Michigan Citizen Action (MCA) was a Kalamazoo, Michigan-based, left-leaning advocacy nonprofit that supported higher taxes and increased government spending on public schools, roads, and mass transit.  MCA also lobbied to end Michigan’s law prohibiting consumers from re-selling tickets to sports and entertainment events at higher prices than face value (“ticket scalping”). Michigan Citizen Action was closely affiliated with the Michigan Citizens Education Fund, a charitable advocacy group which raised tax-deductible donations and shared the same executive director, deputy director, and building address. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

MCA’s tax-exempt status was automatically revoked in 2019 due to MCA ceasing to file annually required disclosures with the Internal Revenue Service. ^[4]

History

Michigan Citizen Action was formed in 1993^[5] The MCA’s tax-exempt status was revoked in 2019 due to MCA ceasing to file annually required disclosures with the Internal Revenue Service. ^[6] A radio interview of MCA’s executive director from 2017 appears to be the last media activity by the MCA. ^[7]

Michigan Citizen Action was listed as an affiliate of the aggressively left-wing People’s Action Institute. ^[8]

People

Linda Teeter

The executive director of Michigan Citizen Action from 1995 through 2017 was Kalamazoo resident Linda Teeter. ^[9]  Teeter was a staffer for former Michigan State Representative Mary Brown (D–Kalamazoo) and was an elected Kalamazoo City Commissioner. ^[10] Teeter also served as executive director for Michigan Citizens Education Fund,^[11] which raised tax-exempt donations from progressive-left organizations. ^[12]

Teeter was trained by the organization Midwest Academy, which specializes in seminars and training for left-wing activists. ^{[13] [14] [15] [16]}

Teeter was questioned about steering campaign contributions to the MCA when she was chair of the Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority in 2009. A group supporting a local tax increase to fund mass transit paid an MCA staff member to assist on the pro-tax increase campaign, causing some to question the ethics of a Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority official working to advocate passage of a tax proposal and having the MCA financially benefit from the arrangement. ^[17]

Erin Knott

Erin Knott was Deputy Director of Michigan Citizen Action^[18] and is a Kalamazoo City Council member first elected in 2015.  Knott is a political consultant for Democratic Party candidates and an activist for left-leaning causes. Knott works on staff for an LGBT advocacy organization called Equality Michigan, and for America Votes, a left-of-center lobbying and advocacy coalition. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Knott is a donor to the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, which supports Democratic Party candidates. ^[22]

Activities

Michigan Citizen Action primarily focused on writing op-eds, blogging, and advocating for higher taxes to fund increased education, welfare services, transportation infrastructure and mass transit spending, and to increase the number of Medicaid recipients. ^{[23] [24] [25] [26] [27]}

Michigan Citizen Action also focused on ending Michigan’s law against “ticket scalping.” The law prevented citizens from reselling sporting and entertainment event tickets for more than the original selling price. MCA wrote editorials and testified in legislative committees in favor of ending the ticket scalping ban. ^{[28] [29] [30] [31]}

Finances

Michigan Citizen Action raised an average of $224,535 annually between the years 2010 and 2015, inclusive. The MCA spent an average of $95,544 annually on staff salaries during that period, with the majority paying for director Linda Teeter’s salary, which ranged between $82,211 and $122,053 per year. ^[32]

The MCA’s last available federal filing in 2015 reported revenues of $90,160 with $98,251.43 spent to pay Ms. Teeter’s salary and benefits. ^[33]

Michigan Citizen Action did not disclose its donors, but the closely-affiliated Michigan Citizens Education Fund listed both Ms. Teeter and Ms. Knott as director and deputy director, respectively. ^[34] The Michigan Citizens Education Fund received funding from the left-of-center groups The Arcus Foundation^[35] and the Tides Foundation. ^[36]