FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Brown
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008
Phone: (248) 953-1050

Brown Announces Plan to Reform Broken Legislature
Candidate’s plan aims to reduce state spending, cut taxes for homeowners

WEST BLOOMFIELD – In order to fix Michigan’s broken Legislature and return it to the people, State House candidate Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) today announced her comprehensive plan that will reform government, reduce state spending and cut taxes for homeowners.

“Michigan is facing difficult economic times and our residents are struggling just to make ends meet,” said Brown, a candidate for the 39th House District, covering West Bloomfield, Commerce Township and Wolverine Lake. “Our lawmakers need to lead by example and share in these sacrifices. By enacting these comprehensive reforms, we can return the Legislature back to the people where it belongs and save our taxpayers some money along the way.”

The government reform plan, part of Brown’s sweeping “New Michigan Now” campaign, will:

• Slash state spending by cutting lawmakers’ salaries and ending free lifetime health care benefits for lawmakers and other elected officials.
• Prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office.
• Cut taxes for homeowners by reforming the pop-up tax and ensuring that property taxes don’t rise when home values fall.

Brown’s “New Michigan Now” campaign also aims to create good-paying jobs that cannot be outsourced, strengthen education and expand the role of renewable energy in Michigan.

Brown is making her second run at the State House seat in the 39th District. A Realtor with Max Broock Realtors and mother of three, Brown has deep roots in the community and knows how important it is to turn our state around to keep our youngest and brightest workers here in Michigan. She is a member of Adat Shalom and has done extensive volunteer work in the community. A strong proponent of the potentially life-saving benefits of stem-cell research, Brown will focus on bringing more cutting-edge jobs in fast-growing fields such as life sciences and renewable energy to Oakland County.

“Too many career politicians are focused on their own best interests rather than our communities' best interests,” Brown said. “I will fight to fix that when I get to Lansing. As a State Representative, I will be a strong, independent voice for our hard-working families and will work hard to get our state back on track.”