Rebekah Warren says Pam Byrnes' campaign tactics in Senate race have 'crossed the line'

Rebekah Warren

Warren criticized Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, for delivering two mailers across the district — ads she says contain "distortions, hypocrisies and outright lies." The ads attack Warren for missed votes in the Legislature and for allegedly costing Michigan hundreds of millions of dollars in education funding.

In an open letter to the community posted on her website, Warren responded to each of Byrnes' seven attacks, drawing special attention to claims that she has cost Michigan federal Race to the Top funds.

“This is a blatant lie,” Warren wrote in her letter. “While I did oppose the RTTT ‘reforms,' all of them passed and were signed by the governor. Michigan’s inability to secure those funds is deeply rooted in fact that Michigan prioritized and made the wrong reforms.”

Warren said Michigan’s rushed attempts to amend education policy in the state failed to align with federal priorities, such as expanding school-level decision-making. She said the bills she opposed actually decreased the autonomy of local school districts by instituting a state-takeover policy and unilaterally increasing the amount teachers pay into their retirement programs, making local wage and benefit negotiations more restricted and difficult.

The two Democrats, who currently represent different parts of Washtenaw County in the state House, are battling for the 18th District state Senate seat in Tuesday's primary election, along with Democrat Thomas Partridge.

Pam Byrnes

Byrnes' campaign responded to Warren's open letter in a statement e-mailed to AnnArbor.com.

"We’ve run a strong and honest campaign and we’re simply not going to engage in petty politics as usual," said Byrnes' campaign manager Kent Sparks. "We stand by our record of solving problems, creating jobs in our community and delivering results for Washtenaw County."

Warren said she's committed to running a clean campaign, but felt the need to properly respond to the attacks by Byrnes.

“I have always abhorred this aspect of our politics,” Warren wrote. “Its disparaging effect on our government and our ability to realize the vision of the founders of our country is too severe. You will never see me supporting such attacks. Never. And if any of my supporters engage in such behavior, I will do everything in my power to stop it, including publicly decrying their efforts."

The latest ads from Byrnes' campaign come on the heels of similar ads that were put out by the Republican-backed Great Lakes Education Project PAC, which is supporting Byrnes and attacking Warren. Byrnes also went on the attack against Warren for a campaign finance violation last week, but it turned out she, too, had broken the law.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.