gretchen whitmer

After four days of no classes, Saginaw district prepares for financial emergency

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:35:16 +0000

It’s day four of no school for Saginaw-based Buena Vista School District, as the district prepares to declare a financial emergency.

As Mark Brush reported on Tuesday, the school district canceled classes earlier this week after teachers were laid off. The layoffs come after the district of about 450 students learned the state was withholding funding for April, May and June.

Commentary: Democrats MIA in the race for governor

Jack Lessenberry — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:50:24 +0000

Regardless of your politics, it may not have escaped your notice that Governor Rick Snyder is not universally popular.

He angered many voters by first taxing their pensions, then agreeing to throw thousands of children off welfare. Business taxes were lowered; spending for education at first slashed.

But the reaction to all that was mild compared to what happened last December, when the governor reversed his course and supported ramming right to work through the legislature in a day, without the courtesy of a single committee hearing.

Since then, his popularity has plummeted. His job performance ratings show more negatives than positives, and some polls show he would lose to just about any Democratic challenger.

What’s most curious about this is that you might think that with a track record like that, Democrats would be swarming all over themselves to run for governor. But here’s the reality: They don’t have a candidate.

Electoral College reform, 2014 Gov race, and Democratic infighting (Oh my!)

Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:53:30 +0000

What a week in Michigan politics! The litigating has begun on the state’s new right-to-work law, keeping the controversy alive, in the media, and in the public eye. There’s a right-to-work case in a lower court as well, but Governor Snyder asked the Michigan Supreme Court to make some key rulings so state employees can start dropping out of their unions as soon as the end of March.

Electoral College Changes?

Commentary: Democrats have no bench

Jack Lessenberry — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:15:44 +0000

Two days ago, the expectation among many Democrats was that Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer would be their candidate for governor next year.

Attractive, articulate and charismatic, she has been the party’s primary and most visible public voice since Rick Snyder became governor two years ago.

Yesterday, however, she took herself out of the running. She has two pre-teen daughters, and said, sensibly, “to be the kind of Mom I want to be for my girls simply does not allow me to make the kind of commitment necessary to run a successful campaign for governor at this point in their lives.’

Some may think that is a cop-out, that she isn’t running because she thinks Snyder is unbeatable. But I talked yesterday to someone who knows her well and says she is being completely honest. Her daughters do mean a lot to her, and I think you have to admire that.

This is a dilemma, by the way, many women in politics face. Republican Danialle Karamanos just resigned as a member of the Wayne State Board of Governors, because she has four small children and concluded that she couldn’t do both jobs.

Whitmer announces she won't run for Governor in Michigan

Mark Brush — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:55:54 +0000

In a letter to supporters this morning, State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) announced that she won't make a run for the Governor's seat in 2014.

She cited family as the reason for her decision.

MLive has the full text of her letter to supporters. Here's a portion:

I've said all along that I wouldn't be making this decision alone, but rather would be doing it along with my family, and in particular, what's best for my 2 girls. They're 9 and 10 years old now, and without question, being their Mom is the single most important thing in the world to me.
So, while making this decision is undeniably difficult, knowing why I'm making it also makes it very easy. To be the kind of Mom I want to be for my girls simply does not allow me to make the kind of commitment necessary to run a successful campaign for Governor at this point in their lives.

She released this video on Facebook this morning explaining her decision:

The Detroit Free Press lists the following people as potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates for Michigan's 2014 race.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer
U.S. Rep. Gary Peters
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel
and State Board of Education president John Austin

A conversation with Senator Gretchen Whitmer

Jennifer White and Mercedes Mejia — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:14:41 +0000

Listen to the full interview.

The Michigan legislature enters the lame duck session this week. Republicans held onto a majority in the State House, so they’ll be setting the legislative agenda, but Democrats will be watching closely. Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer talks with Jennifer White. Public Act 4, the emergency manager law, was overturned by Michigan voters last week, could a new version of the law emerge? Plus, a discussion on right to work. And, what could the repeal of the personal property tax on businesses mean for local municipalities?

Top state Democrats want new special investigation into Schmidt scandal

Lindsey Smith — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:31:37 +0000

Senate Minority leader Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer want a special investigation into the case of Democrat-turned-Republican State Representative Roy Schmidt.

The Kent County Prosecutor says Schmidt and House Speaker Jase Bolger tried to “perpetrate a fraud” on voters. But he says they didn’t commit any crimes. You can read his full report that was released last month here.

But Whitmer isn’t so sure. She believes there’s evidence to prove that Schmidt and others conspired to commit perjury and obstructed justice.

“My biggest fear is that people just brush it off as, you know, one of those odious things that happens in the capitol and it’s just not the case. It is very serious,” Whitmer said.

Commentary: College for all?

Jack Lessenberry — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:59:08 +0000

It’s hard to see the future. If you had been around during the Cretaceous Period, sixty-five million years ago, it would have been obvious that the world belonged to the huge and magnificent dinosaurs which dominated the planet.

Republican state lawmakers plan phase-out of Michigan tax on industrial property

Rick Pluta and Sarah Cwiek — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:35:21 +0000

The first hearing will be held tomorrow on a Republican plan to phase out taxes on most industrial equipment in Michigan.

Local governments collect about $400 million in revenue a year from the industrial property tax.

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley helped design the plan to get rid of the tax over the next several years. He says Michigan is unique in how it taxes industrial property -- and he says it’s driving investments to other states and countries.

“So at the end of the day, it’s about jobs and removing the penalty for investing in Michigan,” Calley said.

But local leaders say the way the phase-out is drafted now, it would force disinvestment in schools, and city services. That’s because it does not replace all the revenue lost to local governments.

Some state lawmakers like Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer agree.

“At best, they only intend to replace 81 percent of the dollars,”Whitmer said. “So does that mean that they are going to cut our fire services 19 percent? They’re also going to cut our police service 19 percent? They’re going to cut our schools an additional 19 percent? How is that made up?”

The communities that would be most affected are industrial cities with the most factories. That includes Michigan's third-largest city, Warren.

Warren mayor Jim Fouts says the city stands to lose $12 million a year in revenue if the tax is repealed.

“It would be absolute disaster," said Fouts, who said he'd be forced to cut public safety and other vital services.

"It’s a good example of short-term thinking without looking at the long-term consequences, which are draconian consequences.”

Fouts says Lansing has recently shifted more costs and mandates to local governments, while also cutting off their sources of revenue. He sent a letter expressing his concerns to Governor Snyder.

Freedom of Information Act exemption for elected officials is called into question

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:57:09 +0000

Michigan’s governor and legislative members are not subject to state open-records law, but Democrats in the State Senate are trying to change that.

Gretchen Whitmer is the Democratic Senate leader. She thinks requiring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act is an important step towards promoting honesty from elected officials.

"We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of ensuring ethical conduct by people in the legislature and setting a standard that’s very clear, and a system that is transparent," says Whitmer.

Her request comes a few days after emails were released by the Oakland County Democratic Party, which suggest the county’s redistricting process was motivated by partisan goals.

Legislation attempting to lift this thirty-six year old exemption is not new. It has been introduced several times before, most recently in the 2009 term. At that time, it was sponsored primarily by Republican representatives, who were in the minority.

-Alex Markel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

Michigan Democrats developing college grant plan

The Associated Press — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:44:47 +0000

A developing proposal from Senate Democrats would allow Michigan high school graduates to get grants of up to roughly $9,500 a year for attending college by ending some tax credits and other revenue changes.
The grants could be used to pay tuition or associated costs for attending public universities and community colleges in the state.
The plan would be paid for by closing what Democrats call "tax loopholes" and ending some tax credits, collecting sales tax from out-of-state Internet retailers and saving money on state contracts.
Democratic Senator Gretchen Whitmer told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it's a bold step needed to make Michigan more prosperous and attractive to businesses.
The proposal likely would face stiff opposition in the Republican-dominated Legislature, particularly at a time of tight state budgets.

Michigan State Senator Gretchen Whitmer says sexism is rampant at the State Capitol

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:05:18 +0000

Michigan State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in today's Detroit Free Press. She writes that Senator Rick Jones' (R-Grand Ledge) comparison of a prominent female public relations professional to a "hooker" is one of many incidents of sexism that she's witnessed in Lansing.

A conversation with state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer

Jennifer White and Zoe Clark — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:08:47 +0000

The Michigan Legislature is back in session this week, so we took some time to speak with state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-23rd) about what she would like to see happen in the state legislature this fall.

Lawmakers to take up big issues in June

Laura Weber — Tue, 31 May 2011 10:43:12 +0000

Leaders in the state Legislature say there is still a lot of work they would like to get done before lawmakers take a two-month summer break.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer says some of the issues she expects to see in the coming weeks include education reforms, redrawing Michigan’s political maps, and whether the state should build a second bridge between Detroit and Canada.
“I expect most of that will be done before we break for the summer, yes. June ought to be a very busy time around here. Just because the budget bills get signed into law next week doesn’t mean we won’t be working very hard around here for the next month or so.”
The Republican-led Legislature sent Governor Rick Snyder the state spending plan last week. The governor is expected to veto some items within that budget and sign them into law next week.

Democrats feel slighted on budget deal

Laura Weber — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:37:41 +0000

Governor Rick Snyder and Republican leaders in the Legislature have reached a budget deal for the coming fiscal year.
The plan will use hundreds of millions of dollars from a tax revenue windfall to lessen proposed cuts to K-12 schools.
Democratic leaders say the plan violates a deal they agreed to last week, because the money doesn’t go directly to replace the cuts. Instead it will be used to urge schools to cut costs, and help make retirement payments.
"I think that we should motivate people to do the right thing and to find efficiencies where they can," said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer. "And if you want to incentivize them with extra dollars, I’m comfortable with that idea. But this violates the agreement that we had, and the agreement was that we would mitigate the per-pupil foundation allowance so that the dollars would get right into the classroom with the kids."
Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville says negotiations could have gone more smoothly with Democrats.
"There was no malice, there was no intent to mislead or anything like that, we don’t have that kind of a relationship. But this is the first time that this group of people is actually getting together and negotiating a deal, so there may have been some improvements laid out, we could probably do things better than we did, and we’ll continue to work toward that."
There is about a week and a half left before Governor Snyder’s self-imposed, May 31 budget deadline.
Richardville says he expects the Legislature to meet that goal.