Politics + Gov
Peters, up for reelection in 2020, lands key Homeland Security committee post
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) will serve as the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next term. That’s the upper chamber’s principal oversight committee. Peters, a freshman who succeeded U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) when he retired in 2014, is up for re-election in 2020. The GOP is […]
Progressive protestors push back against Lame Duck
Scores of citizens from across the state rallied this chilly afternoon on the state Capitol grounds in Lansing to raise their voices against a host of GOP-sponsored legislation. “We’re tired of them pulling the corporate agenda and doing what their donors want them to do and not doing what the people of Michigan want instead,” said […]
Dillon stepping down as Michigan Dem Party chair, Barnes seen as frontrunner
Citing accomplishments in the 2018 mid-term elections, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon announced today he won’t seek re-election for the position he’s held since 2015. The decision to step aside comes just over a month after the party flipped two congressional seats; elected a Democratic governor, attorney general and secretary of state; re-elected a […]
Snyder says he’ll sign Line 5 bill, but stays mum on other Lame Duck action
Gov. Rick Snyder said today that he plans to sign Enbridge Line 5 legislation, but will not necessarily go along with all GOP-sponsored Lame Duck bills. Snyder and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who unsuccessfully ran in the GOP primary this year to succeed him, met this afternoon with about three dozen reporters, including some from […]
Updated: Economic development leaders urge Whitmer to stay the course
Updated: 12/12 at 11:15 a.m. As Michigan’s next governor prepares to take office next month, Gretchen Whitmer has met with leaders about keeping the economy moving in areas across the state. Birgit Klohs is the president and CEO of The Right Place Inc., a West Michigan business and economic development organization. She told reporters in […]
Bill honoring Detroit educator clears Michigan Senate
A bill that would rename a portion of the John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10) in Detroit after legendary educator Violet T. Lewis last week unanimously cleared the Michigan Senate. The measure, Senate Bill 1137 sponsored by state Sen. Ian Conyers (D-Detroit), is now being considered in the House of Representatives. In 1929, Lewis, an African […]
Amanda Stitt: In 2018, more politicians decided to ‘be themselves’ on social media
The rise of digital media means people expect unfettered and immediate access to celebrities, their friends and political candidates. If you don’t keep up, you’ll hear about it. Right away. On Twitter. The 2018 election has ushered in a new age of social media communications. Some politicians, especially millennials, have embraced the medium and have […]
Harvard Law professor: GOP power plays may be unconstitutional
A Harvard Law School professor, who also was a President Barack Obama appointee, says recent Michigan Republican moves to strip Democrats’ authority may be unconstitutional. Laurence Tribe is a professor of constitutional law at Harvard who helped write the constitutions of South Africa, the Czech Republic and Marshall Islands. He told the Michigan Advance that […]
Longtime colleague says former Robertson aide is being ‘railroaded’
A former chief of staff for state Sen. Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc) is the target in an ongoing Michigan State Police embezzlement investigation. But Erika Farley’s former colleague says she’s innocent. “I have the utmost respect for her,” Matt Marsden, who worked with Farley for years in the Michigan Senate, told the Advance today. […]
Whitmer to join governors-elect in Trump meeting this week
Michigan’s next governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is slated be part of a group of governors-elect meeting on Thursday with President Trump at the White House, the Detroit Free Press reports. A Whitmer spokesperson told the Free Press that the Democrat wants to talk about “federal trade policies, access to affordable health care, protecting our Great Lakes […]
Coleman A. Young sworn in as Michigan senator on this day in 1964
On Dec. 10, 1964, Coleman A. Young was officially sworn in as a member of the Michigan Senate. During his nine-year tenure, Young, who had previously been an elected to the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961 and 1962, championed civil rights and collective bargaining issues. While in Lansing, Young served as minority floor leader and […]
Educators converging on Lansing to protest Lame Duck bills this week
Marcus Walton said he didn’t knock doors this summer and fall to elect Democrats, only to have Republicans shove through an aggressive Lame Duck agenda that hurts teachers and students. “We lobbied and fought to get [Gov-Elect] Gretchen [Whitmer] and the Democratic slate elected and we accomplished that goal,” said Walton, a Detroit Public Schools […]