GOP consultant says 7th District boundaries changed to save Walberg’s seat
DETROIT – New evidence submitted on the eve of a landmark trial challenging Michigan’s GOP-drawn legislative districts appears to strengthen the claim the maps were drawn in 2011 for partisan, Republican gain. Emails and other documents filed over the weekend in federal court show that Republicans saw the redistricting process as a way to consolidate […]
Michigan Republicans defend political maps as gerrymandering trial opens
by Joel Kurth (Bridge) DETROIT – Forget the provocative emails. And forget the funny-looking maps that shape Michigan’s political districts while you’re at it. All that matters is whether Michigan’s political districts were drawn legally – and they were, attorneys for state Republicans argued during opening arguments Tuesday of a trial in U.S. District Court in Detroit […]
Ex-Democratic chief says Michigan gerrymandering scared off candidates
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) DETROIT – Voters nationwide have gone to the polls hundreds of times in since 1970. Few elections have been so skewed toward Republicans as those the past few years in Michigan. That was the conclusion Tuesday of a George Washington University political scientist, who testified in the first day of a civil trial […]
Expert testifies gerrymandering in Michigan is worse than almost anywhere
by Joel Kurth (Bridge) DETROIT – Voters nationwide have gone to the polls hundreds of times in since 1970. Few elections have been so skewed toward Republicans as those the past few years in Michigan. That was the conclusion Tuesday of a George Washington University political scientist, who testified in the first day of a civil trial […]
Redistricting guru: Michigan’s maps are legal, even if process was political
by Joel Kurth (Bridge) DETROIT – Michigan’s controversial political districts were drawn in secret by Republicans and written in part to help incumbents – and there’s nothing wrong with that, one of their chief architects testified Thursday. The final witness in a three-day federal trial to determine if Michigan’s political districts are constitutional, GOP consultant Jeff Timmer […]
Meet the ex-drug cop who now helps regulate Michigan marijuana
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) In September 2017, a ballroom full of people at the Eagle Eye Golf Club north of East Lansing waited for the Michigan Medical Marihuana Licensing Board’s third-ever meeting to begin. Many of them didn’t know what to expect from the five-person panel, gatekeeper to a medical cannabis industry that had operated in a […]
Budget tests Gretchen Whitmer’s promise to repeal Michigan pension tax
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge) Along with “Fix the damn roads,” it was a signature promise of then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer. “We need to repeal the retirement tax. Our seniors deserve better,” she said weeks before the November election, repeating a vow she made countless times throughout her campaign. As she settles into the governor’s seat, Whitmer […]
In one month, Dana Nessel erases many of Bill Schuette’s federal pursuits
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel capped a dizzying first month in office by reversing the state’s position in more than a dozen cases previously steered by her Republican predecessor. Nessel aligned with three other states and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in seeking to join a federal lawsuit protecting the Affordable Care Act, which previous […]
Michigan Republicans move to block Gov. Whitmer’s environmental overhaul
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) LANSING — Michigan Republicans are trying to block Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to overhaul the state’s environmental department because it would eliminate oversight panels favored by the GOP. (See article on Gov. Whitmer’s plan HERE) In an early blow to bipartisanship, the Republican-led House voted by party lines, 58-51, on Wednesday afternoon to override the […]
Gretchen Whitmer reshapes Michigan environmental watchdog agency
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is overhauling the Michigan agency charged with environmental regulation, citing the need to more urgently protect the state’s water, bolster the response to climate change and direct more resources to communities disproportionately harmed by pollution and other environmental threats. The Department Environmental Quality (DEQ) will be reshaped and […]
