Senator Gives Wife's Lobbying Firm Backdoors Amendment to Ban Tesla: Letter to the Editor

(Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor from Shari Pollesch, Democratic candidate for Michigan Senate District 22. The views expressed below are solely those of the candidate.)

It matters that Senator Hune’s wife, Marcia Hune, is a lobbyist and that he always votes on the bills that she and her lobby firm push forward. It matters a lot.

Tesla Motors, an American car company, makes an electric car that Consumer Reports has touted as the “best-performing car — of any kind — it has ever tested.” Tesla wants to distribute its cars in Michigan directly to consumers. You might assume that Hune, who opened up this campaign season claiming he was the “anti-regulation” candidate and a champion of smaller government and the free market, would welcome Tesla to Michigan. But, as he recently demonstrated, he’s happy to work against the free market if it benefits his wife’s firm and the organizations that fill his campaign coffers.

The bill that Governor Snyder signed on Tuesday completely bans Tesla from doing business in our State. In fact, according to a press release issued by Tesla, the wording of this current bill could be interpreted as keeping Tesla from even talking about its electric car in Michigan.

And who is responsible for this blatant big-government attack on industry competition...Senator Joe Hune (R-Hamburg, 22nd State Senate District.)

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“Using a procedure that prevented legislators and the public at large from knowing what was happening or allowing debate, Senator Joe Hune added new language in an attempt to lock Tesla out of the State. Unsurprisingly, Senator Hune counts the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association as one of his top financial contributors, and his wife’s firm lobbies for the dealers.”

According to an Op-Ed in the October 17th Detroit Free Press by Daniel Crane, all evidence points to the fact that Hune’s maneuver hid the provision from many of his fellow legislators. As Crane states, “one can only conclude that the dealers’ lobby, [Governmental Consulting Services, Inc.] sneaked it in at the last minute to avoid the fair and open debate on direct distribution that has taken place in states like New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia.”

Regardless of whether you agree that Telsa Motors should be allowed to market directly to Michigan consumers, Michigan voters deserve transparency and integrity in policymaking, which requires open debate. This kind of backdoor policymaking, which directly benefits an organization for which his wife’s employer lobbies, poses a conflict of interest, to say the least.

This is just one more instance where Hune’s ties to special interests trump his obligation to voters. Hune only supports the free market when his special interests give him the nod. Otherwise, he’s more than willing to put a stranglehold on the free market, and he’ll support government intrusion when it suits his wife’s lobby firm and his special interest contributors.

This is why it matters that Senator Joe Hune, R-Hamburg, votes on bills that his wife, Marcia and her lobby firm push through the legislature. We need government that puts people before special interests.

Click here for the Tesla press release, here for Sen. Hune’s campaign contributions, and here for Daniel Crane’s full op-ed.

– Shari Pollesch

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