Governor Gretchen Whitmer put economic development, free community college tuition, and some love for the Detroit Lions front and center as she delivered her sixth State of the State address Wednesday at the state Capitol.
As the governor walked down the aisle to the rostrum, she shook hands and hugged a lot of folks on the House floor wearing Detroit Lions blue sweaters, scarves and hats on the House floor – all showing their pride and loyalty as the long downtrodden Detroit franchise heads to the NFC championship game this coming weekend.
Whitmer – an avid sports fan – sported a Lion’s lapel pin.
“Once a punchline, they are now a powerhouse that dominated by centering the grit that defines every Michigander. On the way up, they turned naysayers and cynics into dreamers and, I don’t know if you know it, but our Wolverines are national champions,” she said.
Whitmer then turned her attention to successes for Democrats as they ran the table last year in Lansing with newly minted House and Senate majorities. Repealing the state’s statutory abortion ban on the heels of a voter-approved reproductive rights amendment, repealing Michigan’s anti-union right-to-work law, and expanding the earned income tax credit for low-income households.
“Tonight, that’s what I’m going to focus on – how we keep lowering costs. How we improve education for our children in Michigan and compete with the world.”
In the coming year, Whitmer said the state is desperate for affordable housing and she wants to spend more than a billion dollars on that.
She also called for expanding free pre-kindergarten education and making two years of community college free to every high school graduate. She said all of these would help boost Michigan’s sagging population numbers.
Witmer also called for incentives to encourage more business start-ups in Michigan and rebates adding up to 25 hundred dollars for people who purchase domestic union-made electric vehicles.
Republicans, on the other hand, said Whitmer is too aggressive in pushing green energy over oil and gas.
And Michigan’s Democratic governor aimed some barbs at the Republican-governed states of Florida and Texas over book bans and attacks on school curricula.
Her community college plan largely matches a proposal called for by President Joe Biden in his Build Back plan. Whitmer made a point of mentioning Biden by name. She’s a prominent backer of the president’s reelection.
While Democrats stood and cheered dozens of times, Republicans largely stayed in their seats, appearing glum and stoic.
The Legislature’s GOP leaders said the governor's proposals are government overreach and, in many cases, not serious. They also took aim at Whitmer’s growing national profile in their response.
“This is clearly the most partisan speech the governor’s given,” said House Minority Leader Matt Hall. “It seemed more geared toward her national ambitions, to impress some of the coastal elites and the people in the national Democrat Party.”
And the State of the State speech – as well as the Republican reaction – has to be considered in the context of the national election, competing visions for the country and the anticipated rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump. Michigan could be a pivotal state.
Also, all 110 state House seats are up for election this year and either party could take control.
The next step for Whitmer is presenting her budget proposal next month to the Legislature, which will attach dollars to the ideas she outlined in her State of the State address.