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Two of the most emotional issues of the last few decades came to a head this week: gun safety, and abortion rights. Mark and Jeff take a look at the politics in the aftermath of the horrific shooting in Oxford, and the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Mississippi’s efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.
They are then joined by one of the people responsible for the petition drive creating the state’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission, Walt Sorg.
Walt has been a part of state policy discussions for more than a half century, beginning as a teenage radio reporter covering the final weeks of the George Romney presidential campaign way back in 1968. Since then he’s held top-level staff positions in all three branches of Michigan government, including 9 years as press secretary to the Speaker of the House and 3 years as chief spokesman for Governor Jim Blanchard’s economic development program.
Walt began working to end partisan gerrymandering in 2013. Ultimately he became one of the founding board members of Voters Not Politicians, the grassroots group that collected more than 400,000 signatures for the ballot proposal that is now part of the Michigan constitution. He was one of the primary authors of the amendment which was approved by 61% of state voters.
The grassroots effort of Voters Not Politicians to amend Michigan’s constitution was chronicled in the award-winning documentary Slay the Dragon.
(And, for full disclosure, he’s also the producer of this podcast … usually someone operating behind the the scenes, but in front of the microphone this week!)