Senate Democrats move to protect voter’s choices and the School Aid Fund

LANSING - Senate Democrats announced today at a press conference that they will be introducing a constitutional amendment to guarantee money from the state’s School Aid Fund is dedicated to K-12 education and not diverted to the general fund

The amendment comes in response to Gov. Rich Snyder’s budget proposal which would divert money from the School Aid Fund to pay for other measures of the Governor’s budget, including corporate tax giveaways.

“Governor Snyder recently said ‘It’s not about politics; It’s about doing the right thing,’ and his budget is far from it,” said Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D – East Lansing. “He wants to cut school funding so the state can afford corporate tax handouts that have no guarantee of creating jobs. I ask what corporation would want to locate in a state with the failing school systems his budget would surely create.”

When citizens voted in 1972 to create the Michigan Lottery and again in 1994 to pass Proposal A, they did so with the understanding that the funds generated by these measures would be dedicated to supporting public education. The Governor’s proposal to divert that money to fill a deficit in the state’s General Fund budget is a clear strike against the intent of the voters.

“The citizens of Michigan have made it clear that they expect education to come first,” said Sen. Bert Johnson, D – Detroit. “This is exactly the type of accounting gimmick Governor Snyder said he wanted to avoid, and is yet another example of this administration saying one thing and doing another.”

Senate Democrats said they would be hosting a series of town hall meetings throughout the state to seek input from Michigan’s families on their concerns and priorities for the state budget, and they have invited Snyder to attend because of his love of townhall meetings.

“The people of Michigan have to live with the consequences of the budget passed by the legislature,” said Sen. John Gleason, D – Flushing. “It is only fair that we ask them for their input and ensure that their voices are heard within the Capitol chambers as these significant decisions are being made.”

Here are the townhall meetings, and most locations are TBD at this time.

Oakland County
Thursday April 7

Western Wayne
Thursday, April 14, 6:00pm-7:30pm VFW Hall, 27345 Schoolcraft, Redford.

Saginaw
Monday, April 18

Flint
Thursday, April 21

Detroit
Monday, April 11, 6:00-8:00pm

Grand Rapids
Tuesday, April 19, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Kalamazoo
Monday, April 11

Senate Democrats move to protect civil rights

LANSING – Senate Democrats heeded the voices of the more than 5,000 working people who jammed the Capitol on Wednesday, and on Thursday they introduced Senate Joint Resolution I that would amend Michigan’s Constitution to guarantee every worker the right to organize and collectively bargain.

The Resolution was sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, and it was co-sponsored by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus. The simple resolution reads as follows:

“Sec. 28. Every person shall have the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations and to bargain collectively through representatives chosen by the members of the labor organizations as to wages, benefits, and conditions of employment.”

The Republican-controlled Legislature has intruded a raft of anti-worker and anti-union bills, 40 to date, such as the radical anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) package of bills that were signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Ann Arbor. But, because Synder has said publicly, on the rare times he can be pinned down to a straight answer, that he does not want to bust unions, Senate Democrats hope he will support the amendment.

“Governor Snyder likes to talk about supporting the collective bargaining process, yet pushes through legislation that will strip away those rights away from Michigan’s workers one piece at a time,” said Sen. Bert Johnson, D -Detroit. “The thousands of workers that came to Lansing yesterday to voice their concerns deserve a clear answer from him on this issue.”

In fact, on Thursday a spokesperson for Snyder said that he has no intentions of getting rid of collective bargaining, and Whitmer said if that is truly the case, then Snyder should have no problem protecting that right within the state constitution.

“This amendment isn’t complex policy requiring weeks of review, it is one sentence that guarantees a fundamental right to our workers,” Whitmer said. “It’s time for the Governor to move past the carefully crafted talking points and tell us where he really stands on this.”

It’s obvious the GOP-controlled Senate has no intention of moving it because it was referred to the Committee on Government Operations, the place where bills go to die in committee. There are only two other items in that committee that never meets, and they are both sponsored by Democrats; one to creating an independent redistricting commission and the other to require a fiscal impact of every bill.

Barring the governor’s support and the Republics leadership in the House and Senate listening to the Governor to give it the required two-thirds approval, it will take a petition drive. Judging by the enthusiastic crowds in the Capitol the last couple of days, it will not be hard to get the more than 322,000 signatures to place it on the ballot.

A constitutional amendment to protect a civil right is proposed

LANSING –The most popular thing that came from Wednesday’s pro-working family rally at the Capitol aimed, primarily, at the anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) package of bills was the announcement that House and Senate Democrats plan to be introduce an amendment to the Michigan Constitution to guarantee the right of Michigan workers to collectively bargain.

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D - East Lansing, and House Democratic Leader Rick Hammel, D - Mt. Morris, made the announcement to more than 5,000 people who jammed the Capitol on Wednesday to voice their displeasure with the EFM bills that will give an appointed czar the power to suspend union contracts and the civil right of collective bargain and the ability to disincorporate or dissolve the municipal government.

“It’s time that politicians stop telling our working families what they want to hear, then pass bills that weaken their rights and threaten the wages and benefits of men and women who actually work for a living,” Whitmer. “This amendment would secure in Michigan’s Constitution the basic right for every individual to have a seat at the negotiating table. They say we’re not Wisconsin, well then let’s prove it.”

It was impossible to ignore the roar of the loud but peaceful crowd that spent the entire day in the Capitol on Wednesday, but Governor Rick Snyder, in his office just across the street from the Capitol, managed to do so. On Wednesday he signed the EFM bills into law.

Snyder has said he is not interested in busting unions, but his actions are saying otherwise. If he is not the Legislature sure is, and, that’s the only thing this Legislature has been doing since it convened in January.

A letter signed by the two Democratic leaders was delivered to Snyder’s office on Wednesday that thanked the Governor for his comments in support of collective bargaining in recent weeks and asked for his support on their effort. The letter stated, “Together, we can make it clear that developing a balanced budget can, and must, be done without sacrificing our state’s long held tradition of supporting our tremendous workforce.”

“They should not be using the excuse of balancing the budget to justify breaking their promise to the people who teach our kids and keep us safe,” Hammel said. “That approach will cost us jobs and worsen our economy, not save it.”

The resolution would require a two-thirds approval of both the House and Senate to be placed on the 2012 election ballot, but that appears very unlikely with the anti-worker bent of this current Legislature. It will take a petition drive, and it will require more than 322,000 signatures to place it on the ballot.

Senate Republicans approve anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM package of bills

LANSING – The only jobs the Michigan Republicans have created since taking office in January are those for Emergency Financial Managers (EFM) after the Senate Republicans passed the anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM package of bills on Wednesday

The package will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manager, and the bills give the EFM almost dictatorial like powers. The bills take the power and authority out of the hands of the people legally elected by the voters and places it in the hands of a person appointed by the governor and the Legislature, and it allows the EFM - which is why Republicans have placed the bills on the fast track - to terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith.

Rick Snyder’s proposed budget has deep cuts in school aid and revenue sharing, and that, combined, with falling property values, will guarantee more school districts and municipalities are in finical trouble and ripe for takeover and government expansion.

“This bill, along with the Governor’s proposed cuts to revenue sharing and to our schools, is going to create a race to the bottom, which guarantees many of our cities and schools are going to head into bankruptcy,” said Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer.” How does this fit into the primary objective of jobs as job?”

The vote came on the very day that the Michigan Department of Treasury announced that more than 150 “student" are expected for the next Emergency Financial Manager training seminar slated for some time next month. Subscription only MIRS said “the course content in the two-day seminar will be expanded to include school districts along with local governments that might need what will be known simply as an "emergency manager" down the road.” Last month the two-day seminar graduated 65 people to go forth and shred union contr5ats and fire elected officials.

Like on Tuesday in the debate over third reading, a Democratic amendment to limit the salary of the EFM to that of the highest paid elected official in the state, the Governor at $172,000, failed. Seven Republicans crossed over to vote with the Democrats, resulting in a 19-19 tie, but the Lt. Governor broke the tie.

So far, the only job Republicans have created is that of dictator.

“I would ask the Governor and the Republican members of the Senate: Why are you okay with attacking the secretary who makes $35,000 compared—I would ask you, Governor, and the Governor you work for, and the members of your party: Why is it okay to challenge a secretary’s $35,000 a year job and have members in your cabinet who make $250,000 a year,” Whitmer said. “Why are you okay with attacking the firefighter who runs into a burning house, making $44,000 a year, risking their lives, and having a budget director making $250,000 a year? Why is it okay to attack a cop who ensures our community’s safety, making $46,000 a year, and not the emergency financial manager who can make upwards of $159,000 a year? Why is that okay?”

Yesterday saw 29 amendments floated, but the only ones passed were introduced by Republicans. After the defeat of the amendment limiting the pay of the EFM, Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, introduced an amendment saying that if the state is going to appoint an EFM and not limit the salary, the state should pay for the EFM. It only makes sense for struggling municipalities or school districts cutting the pay and firing trusted employees that live in the local community that the dictator from Lansing should be paid from Lansing. Predictably, it failed.

Many Democrats supported the idea of the early triggers that identifies early that a community may be in financial trouble and head off trouble early, but not the broad powers of an EFM. Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, introduced a substitute that retained all of the good points and got rid of the union-busting crap. But in the end, Republicans, like in Wisconsin, are more concerned with busting the unions.

“My concern is that, I think, we may be opening a can of worms, and we need to be very careful about these expansive powers that we are granting to emergency managers,” Hopgood said. “With this bill, as well as the budget and the laws and the stress that local communities and schools are experiencing currently, there is the concern that we are really balancing our budget through this bill on the backs of our employees, on the backs of our citizens who rely on the services for protection; in terms of our kids who are going to experience increased class sizes and schools that are closed.”

Because amendments were added to the main bill, it must now go back to the House for their concurrence.

Senate Republicans ignore the people and move anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM bills

LANSING – Despite thousands of workers packing the Senate gallery on Tuesday morning chanting “kill the bill,” the Senate Republicans ignored them and moved the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) package of bills to the third reading.

The bills can be voted on as early as Wednesday and sent to the Governor for his signature. The EFM package, House Bills 4214-4218, will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manager, and the bills give the EFM almost dictatorial like powers. The bills take the power and authority out of the hands of the people legally elected by the voters and places it in the hands of a person appointed by the governor and the Legislature, and it allows the EFM - which is why Republicans have placed the bills on the fast track - to terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith.

Many of the financial challenges municipalities face are due to mandates and budget cuts not of their own creation, but rather those that were imposed on them by decisions made in Lansing. The Governor’s proposed budget cuts will push those barely hanging on over the edge, from financial stress to financial emergency.
Senate Democrats put up 17 amendments and two substitutes to the main bill to make it more transparent, but they all were defeated along mostly party lines, with the exception of one. Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, introduced an amendment that would not allow the EFM to be paid no more than the Governor, Michigan's highest paid elected official at $177,000 a year.

Amendments are voted on via voice vote unless the chair is not sure of the outcome or someone makes a request for a record roll call vote. The Chair, Sen. Make Jansen, R-Gaines Twp., said the Hunter amendment failed despite the obvious loud yes votes.
When a record roll call vote was called for, Republicans joined with Democrats and the amendment passed with a vote of 19-18. But about 45 minutes and 12 amendments later, the Senate Republicans moved to reconsider Hunter’s amendment, and it was then disapproved by a vote of 16-21, angering Democrats.

“We have an emergency financial manager in my community that makes $420,000, and this man will make a million dollars before he leaves,” said Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit. “Are you really saying we can pay someone half a million dollars in a community that is financially strapped?”

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, was very angry, and even though the Senate Republicans tried to gavel her down, she made her point about the basic dishonesty of Republicans, saying they have no problem making millionaire EFMs with taxpayer money, but they want to break contracts with first responders negotiated in good faith.

“We were told you were going to open it back up because more people wanted to vote for it not to defeat it,” she said.

Snyder’s budget shifts taxes from corporations to kids, senior citizens and workers

LANSING -- Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget he presented to the legislature on Thursday raises taxes on the most vulnerable and shifts taxes from corporations to kids, senior citizens and workers.

Reaction to the budget proposal was negative and widespread, with one Senate Republican saying Snyder’s proposal to tax pensions was a “non-starter.” Gilda Jacobs, the President o of the Michigan League for Human Services, said Snyder and Lt. Gov. Calley clearly broke their own rule when they said reforming the state's tax system should not pick winners and losers. The executive budget reduces business taxes by $1.8 billion but increases taxes on seniors and families by $1.7 billion.

"We have missed a great opportunity to modernize Michigan's outdated tax system,“ she said. “Instead, the administration has proposed one that simply shifts taxes from businesses to vulnerable kids, families and seniors.”

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, also said Snyder failed to follow through on his previous pledge of moving all of Michigan forward instead of the same old politics of putting corporate tax breaks ahead of the people.

“Governor Snyder’s idea of shared sacrifice seems to mean that working families will do most of the sacrificing while companies continue to reap the rewards,” she said. “He is balancing this budget on the backs of our kids, working families, and our seniors. Contrary to his rhetoric about ‘moving all of Michigan forward’, this budget picks out who he’s willing to leave behind.”

Among the cuts proposed include making all public and private pensions subject to state income tax, with the exception of Social Security income. This was discussed last legislative session because Michigan is only one of thee states that do not tax pensions, but the discussion included exempting a large portion of the pension income.

Among the many personal income tax credits eliminated or reduced including a reduction in the homestead property tax credit.

It also includes deep cuts to revenue sharing to cities, villages and towns, and it will trim the fund from nearly $300 million to $200 million. It will surely cause local governments to lay off police and firefighters. It will also push some municipalities into bankruptcy.

It comes at a time when Michigan Republicans are putting bills on the fast track that places dictator-like powers in the hands of unelected officials appointed from Lansing with no oversight. House Bills 4214-4218, approved out of committee on Wednesday, will repeal Public Act 72, the current law governing emergency financial managers (EFM), and give them more power and make it even easier for one to be appointed.

The Michigan State Police will have to pick up more patrols because of the loss of officers and entire departments, but the budget proposal calls for closure of Michigan State Police posts to save $3.2 million.

The campaign rhetoric of jobs, jobs, jobs is just that. He wants to eliminate business credits for brownfield redevelopment, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, Next Energy, advanced battery, film and renaissance zones. Already, films are looking elsewhere to film, and advanced battery manufacturing has huge growth positional in Michigan. He is actually killing jobs.

He is also mortgaging the future at a time when high-tech jobs are the wave of the future, and he is calling for cutting some $420 per-pupil in public education funding. That will devastate school districts, sending many into deficit districts.

He is also calling for concessions of $180 million from state employees. He also plans to eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit, GOP Saint Ronald Reagan called the “best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.” That move will raise taxes on some 800,000 Michigan low-income workers.

The various appropriations sub-committees will now start meeting to dissect the budget.

MDP Convention energizes base

DETROIT – Reverend Wendell Anthony, the President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, fired up the crowd at Detroit’s Cobo Hall on Saturday at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention, giving the party faithful the zeal they will need to take back the country and the state in 2012.

“We are letting Glenn Beck steal the dream of Martin Luther King and turning it into a nightmare,” he said.

Thousands of people turned out fore the winter convention, and they spent the day in constituency and district caucuses, and they heard from Democratic leaders, both state and national. Party faithful had to get over their disappointment in November, and they talked about defending vital programs for the middle class and the poor and look to 2012 to re-elect President Obama and take back the Michigan and U.S. House.

“I say I’m the leader of the Senate Democrats not the minority leader because we are not the minority party in Michigan,” said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing. “We don’t go from been an overwhelmingly blue state in 2008 to being the minority.”

Democrats simply did not turn out in 2010, and we have to do a better job energizing our base. The fact remains, when more people vote, Democrats tend to win.

“My opponent (in November) got four more votes; four votes more than the college kid who ran against me two years ago; I got 5,000 votes less this time,” said Rep. Mark Meadows,” D-East Lansing. “Now, that may be my fault, but there were 5,000 Democrats that did not come out to vote.”

Thursday will be, to quote extremist Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, like an atomic bomb was dropped in Lansing when Gov. Rick Snyder unveils his Top Secret budget recommendation. He has never said what will be cut, not during the campaign and not after elected, but pundits expect the cuts to be deep and extreme. His opponent in November, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, thanked people for supporting him, but he also said we must fight the cuts that mortgage Michigan’s future for some short term cuts.

“We are not going to let this crew come in and dismantle Michigan,” he said. “They say they are going to take back Michigan; they mean they are going to take it back to before the New Deal.”

Whitmer said the first goal is to defend against the elimination of the popular and effective Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), what former Republican President Ronald Reagan called “the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.”

They have established a web site to protect the tax credit Snyder wants to kill that helps reward 800,000 people who go to work everyday and helps families make ends meet by keeping more of their paycheck.

“He says it’s a handout, but it helps people who work 40 hours a week put food on the table,” Whitmer said. “He wants to take that and give it to his rich friends.”

The situation is not much different on the national level where Republicans want deep, damaging cuts after giving tax breaks to the wealthiest 2 percent that will deepen the budget deficit.

“Our Congress is in the mode of a reverse Robin Hood; they want to take from the poor to give to the rich,” said U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, said the situation is not much different in the Senate, but the good news is it is controlled by the Democrats.

“The party of nope has been happy just to stop progress; now, they want to turn back progress,” he said.

Levin also said Republicans are more interested in grabbing more power than solving the country’s problems.

“The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has said his top priority is to make Barack Obama a one-term president,” he said. “The top priority of Senate Democrats are jobs.”

Senate Republicans give the finger to the working poor and the Gipper

LANSING -- Senate Republicans made it official today when they introduced a bill to eliminate something that GOP Saint Ronald Reagan called the “best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.”

Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, introduced Senate Bill 103 on Tuesday that will kill the popular and effective Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and they thumbed their noses at those working Michiganders just trying to make ends meet. They took a stand to make sure the growing equity gap continues to grow that has the richest 1 percent of Americans taking home almost 24 percent of the nation’s income.

“It’s easy to say no to the poor, and it’s easy to say no to the sick, “said Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing, who has been a skilled trade millwright for 30 years.” I didn’t choose to run for office or to represent this state by taking my legislative or political efforts out on the poor, particularly the working poor. To say that we can’t afford to help the least of these is a pretty powerful statement. “

The Michigan EITC is based on the federal EITC created by Republican President Gerald Ford and expanded by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush. When it was signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in September 2006, it was introduced by a conservative Republican Senator, and it had overwhelming support; passing both the House and Senate by a combined vote of 141-3.

“So I have to tell you, I’m with the Gipper on this one,” said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing. “I think the earned income tax credit should stay because it is one of the best public policies we have on the books to actually help the working people in the state of Michigan.”

The Michigan EITC is a refundable tax credit given to working families, not welfare. People apply for it when they fill out their state income tax forms. All families who are eligible for the federal credit are eligible for the state credit.

“I have heard comments from people in the Executive Office to people who hold gavels in this body saying that it is a handout for people who are not working,” Whitmer said. “Let’s really talk about the facts. This is about helping people who are working and doing the best they can.”

The bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

Whitmer will lead Senate Democratic Caucus

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, will be the first women to be the leader of a caucus after the Michigan Democratic Senate Caucus unanimously chose her to be the Senate Minority Leader today.

She was chosen before the Senate session today to replace term-limited Sen. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, and to lead the caucus for the 2011-14 session. According to subscription only Gongwer, Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, was the only other candidate, but he bowed out of the race to make Whitmer a unanimous choice.

“While there will be a lot of changes in the Capitol, the priorities of the Michigan Senate Democrats will be the same, and we have a lot of talented individuals coming in who will fight harder than ever to see that they are addressed,” Whitmer said. “I am eager to work with anyone who is earnestly ready to roll up their sleeves and make the tough decisions necessary to right Michigan ’s ship for the long-term. I hope the new governor and incoming legislators will bring an open mind and a cooperative style to move us forward, and get past the partisanship, gimmicks and games that have been so problematic these last four years.”

Unfortunately, she will lead a caucus that is the smallest since the 1940s. She has worked hard to get Democrats elected, and I walked this summer and fall on a couple of canvas walks she organized and led.

She has been a thorn in the side of Senate Republicans the last couple of years, using procedural moves to make the caucus more relevant and involved in the process. She will need all that procedural magic with the Democratic disadvantage at 26-12.

Senate Republicans give Michigan’s unemployed the finger

LANSING -- The Michigan Senate Republicans joined their U.S. Senate colleagues in giving Michigan’s thousands of unemployed workers looking for work in the Bush recession the middle finger when they refused to even allow a vote on a resolution urging U.S. Senate Republicans to lift their filibuster on a bill that will allow a six-month extension of unemployment benefits and Medicaid funding.

“Today, we are about to break for a couple of weeks for the 4th of July holiday, but because of the Republican Senators and the United States Senate's failure to act on the unemployment extension and the FMAP extension, we are facing some critical issues here in the state of Michigan,“ said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “If we do not get that extension passed in Washington, D.C., by next week, 97,000 families in Michigan will lose their unemployment benefits.”

The Senate Republicans referred Senate Resolution 172 to the Committee on Government Operations where bills go to die. Democrats moved to discharge the committee from further consideration, but Republicans moved to postpone the motion temporarily.

Republicans have used the lame excuse that the bill will increase the federal budget deficit, but the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the deficit was because of the Bush tax cuts for the rich that Congress did not pay for and the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of allowing the unemployed an extension is just a tiny fraction of this year’s budget deficit.

“I think that is rather disingenuous when this same crowd of Republicans in six of the eight years of the Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $1.4 trillion deficit,” Prusi said. “Now all of the sudden, they want to cut the deficit; they want to cut taxes; they want to cut regulations; they want to cut red tape; and the first thing they go after is cutting millions of Americans out of unemployment benefits and cutting millions of Americans off the Medicaid rolls.”

The Senate was on various recesses on and off on Thursday, waiting for bills to come over from the House because the Legislature breaks for most of the summer. Senate Republicans then moved that further consideration of the resolution be postponed for the day, meaning the summer, but Democrats asked for a vote on that postponement.

As predicted, every single Republican voted to stiff Michigan’s unemployed.

“Those are your constituents and my constituents that week by week will fall off the unemployment rolls; lose the support that keeps their families whole, puts food on their table, pays their rent, and allows them to live a modicum of a decent life here in the state of Michigan,” Prusi said. “They are playing pure partisan politics with the lives of our constituents, and I find it reprehensible that we will not even stand up.”

Republicans quickly moved to adjourn, despite objections from Democrats, and Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing - one of the Senate Republican’s most vocal critics - and Sen. Deb Cherry, D-Burton, were on the board to speak.

I hope Republicans have to go back to parades and picnics and look Michigan’s unemployed constituents in the eye and tell them tax cuts for the rich are more important for their very economic survival.

Senate Republicans ignore the pollution of CAFOS

LANSING – The Gulf oil disaster demonstrated less regulation and oversight is not a good thing. Someone better tell that to the Michigan Senate Republicans.

On Wednesday, the Senate approved resolution 158 that urges “the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind rules that would require dairy farms to have oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks.” It passed – unfortunately, with bipartisan support – by a vote of 24-10.

Eric Barren at Michigan Liberal had a good on this a few days before Wednesday’s vote:

“The definition of oil is not "petroleum." Oils are substances that at room temperature are viscous liquids that don't mix with water. Alas, the critical, illuminating piece of science is buried under reverse Ripperisms ("Ice cream, Mandrake, childrens' ice cream?"), accusations of government run amok and the standard objection of seemingly insensitive environmental lobbyists.
Those objections, incidentally, make a good deal more sense if you highlight the -- you know -- fundamental science of the issue rather than descending into the same lousy environmental reporting that has helped slow our collective response to global warming for two decades. Instead, we get some tired old narrative about gummint bureaucrats run amok, and policy direction that pretends that calling something an oil is the same thing as calling it petroleum, which itself places policy at odds with basic science definitions.”

The sponsor of the resolution, Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, said if the EPA does not act to rescind the rules, we should ignore the law.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, noted the irony of that position. Kuipers is running for Congress in the seat vacated by “Twitter” Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland.

“I find it ironic that the previous speaker says we should disregard federal law, yet he is on a mission to go there and make it,” Whitmer said. “With regard to this resolution in front of us, this is a resolution and I think it is odd timing to ask that the EPA not require prevention plans for oil spills; anyone watching C-SPAN around here?”

Whitmer said milk is a wholesome product in a child’s body but not in Michigan’s waterways. Milk can have very serious environmental consequences once released into our surface waters.

Whitmer said according the University of Wisconsin Extension Service, milk has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). BOD measures the amount of oxygen consumed when organic matter, such as milk, is broken down by bacteria. In streams and lakes, bacteria would need the dissolved oxygen from 1,600 gallons of water to break down the organic matter in one pint of milk. Because it depletes oxygen, discharging milk into surface waters can upset biological communities and kill fish. The minimum tank size of 1,320 gallons would be enough to deplete the oxygen in almost 17 million gallons of water.

“Milk also has a high concentration of phosphorus, a nutrient that causes the growth of algae and aquatic plants which can deplete oxygen levels in our lakes and streams, exacerbating an existing problem with excess phosphorus in our waterways,” she said. “In today’s world, it’s especially true that it is not unreasonable to ask that emergency plans be in place in case of milk spills or the failure of bulk milk storage tanks.”

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have been cited for polluting rivers and streams in Michigan with runoff from manure, and these are huge factory farms. A small CAFO would have 1,000 cows that would result in, at the rate of 20 gallons a day per cow, a volume of milk reaching 20,000 gallons a day. But the largest CAFO in this state hosts 3,000. So we are talking about 60,000 gallons of milk a day.

“Now just to put this in perspective, we are not talking about a few cows and a pretty red barn with a dairy maid sitting on a stool with a little bucket milking a cow,” said Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor. “That is not what happens on these farms these days. We have, unfortunately, in this state made it all too easy for CAFOs to operate in this state after they were expelled by the country of the Netherlands.”

Senate Republicans fiddle while Michigan smolders

LANSING -- If anyone wants to know why bipartisanship and cooperation are hard to come by in Lansing just needs to take a look at the action on Wednesday of the Senate Republicans and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop in unilaterally rejecting appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings.

Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. In fact, at least one of the 14 people on the list, Doug Roberts, was one of those appointed by Engler. None of Engler’s appointees ever had to go through the advise and consent process.

Granholm laid the blame squarely where it belongs.

“Senator Bishop rejected qualified appointees to serve our state universities, making them nothing more than partisan political pawns,” Granholm said in a statement. “He chose to ignore the advice of an attorney in his own caucus and rejected sitting board members like Doug Roberts, who Republicans have confirmed in the past, just to make a partisan point.”

Republicans tried this last Thursday, but Democrats used a parliamentary procedure to thwart them. Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, made a motion to adjourn and Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, granted it - in accordance with Senate rules - over the objection of Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

Republicans were a little more prepared yesterday. They took a recess for an hour until Cherry left the chamber, and they then reconvened with Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, in the chair and took up the issue.

While the budget waits and people are unemployed, Republicans killed an hour until the Lt. Gov. had to go to another appointment and left the chamber. That is just sad. They again proved that petty politics and keeping power is more important than anything else.

“In addition, it shows that we are having another unproductive and self-serving day in the State Senate,” said Sen. Deb Cherry, D-Burton, “After focusing a full session day on this last week, Senate Republican leadership continues to focus on this political issue instead of addressing the bills to create jobs and help Michigan workers.”

Cherry them brought a motion consider each of the 14 appointees separately. That failed along party lines. Last Thursday, the same motion almost passed, and two Republicans sided with the Democrats while another Republican did not vote because they supported some of the 14 appointees. The effort failed 18-19. Ironically, Richardville voted with the Democrats. He must have gotten a good talking to and went along with the party line.

Only Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, voted with the Democrats for a second time. Patterson - one of only three attorneys in the Senate - said summarily rejecting the appointments appears to go against the Constitution. He is a stickler for the constitution, and he spent the weekend researching the issue, as well as discovering that Governors as far back as Republican Gov. William Miliken has used the same procedure that was rejected yesterday.

“Here we are taking action en masse, even rejecting people we’ve approved in the past,” Patterson said. “When we look at Article VIII, Section 6, it talks about the boards of control and how they are to be constituted,” Patterson. “But, again, that’s just picky,picky, picky little details.”

Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, challenged anyone to "look me in the eye" and say the appointees were getting fair and equitable treatment.

“The Michigan Senate has not rejected university appointments without hearing in recent history,” Prusi said. “Over the last 20 years, no gubernatorial appointee—and that includes Governors of both political parties who have made appointments to the boards of control—has been rejected without at least giving them a hearing.”

Senate Republicans get outplayed in political game

LANSING -- Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop’s attempt to unilaterally reject appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings failed Thursday with a procedure move by Democrats and some desertions by a GOP caucus that usually marches in lockstep.

Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. The attempt to reject the appointments without the normal advise and consent hearings upset Democrats and touched off a long debate.

“Article I, Section 17 of our Constitution allows these people the right to a hearing in front of a committee to determine whether or not they are qualified to serve the appointments that the Governor has sought to make,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “The Michigan Constitution does not limit the time period to which the Governor may make an appointment to the office. Because the appointment power is vested in the Governor, the timing of these appointments is within the Governor’s discretion; not just this Governor but every single Governor of the state of Michigan since we approved this Constitution back in 1964.”

The normally organized Republicans were simply outmaneuvered by the minority Democrats.

After all of the agenda had taken care of, the Senate discharged the 14 university appointments in question from the Government Operations Committee, bringing them to the floor. Then the wheels fell off the Republicans‘ bus and their carefully laid plans.

Democrats sought to vote separately on each appointment instead of voting them up or down with just one vote. Normally, those types procedural motions usually go along strictly party lines, but two Republicans sided with the Democrats while another Republican did not vote. The effort failed 18-19.

“I ask you either approve these appointments, or remove this item of business, and let’s get on with what we are supposed to be here doing, not playing partisan, political games,” Prusi said.

As the debate continued and about a dozen senators having requested to speak, Republicans tried to end the debate, but that motion failed with five Republicans breaking ranks to oppose ending debate.

Right after that vote ended, Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, made a motion to adjourn and Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, granted it - in accordance with Senate rules - over the objection of Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

“We can debate the process of gubernatorial appointments and equity all day, and the fairness of this action is definitely questionable, but this is not what the Senate should be focused on in the first place,” Whitmer said. “As leader of the Senate and someone vying to be the top lawyer in the state, you would think that Mike Bishop would have more respect for the state constitution, but his latest emphasis on politics over progress only continues to show how out of touch he is with the people of Michigan.”

Subscription only Gongwer reported that “ Bishop was livid at the Thursday defection,” and “Mr. Bishop left the Senate chamber without speaking to reporters.”

It’s unclear if the issue will be taken up on Tuesday, but clearly some Republicans are impressed with some of the nominees.

Here are the nominees:

FERRIS STATE
Edward Haynor
Larry Leatherwood

CENTERAL MICHIGAN
Ronald Edmonds
Kevin Kelley

WESTERN MICHIGAN
John Cakmakci
George Franklin

MICHIGAN TECH
Russell Gronevelt
Terry Woychowski

GRAND VALLEY STATE
Douglas Crim
Matthew Tomasiewicz

EASTERN MICHIGAN
Michael Hawks
Erane Washington-Kendrick

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Larry Inman
Douglas Roberts

Whitmer Launches Petition to Condemn Violence in Health Care Debate

With all the hate and violence directed at Democrats and whipped up by so-called Republican leaders, State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, launched a petition today on her website to condemn the recent violent threats and behavior by fanatics opposing the passage of national health care reform legislation.

“This has nothing to do with supporting or opposing health care reform or being a Democrat or a Republican—it’s about standing up against hateful behavior that threatens political discourse in our country,” she said “I encourage citizens to sign this petition and stand up together against these violent actions that only divide our nation and our state.”

Last week, Whitmer offered a Senate Resolution to condemn these activities as news broke of hateful and threatening behavior against lawmakers, including cutting the gas line at the home of a legislator’s family, making death threats and violent phone calls, and shouting malicious verbal insults. Several Democratic Congressmen were spit on and subjected to racist and homophobic insults as they prepared to vote on the Health Care Reform bill last week.

She plans on introducing a resolution condemning the behavior as soon as the Legislature comes back from its two-week Easter break on April 13. It will be interesting to see who supports it, if the Senate Republicans even allow a vote in it. Hopefully, it will compel Republicans to do the right thing.

Hate ginned up by GOP incites violence

No one who has witnessed one of the misnamed, Astroturf “tea parties” over the last year can be surprised at the death threats and attacks we are seeing on the offices of Democratic lawmakers who voted for the historic health insurance reform bill last week.

Hell, you just needed to see how they disrupted the townhall meetings on health insurance reform last summer to see what was coming.

I said way back in April of last year that the anti-government rhetoric going on now is eerily similar to what I saw in the mid-1990s with the Michigan Militia that only died down with the indictment of Timothy McVeigh for the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, and like the cockroaches they are, the rightwing extremists dove for cover like somebody turned out the lights when McVeigh’s association with the Militia came out. Now, some of these same people are back, and they have been joined by other extremist groups, fired up by Republican leaders. Those so-called GOP leaders that have not tried to fire them up for political gain, have been silent on speaking out against it and condemning it.

A propane gas line at the Virginia home of the brother of Rep. Thomas Perriello, D-VA, was cut; whose address was targeted by teabagger group angry at the congressman’s vote for the health insurance bill, the address was mistaken for the Congressman’s home. An envelope containing white powder and a threatening letter was delivered to the office of Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York, who has been an outspoken proponent of health care insurance reform efforts.

Here in Michigan where eight of Michigan’s 15 members of Congress voted for the historic bill, some have been the object of threats and intimidation. According to the AP, the Michigan State Police have increased patrols around the home of U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, who has received obscene and threatening phone calls and faxes.

Now, Reps. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, are the targets of repeated threats. State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, spoke out about the threats and intimidation on the Senate floor on Thursday.

“And now there are reports of death threats, cutting gas lines, delivering a coffin to the front yard of one lawmaker, and even threats to kill the children of Democratic lawmakers who supported the bill,” she said. “I think we can all agree; Gosh, I hope we can all agree that this has gotten way out of hand, as the rhetoric and rancor is turning into violent action.”

She was especially upset over the silence of so-called Republican leaders who ginned up the rhetoric, and then denied they had.

“In my view, perhaps the worst offense is that people in leadership positions are silent, and astonishingly, in some cases, it appears that they are actually encouraging this horrifying behavior,” Whitmer said. “None of us should take lightly this dangerous trend. We, as leaders, as legislators should condemn behavior like this—Democrats and Republicans alike. If we don’t quell this now, it will surely foment, and as a society, we will all pay as the election tensions rise.”

She plans on introducing a resolution condemning the behavior as soon as the Legislature comes back from it’s two-week Easter break. It will be interesting to see who supports it, if the Senate Republicans even allow a vote in it.

“Please join me in condemning this activity,” she said. “I have a resolution condemning that behavior, and I hope you will consider adding your name to it. “

There is a race for the 22nd State Senate seat

It appears Republican Joe Hune has a challenger as the heir apparent for the state Senate seat in the 22nd District.

The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus is reporting that former Howell Mayor Paul Rogers intends to run for the seat that covers all off Livingston County, Shiawassee County and part of Ingham County vacated by term-limited Valde Garcia, R-Howell. Rogers is not related to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, or his brother State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, or the P & A would have already endorsed him.

It will be a primary challenge to Hune; even though no where in the article does it mention his party affiliation. Rogers has a ton more experience than Hune even after Hune was term-limited in the House.

Rogers served as the city's mayor from 1997-2000 and has spent more than a decade on the City Council. Those positions are nonpartisan. In addition to this stint on the City Council, Rogers, according to the P & A, has held leadership roles with the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce, Howell Education Foundation and Livingston County United Way campaign. He's also been involved with the Howell Area Fire Authority, the school-to-work steering committee for the Livingston Educational Service Agency and the Livingston County. He is also a small business owner.

That’s in sharp contrast to Hune, a really nice guy who did little more than show up everyday in Lansing. He has a near perfect, if not perfect, voting record, but his list of accomplishments is very thin. That’s not always a bad thing because the party who holds the gavel will often block any legislation of someone from the opposing party they do not like, are targeting or think is a rising star; like the Republicans did to Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, and Rep. Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee.

But Hune doesn’t have that excuse because his party held the gavel for four of his six years in office.

Hune won his seat in 2002 in the newly created 47th District by a mere two votes in the primary election over a large field of more experienced and better known candidates. He was term-limited last year, and after being out of office a mere month, he announced he was running for the Senate in February of last year.

The Republicans have gerrymandered the district to make it a safer Republican seat, so the race will more than likely be over after the primary. It’s nice to see someone a little more moderate and may actually vote how he feels and not how parity leadership tells him to vote. No Democrat has yet announced they will run.

Whitmer drops out of the race for Michigan Attorney General

LANSING – In a surprising move today, State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, announced she is dropping out of the race for Michigan Attorney General, citing family.

Here is the statement she released shortly after the Senate session.

”My unwavering commitment to public service and the people of Michigan led me to seek the Democratic nomination for Attorney General. As I have traveled our state, it has become clear to me that this rigorous campaign schedule and pursuit cannot continue if I am to be the best mother I can to my six and seven year old daughters. At this critical time in their lives, my girls need their mom to be there to pick them up from school, read to them at bedtime, and help them with homework. It is with this in mind, I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for the Office of Attorney General.

This decision has not come easily. We have energized a great number of people across Michigan who are looking for new, trusted leadership that will help build a stronger and safer future. In just three months, our campaign raised over $200,000 and secured the endorsement of over a hundred current and former public servants and dozens of important activists across the state. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has supported and contributed to our campaign, and have no doubt that together we would have been successful in our effort.

We deserve leaders who will put people first. I remain committed to fixing what's broken in state government and standing up for the citizens of Michigan. My pursuit of doing so as Michigan's next Attorney General may be ending, but my fight to protect consumers, reform government, and keep our families safe continues."

Senate committee attempts to circumvent the will of the voters with medical marijuana

Supporters of the popular medical marijuana law that won overwhelming voter support in November of 2008 are concerned that the Legislature is trying to regulate and effectively kill the program.

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bills 616-618 before a committee room packed with supporters of medical marijuana on Tuesday. The bills would treat medical marijuana as a schedule 2 narcotic, limit a patient's ability to get the drug and require that it be purchased from a pharmacist with a physician's prescription. Supports say the bills could end the program and circumvent the will of the voters, and that may appear to be the case.

“The voters have been very specific on this,” said Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit. “I’m asking that we don’t rehash the issue.”

That appeared to be the case with some conservative members of the committee. It led to some heated testimony that may have been better aired before the election. Many of the issues brought up were clearly settled in the election.

“So this initiative was really about liberalization of marijuana use,” said Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, the chair of the committee.

Greg Francisco, the director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, denied that charge, and he said it has helped thousands of terminally ill patients, disabled patients and patients with chronic pain.

“This is a plant and a medicine,” he said. “I think that we should take it off all schedules and treat it like any other herb.”

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care (MCCC) turned in 474,752 signatures -- 304,101 were required -- for the measure to go on the ballot in February of 2008. Under Michigan election law, once the signatures were verified the initiative was sent to the Legislature, where lawmaker had three options. Within 45 days they could have enacted it with the restrictions they want now, rejected it, or done nothing, which they did, and it went on the ballot.

After the law was passed, the Department of Community Health (DCH) had 120 days to come up with rules. Since April, the DCH has issued registration cards to 10,400 users and growers after getting approval from a doctor. The cards protect people from arrest and prosecution, and caregivers with a card are able to supply up to five patients with medical marijuana. The DCH opposes the bills as written, but they did say there needs to be more clarification.

If the bills pass, it will basically put doctors and pharmacists in violation of federal law, which could kill the program. What doctor or pharmacist would put their license at risk by illegally writing a prescription and filling it. Marijuana possession is still against federal law. State governments cannot directly violate federal law by giving marijuana to patients, but states can and do refuse to arrest patients who grow their own. The Obama administration has said it will not go after states with medical marijuana laws.

Supporters were also concerned about the penalties the bills enact, making it a felony for a card holder to sell marijuana to a non-card holder. The problem is the penalty is stiffer than for someone off the street who sells it.

“It strikes me as legally unnecessary,” said Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing.

The committee did not vote on the bills.

Whitmer and House Democrats push for restoring consumer protection

LANSING – Michigan consumers could again enjoy some basic protections from predatory businesses that it once enjoyed a decade ago.

The House Democrats introduced legislation last week that would amend the Michigan Consumer Protection Act to restore its original intent to protect Michigan consumers and properly hold deceitful businesses accountable for their practices. A 1999 Supreme Court ruling from the GOP-controlled court essentially gutted the law, and since then Michigan has been a buyer beware state. The original Michigan Consumer Protection Act was approved with bipartisan support in 1976, making it a leader in consumer protection.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, has been a long-time proponent of consumer protection, and she joined House Democrats at their press conference in support of the legislation. She sponsored the same measure in the Senate, Senate Bill 573, but it has been stalled in the Senate for some time. She is hoping the House action will get the ball rolling and break the log jam like it did for the workplace smoking ban.

Whitmer said with the economy as it is, it is important to protect residents' pocketbooks with these common sense reforms.

“During these difficult times the last thing Michigan consumers need is to be taken advantage of by a dishonest business,” she said. “It’s time that we stand up for our citizens and reject the Supreme Court’s partisan rulings that allow companies to rip off the hardworking people and honest businesses of this state.”

Michigan was once a leader in consumer protection, and the plan would simply restore the Michigan Consumer Protection Act to what is was 33 years ago. It would apply to all businesses and industries it originally covered – giving consumers and authority’s ways to hold companies that commit fraud accountable. It would also require companies that engage in dishonest business practices to pay back money to consumers and face stiff fines of up to $25,000 for fraudulent practices.

Obviously, the Republicans objected, and they went so far as to accuse Whitmer of campaigning for Michigan Attorney General by appearing at the press conference. Whitmer announced earlier this month that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for AG, but she introduced SB 573 back in May.

“We believe it's really not appropriate for her to be trying to run her attorney general campaign from the Senate floor," said John Truscott, spokesperson for Mr. Bishop's attorney general campaign, in subscription only Gongwer. "Senator Bishop will not be bullied into taking up legislation that is basically a full employment act for trial lawyers."

Truscott, the former mouthpiece for former Gov. John Engler and the Bush/Cheney campaign in Michigan, trotted out the standard GOP excuse for stalling bills that do not benefit corporations: “There are far more important issues the Legislature is dealing with," he said.

But a former GOP candidate for AG and a member of the Senate Republican caucus went to Whitmer’s defense.

“Everything Mike Bishop has done is through the prism of running for Attorney General," said Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, in subscription only MIRS. "I actually think that consumer protection is an important concept."

A love of the law and public service leads Whitmer to run for AG

LANSING – State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, has stood up for consumers and the vulnerable in the Senate, and now she wants to use the power of the law to stand up for those taken advantage of as she stumps for the nomination for Michigan Attorney General.

She is making the rounds of the grassroots party organization because the nomination is made at the Democratic Party convention, and she spoke at the quarterly meeting of the 8th Congressional Democratic District Committee earlier this week. The AG office has been in Democratic hands from 1961 until 2002, and over the years it has built up perhaps the best consumer protection record in the country. But that changed with the election of Republican Mike Cox.

Whitmer - who considers former AG Frank Kelley who held the post for 37 years a mentor and friend- wants to change that.

“After seven years of Mike Cox, we need to take it back and we need change,” she said. “The Attorney General is the people’s lawyer, and that’s how I see it.”

Cox has gutted consumer protection, and he has also quietly eliminated the hate crimes division.

The state’s economy has taken a beating as the auto industry almost went into bankruptcy, and Whitmer said she wants to take on the greedy special interest that try to profit off the economic crisis.

“People need to feel inspired and hopeful, and as we go into 2010, we need to focus on the future,” she said. “The challenges our state has faced have been big, and that’s an understatement; we need leaders that are independent and not controlled by special interests.”

Whitmer has been in the Legislature for the past 10 years, and she is a leading advocate for empowering consumers. She most recently fought to enact legislation cracking down on massive predatory mortgage lending scams, and is now working to outlaw those who want to exploit victims of foreclosure through fraudulent “rescue” services.

She has also fought to ensure citizens; are safe, and for that effort she was recognized in 2003 as the “Legislator of the Year” by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association.

She has introduced legislation that would end immunity for drug companies if their drugs kill or maim the people who take them, and it would repel the current ban enacted in 1996 designed to shield huge pharmaceutical companies from any responsibility. Michigan is the only state in the nation with that kind of drug shield law.

“We don’t have the right to sue like people in the 49 states,” Whitmer said. “We have Bill Schulte (One of the GOP candidates for AG) to thank for that.”

Whitmer earned her law degree from Michigan State University, and she worked in private practice until she joined Dickinson Wright, one of Michigan’s oldest and most respected law firms, as a corporate litigator. She specialized in regulatory and administrative law, arguing in both Circuit Court and before the Michigan Public Service Commission.

She has always had a love fort he law and public service because of her parents. Her father is an attorney and her mother was an assistant Attorney General for many years.

Whitmer said it was a case she worked on at Dickinson Wright that made her realize she was doing the wrong thing with her law degree, and it led her to give up the large paycheck she was earning for public service. She said an elderly couple was fighting a $40 overcharge they received on a utility bill; only she was working for the utility company.

“I realized as I was writing a brief; I went to law school to help people out, not to squash them,” she said.

Whitmer has been traveling around the state seeking grassroots support. In fact, she will be at the Livingston County Democratic Party’s holiday party this Saturday Dec. 5 at 4 p.m.

Her campaign is gaining steam, and she expects a new web site to go up soon and to open a campaign office. She has also hired Mark Burton as her campaign manger. He was the successful campaign director for the Michigan Stem Cell Ballot Question Committee last year, and he has worked on many other successful campaigns.

To volunteer for the campaign call (517) 372-5454 or email info@GretchenWhitmer.com.