Defend Black Voters calls on DTE shareholders to ‘take motion’ towards political spending

Throughout a webinar this week directed towards DTE Power shareholders, the Defend Black Voters Coalition (DBV) continued its effort towards the utility over what the group describes as actions to help voter suppression via political lobbying.

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

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

In March 2021, GOP state senators launched a 39-bill package deal, which many Democrats and voter rights teams referred to as an general effort to suppress votes. DTE Power has contributed to state senators who sponsored these payments and/or voted for them. A number of of the payments had been vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Final yr, voters authorized Proposal 2 increasing voting rights in Michigan.

“We came upon that DTE’s PAC [Political Action Committee], which is managed by the identical firm that informed the general public that Black lives matter and that it stands behind voting rights, was one of many prime contributors to those lawmakers,” Hardaway stated throughout the webinar, referring to state legislators who backed voter suppression efforts that Democratic elected officers and racial justice advocates stated would have made it tougher for Black Michiganders to solid their ballots.

“We had been livid, and we knew the general public can be too,” Hardaway continued “Michiganders already undergo the very best electrical charges and the worst energy outages within the Midwest. Then we come to search out out that this firm is taking our cash and giving it to politicians attempting to silence my voice. We determined to carry firms like DTE accountable to place their cash the place their mouth is.”

DTE Power didn’t reply to a request for remark concerning the current DBV request for shareholders to “take motion.” The utility will maintain its annual shareholder assembly on Might 4.