O'Malley Coffee Hour Monday, June 24, 2019

A group of Benzie Watchers and other Benzie Co. Dems filed into Rep. Jack O'Malley's Coffee Hour at the Almira Twp. Fire Station on Mon, June 24th. We spent our time focused on the Benzie Bus proposed 8 % cutbacks and the GOP's proposed transportation budget cuts. O'Malley, as you know, is the Chair of the Transportation Committee in the MI House. While he said that he voted for the amendment to keep the current levels of spending for Public Transportation and the Benzie Bus, he also said he voted FOR the proposed GOP Budget which includes a nearly 80% cut to Gov. Whitmer's proposed $2.5 billion budget fix for MI roads.

The GOP's elimination of the 6% sales tax on gas at the pump, would defund K-12 public education by 72.7% of those revenues that go to public schools. O'Malley had a convoluted and vague explanation for how the GOP planned to make that up without giving specifics.

O'Malley also said he is considering Rep. Matt Maddock's harebrained scheme of selling off the Blue Water Bridge which connects Port Huron and Sarnia, Canada, as well as some airports and railways. Please be reminded that Maddock is beholden to the Moroun family of billionaires who line his campaign coffers and who currently own the Ambassador Bridge. One wonders how much the Moroun's have stuffed into O'Malley's coffers?

On this subject, you can write Letters to the Editor as well as letters to O'Malley and the members of the Transportation Committee stressing that our transportation infrastructure are the arteries over which Michiganders travel, and over which food, construction materials, oil, gas, military supplies and equipment flow. This makes the selling off of said infrastructure a national and state security issue. The Saudis and Chinese would jump at the chance to own parts of our infrastructure and could obstruct the flow of goods and military equipment and personnel anytime they chose.

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The selling off of our transportation infrastructure would impact our citizens' freedom to travel safely, supply our grocery stores, put gas in our cars and defend our state militarily. The GOP needs a reminder to quit with their dangerous, harebrained ideas and get down to the business of fully investing in our public education system and roads. Anything less is an infringement of Michiganders'

freedoms.