Defend Black Voters calls on DTE shareholders to ‘take action’ against political spending ⋆

During a webinar this week directed toward DTE Energy  shareholders, the Defend Black Voters Coalition (DBV) continued its effort against the utility over what the group describes as actions to support voter suppression through political lobbying. 

DBV is a Michigan-based network of social justice organizations.

“We’re asking shareholders to take action,” said Ponsella Hardaway, DBV co-chair.  

In March 2021, GOP state senators introduced a 39-bill package, which many Democrats and voter rights groups called an overall effort to suppress votes. DTE Energy has contributed to state senators who sponsored those bills and/or voted for them. Several of the bills were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Last year, voters approved Proposal 2 expanding voting rights in Michigan.

“We found out that DTE’s PAC [Political Action Committee], which is controlled by the same company that told the public that Black lives matter and that it stands behind voting rights, was one of the top contributors to these lawmakers,” Hardaway said during the webinar, referring to state legislators who backed voter suppression efforts that Democratic elected officials and racial justice advocates said would have made it more difficult for Black Michiganders to cast their ballots.

“We were furious, and we knew the public would be too,” Hardaway continued. “Michiganders already suffer the highest electric rates and the worst power outages in the Midwest. Then we come to find out that this company is taking our money and giving it to politicians trying to silence my voice. We decided to hold companies like DTE accountable to put their money where their mouth is.”

DTE Energy did not respond to a request for comment about the recent DBV request for shareholders to “take action.” The utility will hold its annual shareholder meeting on May 4. 

Ponsella Hardaway, executive director of MOSES Action and co-chair of Defend Black Voters Coalition in December 2021 | Dan Cox photo

The webinar comes after DBV penned an April 7 letter to shareholders calling on them to take action on the issue of “lobbying transparency.”  

“We believe these directors failed both shareholders and community stakeholders in their duties to ensure that DTE’s political spending and lobbying activities are aligned with the company’s public rhetoric and comply with its own policies,” a portion of the letter reads.

The letter refers to David Thomas, Gary Torgow, Mark Murray, and David Brandon, all of whom are current or recent members of the board committee in charge of political spending oversight.

In addition to the issue of DTE’s lobbying efforts, Bonnett, a Detroit resident and a DTE rate payer, also addressed recent power outages.

“We’ve had multiple refrigerators full of food go bad and suffered for days on end in the sweltering summer with no air conditioning. While I was infuriated to learn about DTE’s political spending, I was not surprised. That’s why I, along with many others, have chosen to stand up to DTE.”

A severe ice storm in February left thousands of Michiganders without power for days, after which state lawmakers held a hearing to discuss repeated issues with major utilities, including DTE.

Aiyash spoke to the utility’s request in February for a rate increase and “terrible service.”

“We need to know where all the money from previous rate hikes – billions of dollars – has gone, and why hasn’t service improved?” said Aiyash. “We pay more, quality goes down and profits go up – that’s a lose-lose for customers.”

Joining Hardaway during the webinar were Michigan House floor leader Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck); Dorian Warren, Community Change Action co-president; Renaye Manley of Service Employees International Union; Karlee Weinmann of the Energy & Policy Institute; John Keenan of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and Sonja Bonnett of the Mothering Justice Action Fund. 



authored by Ken Coleman
First published at https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganadvance.com%2F2023%2F04%2F28%2Fdefend-black-voters-calls-on-dte-shareholders-to-take-action-against-political-spending%2F

Comments are closed.