MEA Votes

David Leyton's tenure as the Genesee County prosecuting attorney has been marked by a strong commitment to protecting children. Now, he's asking for your vote to send him to the state attorney general's office, where he has pledged to advocate for regular citizens, not powerful special interests.

MEA proudly recommends Leyton in his bid to succeed Mike Cox as attorney general. Leyton, a Democrat, faces Republican Bill Schuette in the Nov. 2 election.

Leyton touts himself as a strong supporter of public education. He believes that educators should not be used as political punching bags and that they have sacrificed enough in efforts to help balance local and state education budgets.

In fact, Leyton will demand that all state politicians cut their pay 10 percent, including his own, and end free lifetime health benefits. When he was in the state Senate, Schuette supported a 38 percent pay raise for lawmakers.

Schuette supports vouchers for private schools and has received funding from Dick DeVos' anti-public education group, the Great Lakes Education Project. While in the state Senate, Schuette voted to cut more than $500 million from K-12 schools and he voted against a program designed to reduce class size.

On crime, Leyton has a conviction rate of 95 percent on 20,000 cases; Schuette has not prosecuted a single criminal case and has zero convictions.

In addition to cutting politicians' pay, Leyton wants to create a political crimes task force to prosecute government corruption at all levels, require elected officials to disclose their income and assets every year, and close the revolving door between public office and lobbying by enacting a two-year ban for outgoing lawmakers and government bureaucrats.

To learn more about Leyton, check out his campaign website, www.davidleyton.org.