from
THE MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      
Contact: Jason Moon
517-371-5410
January 3, 2008

Cox and Land Again Failed Michigan Citizens in 2007

LANSING – Today Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer sharply criticized Attorney General Mike Cox and Secretary of State Terri Lynn for failing to protect and do what was best for Michigan’s citizens in 2007. 

“Since being elected in 2002, Attorney General Cox and Secretary of State Land have put their own political agendas ahead of what was best for the people of Michigan and 2007 was no different,” Brewer said. “Cox failed to protect citizens against predatory lenders and high gas prices and Land failed to make voting easier and attempted to disenfranchise minority voters.”

Mike Cox ignored predatory lending practices and the mortgage crisis throughout the state. According to Cox’s own press release the number one complaint of 2006 in his office was credit and financial concerns, including predatory lending.  Kirt Gundry, the head of the state's mortgage monitoring agency, told the Detroit News in November that, “‘they have been giving the Attorney General mortgage fraud ‘cases on a silver platter.’” The Michigan Citizen reported in late December, that Cox finally held a seminar in Detroit on home foreclosure issues, but he was accused of grandstanding on the issue by many Detroit residents.

Cox also failed to protect Michigan citizens from unfair gas prices. During the summer while Michigan had the second highest gas price in the nation at $3.60/gallon, 40¢ higher than the national average, Cox refused to act or even comment on Michigan’s record high gas prices.

In addition to the gas and mortgage crises, Mike Cox also had plans for a $60,000 personal gym, paid for by taxpayers. Cox scrapped his gym plans after the MDP revealed them.

Secretary of State Land’s failures include trying to close a Buena Vista Township Secretary of State office. The Saginaw News reported that the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division ruled that the shutdown was ‘legally unenforceable’ because of the potential to disenfranchise many minority voters. The DOJ ruled that the shutdown would violate the 1965 National Voting Rights Act, “which gave the federal oversight of voter registration concerns in certain ‘covered jurisdictions.’"

Land, like she has done since being elected in 2002, failed to enact any important election reforms, including early voting, no-reason absentee voting, same-day voter registration and real time campaign finance disclosures. Land also allowed illegal aliens to obtain Michigan driver’s licenses for the fifth year in a row. The Associated Press reported in December that “Michigan has been one of seven states to allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.”

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Paid for by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, 606 Townsend St., Lansing, MI  48933. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.