Garlin Gilchrist for Secretary of State

“Education makes our democracy run by helping create an informed and engaged voting public. Defending democracy means defending public schools and the educators who help students succeed. I’ll stand tall against anyone who threatens Michiganders’ right to vote or freedom to learn.”

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, MEA recommended candidate for Secretary of State

During his eight years as Lieutenant Governor, Gilchrist has a proven track record of standing up for public education. He’ll carry that commitment with him to the task of being Michigan’s next Secretary of State, partnering with public school employees to:

• protect voting rights,
• demystify the voting process for new, young voters,
• return drivers education programs to schools to make it more affordable, and
• protect our personal data from both political and big tech bad actors.

Eli Savit for Attorney General

“Public money belongs in public schools. The Michigan Constitution makes that clear — which is why as Attorney General I’ll fight any effort to siphon away taxpayer dollars to private and for‑profit schools. Every student has a right to a great public education, which is why we need to invest in the neighborhood schools our students depend on.”

Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, MEA’s recommended candidate for Attorney General

Before law school at the University of Michigan, Eli Savit was an eighth‑grade history teacher in public schools. As our next attorney general, Eli will continue his life’s work of protecting our human and civil rights from attack by corporate special interests and power‑hungry politicians. From students’ right to literacy to educators’ right to bargain, he’ll be a strong partner for schools and unions across our state.

Vote NO on Prop 1 — “ConCon”

Proposal 1 on the November ballot would convene a new Constitutional Convention (ConCon) to rewrite our state’s highest law.

The MEA Board of Directors voted to recommend MEA members VOTE NO on Prop 1.

The ConCon rules have no limits on campaign contributions to delegates or restrictions on what could be rewritten in our Constitution, allowing special interest groups and corporations to pour money into efforts to rewrite laws for their personal gain. Our Constitution could be rewritten to…

Threaten public school funding

• Expand unaccountable for‑profit education and allow public money to pay for private schools
• Eliminate free school meals and other efforts to make public education equitable for all students
• Ban school employee collective bargaining that gives educators a voice in their profession

You aren’t done voting until you flip your ballot and VOTE NO on Prop 1 to Protect Our Constitution. Learn more at ProtectMIConstitution.com.

Prioritizing Reductions for School Employee Health Costs

After the delay and ultimate veto of legislation that would have addressed skyrocketing health care costs for public school employees, MEA asked all candidates their stance on the following MEA position:

MEA supports immediate passage in 2027 of legislation addressing PA 152 of 2011, which mandated limits on public employer health insurance premium coverage — including providing healthcare cost relief for educators, more fairly sharing cost increases between public employers and employees, and returning discussions about healthcare costs to local collective bargaining.

We’re pleased to report that EVERY candidate for statewide or state legislative office we asked agreed to make health care cost reductions a priority when elected. (NOTE: Judicial candidates were not asked as they are not allowed to take positions on issues without recusing themselves from future cases.)

And those already in Lansing are already taking action, with the Senate passing reintroduced legislation to fix the “hardcap or 80/20” requirement put in place during the Snyder administration.

Learn more, including how you can help make this legislation a reality, at MEA.org/FixHealthcare