$1 million Our Water, Our Vote campaign makes toxic contamination, public health a flashpoint in races up-and-down the ballot

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today announced a $1 million independent expenditure campaign through its Conservation Voters of Michigan PAC (CVM PAC) aimed at electing clean water and public health champions across the state.

This investment — centered around its #OurWaterOurVote message — makes it one of Michigan’s largest state-level campaigns this election cycle. This major effort, focused on local races and judicial elections, comes on the heels of CVM PAC’s more than $3 million campaign in the 2018 election, when the governor’s office, attorney general and other statewide seats were on the ballot.

“Now more than ever, Michiganders understand the threats to our health and our families, and this election pivots around a key question: Who do you trust to protect us, clean up toxic contamination in our drinking water, and hold polluters accountable for the costs?” said Bob Allison, deputy director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “Toxic pollution in our water is a flashpoint because 1.9 million of us — including children — are drinking some level of dangerous PFAS chemicals every day. That’s why we need to elect candidates who believe in science, listen to the experts, and defend our rivers and lakes from the polluters.”

The #OurWaterOurVote campaign by CVM PAC, already underway, includes multiple direct mail flights targeted at both absentee and in-person voters, advertising on Facebook and Instagram, and social media streaming services like YouTube, Roku, Hulu, and Comcast, as well as live phone calls, text messages, and statewide radio through Election Day.

In the Michigan Supreme Court race, #OurWaterOurVote is partnering with and investing in Black PAC, an independent, Black-led organization that does year-round political engagement.  As part of the effort, Black PAC is running large-scale African-American radio advertising that promotes Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and candidate Elizabeth Welch.  Black PAC’s first ad launched this week.

“The Michigan Supreme Court race will be pivotal to the issues facing our communities, like police accountability, justice for the families of the Flint Water Crisis, and African-American political representation,” said Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of Black PAC. “We need justices on the Supreme Court who hold our values, and Bridget Mary McCormick and Elizabeth Welch are the judges we need to ensure equal justice for our communities.”

Below are examples of other #OurWaterOurVote creative in state House races:

• “Scientist” mail piece – https://michiganlcv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CVM_Pohutsky_Scientist.pdf

• “Kids” mail piece – https://michiganlcv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CVM_Morse_Kids.pdf

• “Champion” 15 second ad – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrGahYWWzOI

In addition to CVM PAC’s effort, its national affiliate, the League Of Conservation Voters Victory Fund is running a multi-million dollar campaign in Michigan focused on the Presidential election and key congressional races that mirrors this powerful toxic contamination message and #OurWaterOurVote.

That LCV effort has included: two separate broadcast, cable and satellite TV ads for U.S. Sen. Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin; nine flights of mail to swing voters on Trump’s horrible record when it comes to toxic PFAS cleanup; millions of digital ads over five months aimed at that same audience; and statewide radio ads for Peters.

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