|
A force of nature
……That’s what one Michigan journalist called Gretchen Whitmer https://gretchenwhitmer.com/. ……Start with Gretchen Whitmer’s grandparents. Her grandfather was the longest serving school superintendent in Pontiac Michigan. Hired out of Gary, Indiana, he was prepared to cope with desegregation orders, with the KKK blowing up the local school buses so busing could not happen. He was an effective, calming presence at a difficult time. Gretchen Whitmer remembers her times in Pontiac and her grandparents fondly. The people of Pontiac remember her grandparents fondly as well. Her grandmother lived to be over a hundred. Her hundredth birthday and ultimately her obituary were opportunities to celebrate the matriarch, teacher, and caretaker; and to celebrate the school superintendent who helped their city and the children of their city through their toughest times.
……Her parents. They were in Grand Rapids for Gretchen Whitmer’shigh school years, but mostly they were in East Lansing, working in Lansing, Michigan’s capitol. Gretchen Whitmer’sdad was a Republican, an aide to liberal Republican and Michigan’s longest serving governor William Milliken. Her mom was a Democrat and a Deputy Attorney General.
……Gretchen Whitmer says she wanted to be a sports announcer. She has a reputation for frankness, integrity, and a commitment to transparency, but who can believe she ever wanted a career not in the public arena.
……When Gretchen Whitmer’s children were younger, a journalist imagined a contest for governor or attorney general between her and rising star Republican Bill Schuette. The journalist lamented that it would not happen.Gretchen Whitmerwas unwilling to run for statewide office then. Schuette is now the Michigan Attorney General and the leading contender for the Republican nomination for governor. The journalist may get that contest after all.
……Gretchen Whitmer will win the primary even though one opponent is wealthy enough to spend six million dollars of his own money. She has gained the endorsement of the entire Democratic Congressional delegation. She has gained the endorsement of the Democrats in the state legislature. It took a little while, but she gained the endorsement of the Detroit mayor. He and the UAW spent some time looking for another candidate — trying to persuade a US Senator to run. The news stories say they were looking for someone with experience running statewide. I think they were looking for a man.
……If they had been looking for someone who knew the Michigan legislature, they would have found Gretchen Whitmer. Forty six years old, Gretchen Whitmer spent fifteen of those years in the Michigan legislature representing East Lansing, She was five years in the House, then filled a vacancy to move to the Senate. During her final four years, until she was term limited out, she was Senate Minority Leader.
……She was a forceful leader in difficult times. Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma have all suffered from extreme Republican leadership. The tip of the iceberg for Michigan was the Flint water crisis. To save some money, reflecting the cost cutting goals of the corporate and venture capitalist governor Rick Snyder, state officials unintentionally poisoned Flint’s drinking water with lead. Gretchen Whitmeraccused the term-limited governor of attempting to push the blame on bureaucrats. Gretchen Whitmerdescribed the water crisis as a symptom of the Republicans unrelenting cost cutting and lack of transparency while governing Michigan.
……Gretchen Whitmer’s legislative leadership was dramatic. When Governor Snyder tried to pass “right to work” legislation and locked the capitol doors to keep protestors out and legislators in so they would vote, Gretchen Whitmerunlocked the doors to thwart him. When Governor Snyder led the effort for legislation to prohibit health insurers from including coverage for abortions, requiring women to purchase what Gretchen Whitmerr called rape insurance, she talked publicly for the first time about having been raped as a young woman. Sadly, both pieces of legislation passed in the highly gerrymandered Michigan legislature.
……Gretchen Whitmer had a brief post-legislative career before running for governor. After leaving the legislature, she served as Ingham County Prosecutor for sixth months — appointed by a panel of judges after the elected prosecutor resigned. He had been arrested and, ultimately was convicted, for prostitution related crimes. She examined whether there was any knowledge within the office of the former prosecutor’s crimes and found none. She created a domestic violence task force for that office and was briefly connected with the prosecution of child gymnast molester Larry Nassar. Was Gretchen Whitmer demonstrating a capacity to be tough by serving as prosecutor? Or was she stepping in where there was a crisis?
……Climbing on roof tops with union workers or touting a new era of green energy skilled jobs or proposing new water management jobs based on a focus on the Michigan lakes, Gretchen Whitmeris reconnecting with MIchigan’s blue collar population. She is connecting with the people for whom the term Reagan Democrats was invented.
A Gretchen Whitmer victory will lead to changes in the Michigan legislature as well as the congressional map. Some of that change will happen as Democrats are elected in 2018 and 2020. While Trump is President, Republicans who previously won by 8 or 10% are no longer safe. Redistricting is the key for the long term and the governor has a crucial role in the process. Michigan is among the most gerrymandered states in the country. After redistricting in 2010, Republicans were able to win 26 of 38 state senate seats with just over a majority of the total vote. A governor insisting on fair redistricting is important. A governor insisting on a new non-partisan process for redistricting would be even more important.
……Help Gretchen Whitmer https://gretchenwhitmer.com/ become the governor who creates a fairer and more prosperous Michigan. Help her become the governor who women can look to for insurance that serves them, who workers can look to as a supporter of unions that protect middle class pay. Democratic waves do not happen on their own. Waves happen when candidates have enthusiastic support and the resources that can sustain that enthusiasm. Even small donations make a big difference — especially monthly donations that help a candidate through to the election.
……Across Lake Michigan, Illinois had its primaries on March 20 (Michigan’s primary is not until August 7.). Venture capitalist JB Pritzker did not get a majority in this three person race, but won the Democratic Primary by 18% over the second place candidate. The Republican incumbent and former private equity investor Bruce Raunder did get a majority, but won 51-49. Election raters see this race leaning Democratic. ……
|
