Paul Scott (Michigan)
Paul H. Scott (b. March 2, 1982), a native of Grand Blanc, Michigan is a former Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing district 51 from 2009 until his recall from office on November 8, 2011.
- Graduated from Grand Blanc High School
- Bachelor's degree, University of Michigan in economics and political science
- Master's degree, Harvard University in public policy
- Juris Doctorate degree, University of Michigan Law School
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Scott served on these committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Scott served on these committees:
- Education (Member)[1]
- Health Policy (Member)
- Urban Policy (Minority Vice Chair)
Other roles
- Coach, Burton Bendle High
- Coach, Goodrich High
- Coach/Sponsor, Grand Blanc Little League
- Member, Abundant Life Ministries Church
- Member, Fenton Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Genesee County Right to Life
- Member, Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce
- Member, National Rifle Association
Elections
2011 recall
An effort to recall Scott from office got underway in July 2011. On August 5, 2011, recall organizers filed 12,200 signatures with the Secretary of State.[2] A total of 9,604 were necessary for the recall to continue. With sufficient signatures validated the recall was set to appear on the November 8, 2011 ballot.
However, a series of legal challenges and appeals by Scott resulted in an injunction on October 13, effectively halting the election.[3] On October 20, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the recall should proceed exactly as it was prior to the injunction, putting it back on the November 8 ballot.[4]
Unofficial results show Scott lost by 197 votes.
| Recall of Michigan State Representative Paul Scott, 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shall Paul Scott be recalled from the office of Michigan State Representative, District 51? | Vote % | Votes |
 Yes |
50.5% | 12,358 |
| No | 49.5% | 12,126 |
| Total Votes | 24,484 | |
2010
Scott won re-election to the District 51 seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Art Reyes (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.
On January 18, 2010, he announced his candidacy for the statewide office of secretary of state, the seat being vacated by Terri Lynn Land, who was barred by state term limit laws from running for a third consecutive term in office.[5]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 51 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Paul Scott (R)
|
22,509 | |||
| Art Reyes (d) | 15,275 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Paul Scott ran for District 51 of the Michigan House of Representatives, beating Michael Thorp.[6]
Paul Scott raised $272,553 for his campaign.[7]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 51 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Paul Scott (R)
|
29,921 | |||
| Michael Thorp (D) | 26,587 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Campaign contributions
2008
According to Follow the Money, Scott raised $272,553 in 2008 for his state representative campaign.[8]
Listed below are the top five contributors:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee | $71,950 |
| Paul Scott | $37,100 |
| Michigan Chamber of Commerce | $5,000 |
| Cox 5200 Club | $5,000 |
| Michigan Farm Bureau | $5,000 |
Noteworthy events
Transgender driver licenses
When Scott announced that he was entering the race for secretary of state in 2010, he said that he would try to make sure that "transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance."[9][10][11][12]
A transgender activist said, “Representative Scott’s remarks indicate that he is not fit to serve the people of Michigan in this position."[9] And Scott's opponent, Jocelyn Benson, said, “I don’t mean to minimize this issue as unimportant. I am more frustrated that this is being done to take a volatile issue and drive a debate in a way that energized a base. That it is just sort of more an attempt towards extremist issues.”[9]
Then-president of the American Family Association of Michigan (AFAM) Gary Glenn said that Scott did not pick "this issue out of thin air. ... the ACLU has for years tried to pressure the Secretary of State to officially certify a 'transgender' male who has not had so-called 'sex change' surgery as 'female.'"[13]
Public payrolls and political workers
On August 18, 2010, Democrat political consultant Joe DiSano sent a "Request for Investigation" to Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Twp, asking him to investigate public money going to his campaign workers.
Glenn Clark was the chair of Michigan's 9th Congressional district Republicans and the focus of DiSano's request because Clark's name surfaced this summer as an employee on the state payroll of state Rep. Scott. At that point, Scott was a candidate for the GOP nomination to become Michigan's Secretary of State.
DiSano wanted the Michigan House to investigate whether or not Scott hired Clark to do political work on his Secretary of State campaign, effectively using taxpayer dollars to subsidize Scott's political ambitions. [14] Scott was recalled from the state House in 2011 because of his support of education cuts.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Paul + Scott + Michigan + Legislature
Contact information
Capitol Address:
S 0985 House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
Phone: (517) 373-1780
Fax: (517) 373-5810
E-mail: PaulScott@house.mi.gov
Campaign Address:
Paul Scott for Secretary of State
P.O. Box 693
Grand Blanc, MI 48480
E-mail: paul@scottforsos.com
External links
- Paul Scott for Secretary of State Campaign website
- Michigan House Republicans - Representative Paul Scott page
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008
- Michigan Votes - Voting Record of Rep. Paul Scott
- Paul Scott on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan State House - List of Standing Committees
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Recall drive against GOP state Rep. Paul Scott turns in enough signatures; Snyder recall effort continues," August 5, 2011
- ↑ Tri-County Times, "Judge stops Scott recall," October 15, 2011
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Mich. Supreme Court rules Scott recall vote can proceed," October 20, 2011
- ↑ WLAJ Channel 3 "MI Rep. Paul Scott wants secretary of state nod" 18 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Election Results - General Election - November 04, 2008," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Scott's 2008 campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - Campaign Contributions for Paul Scott, 2008
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Michigan Messenger, "Paul Scott targets transgendered people in race for Secretary of State" 21 Jan. 2010
- ↑ eTransgender, "Paul Scott plans to make Michigan a transsexual's hell" 21 Jan. 2010
- ↑ The Bilerico Project, "Rep Paul Scott Blows Smoke on Transgender Michigan" 22 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Michigan Liberal, "Paul Scott's nutty idea" 16 Feb. 2010
- ↑ American Family Association of Michigan, "Rep. Scott didn’t pull transgender statement out of thin air; ACLU has campaigned for official IDs" 17 Feb. 2010
- ↑ "Public Payrolls and Political Workers," By Ken Braun, Michigan Capitol Confidential, September 8, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Michigan House of Representatives - District 51 2009–November 8, 2011 |
Succeeded by Joseph Graves |
