Nine out of ten oligarchs hate this campaign. We’ll explain.
In Michigan politics we’ve repeatedly seen the power of corporate money, particularly from utilities and other special interests, drown out the voice of everyday people and grassroots advocacy groups. Many of the popular state-level initiatives we champion at Clean Water Action, ranging from stronger polluter pay laws to community solar programs, are stonewalled due to the overwhelming political spending from DTE & Consumers Energy. Just this month, the Detroit News uncovered how DTE routed $550,000 to a fundraising account tied to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2024 and $750,000 to an account connected to state House Speaker Matt Hall. With such influence over our state officials, it’s no wonder Michiganders are stuck paying our utilities the highest power rates in the Midwest for the longest power outages nationwide.
This blatant pay-to-play corruption is why we’ve teamed up with partners across the state and launched the Michiganders For Money Out Of Politics ballot initiative (also known as Mop Up Michigan or MMOP), which would ban regulated gas and electric utilities as well as corporations with state government contracts worth more than $250,000 annually (Blue Cross Blue Shield, AT&T, Comcast, etc.) from donating to Michigan politicians. By banning this money and closing the largest dark money loophole in state law, we are on the way to making Michigan the state with the strongest campaign finance laws nationwide.
And we have their attention. Consumers and Blue Cross have already started bankrolling a bogus “Protect MI Free Speech” campaign, trying to keep their grip on Lansing lawmakers. We know these powerful corporate interests won’t go down without a fight, which is why we’re asking you to help fund our grassroots campaign to take back our power here in Michigan. We’ll never outspend DTE & Consumers, but when everyday people give what they can - anything from $5 to $5000 - we can build a people-powered movement to transform Michigan politics.
Your first encounter with Clean Water Action was likely one of our canvassers knocking at your door. A year into the Trump regime, we continually hear gratitude for providing people with a face-to-face opportunity to take action. Our field canvass is putting decades of expertise to work, collecting tens of thousands of signatures per month and setting new standards for signature collection door-to-door.
To further build power on this campaign, we have launched two regional organizer roles to coordinate volunteer programs and deepen our place-based coalition work: Madison Goff in Southeast Michigan and Duncan Donahue in Grand Rapids. Community-based organizing is increasingly important as corporations push narratives that divide everyday people. Our new regional organizers are building power in key communities and districts so that after we’ve met our signature goal, we can win at the ballot box next year and even more importantly hold our new electeds accountable. To all those who’ve already become volunteers, our sincerest thank you for your dedication to this campaign. If you’ve been considering collecting, sign up here and one of our volunteer coordinators will reach out to you with next steps.
We must continue to work together on critical issues that unite us like our water, our land, and democracy into 2026 and beyond. Please consider making a donation to help us end corporate lobbying in Michigan. An end of the year donation will support our continued work doing deep place-based organizing across the state. For our democracy!
“We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.”
— Justice Louis D. Brandeis
