Laura Dudgeon of Dearborn waves a sign to ongoing traffic on July 19 urging drivers to stop and sign a petition to recall governor Rick Snyder out of office. PHOTO: Natasha Dado/TAAN

DEARBORN — A statewide effort to get Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recalled from office through a petition requiring 800,000 signatures made its way to Dearborn on Tuesday as residents stood outside city hall urging drivers to stop for a signature. 

Lawrence Rozenbaum of Dearborn says residents in more than 80 Michigan counties are collecting signatures from the public. 

If the required amount of signatures is obtained a question on whether the governor should be recalled from office would be placed on the November ballot allowing state residents to vote on the action. Additional signatures were expected to be collected at city hall on Thursday. 

Rozenbaum is concerned about Snyder’s cuts to education and the emergency financial manager law. He said the law undermines America’s core democratic values. “This law as it was modified takes away all the rights of citizens and city councils,” he said. The authority granted to emergency financial managers could create additional financial burdens for cities and destroy unions, Rozenbaum added.     

He says Snyder plays favoritism towards big businesses with tax breaks that take away from pensions, unemployment benefits and other financial resources of less wealthy people. 

 Rosenbaum among others, including Laura Dudgeon of Dearborn, collected signatures and waved signs urging drivers to stop.  “That’s our future (education) and our world,” she said. 

 Dudgeon says the cuts to pensions wouldn’t be a problem if the money was being put towards bettering education or anything else significant, but it’s not. She says Snyder’s promises to put Michigan’s economy back on track are empty statements. “The economy was coming back when Jennifer Granholm gave film incentives and Obama got the auto industry back on track,” she said. 

For more information on participating in the recall effort visit www.firericksnyder.org.