Former Senate Minority Leader Returning to Legal Firm
Dickinson Wright law
firm announced Monday that former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer would
be returning to work there on September 8. Ms. Whitmer previously worked at the
law firm until 2001 when she was elected to the House of Representatives for
the first time. Upon her return Ms. Whitmer will be working with clients who
are engaging with the state government. While she is regularly rumored to be a
gubernatorial candidate in 2018, the former Senate Minority Leader said that
she was focused on her current work in returning to the law firm and teaching a
class at the University of Michigan.
Washtenaw Judge Should be Removed Says Commission
Cedric Simpson, the
Washtenaw County District Judge, should be removed from his position according
to the Judicial Tenure Commission. The commission’s report stated that Mr.
Simpson should be removed from the 14-A District Court bench due to his
interference and attempts to interfere with a drunk driving investigation
against his intern, Crystal Vargas. In addition to his interference with the
drunk driving investigation it was found that Mr. Simpson lied during the
investigation into his conduct.
Governor Says Detroit Public Schools are in Need
Governor Rick Snyder
said Wednesday that the debt in the Detroit Public School system was
“significant," but he would not provide an exact figure that he may ask the
Legislature to allocate to the problem. He stated that he is currently working
on his plan for reforming the school district and his proposed legislation on
the issue would likely be released in the coming weeks. He also stated that the
amount of money he will ask the Legislature to give will be announced once
other factors surrounding the reform have been solidified.
The Push for Legislative FOIA Continues
Representative Jeremy
Moss (D-Southfield) is pushing for a reform of the Freedom of Information Act
to include the Legislature and the governor’s office. Mr. Moss stated that
currently Michigan is one of only two states who have put an exemption in their
law for the Legislature and Governor, and continued saying that the exemption
should be removed for instances like the one with Representatives Courser and
Gamrat. The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, Brandon Dillon, echoed Mr.
Moss’s calls for reform, arguing that a transparent government is a key
principle for democracy.