. There are three things you can do:
• Send us your correct e-mail address, so that we can reach you through Voter Voice. A fax number is okay, but e-mail is least expensive and most efficient. Contact MRA’s Kathy Wilson with your information (800.366.3699 or kawilson@retailers.com). We don’t share or sell our e-mail list.
• When you receive information about an issue through Voter Voice, please participate.
• Consider contributing even a small amount to MRA PAC. Contact Kathy Wilson to contribute.

MRA PAC raises approximately $50,000 per election cycle, which is used to help support and retain policy makers who share our views on retail’s importance in Michigan.

Collectively, we can have a huge say in public policy in our state if we ramp up our grassroots presence and follow it up with a well-funded PAC that attracts attention and keeps our interests in legislators’ minds when they are crafting policy.