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Resolution Regarding Consistency of Corporate Expression of Values and Corporate Action
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Whereas, The mission of the HRC is tied to Ann Arbor’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance which states that no individual be denied equal protection of the laws; nor shall any individual be denied the enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights;
Whereas, In May 2021, the Ann Arbor City Council passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a recognized and commemorated annual holiday in part to continue celebrating the end of institutional slavery in America but also highlight the centuries long and incomplete struggle to redeem the American creed of equality for all;
Whereas, The resolution further acknowledged the central and shameful role of slavery and government-structured racism in our history, and the moral imperative that we do all we can, resolved and united, to counter slavery’s enduring legacy of race-based discrimination and institutional racism;
Whereas, In August 2021, the City of Ann Arbor announced an Equitable Engagement Steering Committee and charged the committee to help the City function in a more inclusive manner and to uncover pathways to bring greater diversity of voices to the public processes;
Whereas, The voter suppression bills, passed by the Michigan state legislature in 2021 and subsequently vetoed by Governor Whitmer, have now evolved into a signature drive called Secure MI Vote that could soon empower the legislature to pass the same measures without the ability of the Governor to veto;
Whereas, The so-called Secure MI Vote initiative, submitted more than 500,000 signatures on Friday, July 29, 2022 to empower the state legislature to pass voter suppression over the Governor’s veto;
Whereas, The City Council shares Governor Whitmer’s concern that the effect of these initiatives and bills, if implemented, would be to improperly depress the vote in various communities, i.e., communities of color, in particular Black voters, older voters, college students, and working class people;
Whereas, Many Michigan-based corporations have made strong public statements in support of Black Lives Matter, signed the Declaration of War on Racism, and signed a joint statement opposing voter suppression bills previously vetoed by the Governor (collectively, “Self-Professed Values”);
Whereas, It is acknowledged that companies, including entities that are recipients of contracts with the City of Ann Arbor, make campaign contributions for their own business reasons; and
Whereas, The City Council believes that campaign contributions effected by corporations who have articulated Self-Professed Values to elected officials and candidates who support the voter suppression bills of 2021 and the so-called Secure MI Vote are actions that are inconsistent with those corporations’ Self-Professed Values;
RESOLVED, That the City of Ann Arbor calls upon corporations that express Self-Professed Values and engage in political advocacy in Michigan to take concrete steps to align their advocacy with those Self-Professed Values, specifically, by means that include communication to lawmakers and candidates that emphasizes the importance of such person’s support for the Self-Professed Values, and that corporations that express Self-Professed Values maintain or withhold support on the basis of such person's furtherance of same; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be directed to consider and provide an interim or final report to City Council no later than the 2nd meeting in January 2023 on the feasibility of including in the City’s procurement policies an evaluation of whether a potential vendor’s political activities are in furtherance of, or in opposition to, such vendor’s Self-Professed Values.
Sponsored by: Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers Briggs, Eyer, Song, Radina and Disch
As Amended and Approved by Ann Arbor City Council on October 17, 2022