There is an understandable tendency to think of the Michigan Secretary of State as an administrative office – a place of paperwork, licenses, registrations, and elections. But history tells a different story. The people who hold this office often shape how citizens experience democracy itself.
That is why Garlin Gilchrist deserves serious consideration from Michigan voters as the next Secretary of State.
In recent years, public debate about the office has focused almost exclusively on election security and voting access. Those responsibilities remain critically important. But Michigan’s next Secretary of State will face a broader challenge: rebuilding trust in public institutions at a time when faith in government has eroded across political, geographic, and generational lines.
Gilchrist is uniquely suited for that challenge.
Much has been written about his tenure as lieutenant governor, his engineering background, and his role in major policy initiatives under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. What has received less attention is the way his career has consistently centered on a simple but increasingly rare idea: government should be designed around people, not around bureaucracy.
Before entering public office, Gilchrist learned to think about systems as a software engineer. Most politicians talk about programs, but this engineer talks about outcomes. Engineers ask why systems fail, who gets left behind, and how barriers can be removed. Those questions may sound technical, but they are profoundly democratic. They force leaders to think about citizens not as statistics, but as users of government itself.
That perspective matters for an office that touches nearly every Michigander’s life.
The next frontier for the Secretary of State should plan to make government accessible, particularly through technology, with the goal of ensuring that a resident in Detroit, Benton Harbor, Saginaw, Flint, or the Upper Peninsula can interact with state government without unnecessary friction. The person in this seat needs to recognize that long waits, confusing processes, and unequal access are barriers to participationand not just minor inconveniences.
Gilchrist understands this challenge because his public career has been rooted in the belief that innovation should expand opportunity rather than merely improve efficiency.
There is also a larger historical significance to his candidacy.
More than half a century ago, Richard H. Austin shattered a barrier that many believed would never fall. Elected in 1970, Austin became Michigan’s first Black Secretary of State and one of the first Black officials elected statewide in Michigan history. His tenure transformed the office. He pioneered innovations in voter registration and modernized services while proving that Black leadership could succeed not only in Detroit, but across the entire state and country.
Since Austin left office in 1995, no Black candidate has been elected to the position or any statewide leadership position. A Gilchrist victory would be another historic moment for Michigan, and it would representthe continuation of a legacy that remains unfinished.
But history alone is never a sufficient reason to support a candidate.
The stronger argument is that Michigan is changing. Our economy is changing. The way residents interact with government is changing. The demands on election administration are changing. At a moment when public service requires both technological fluency and civic imagination, Gilchrist offers a combination of skills rarely found in modern politics.
The best secretaries of state leave behind more than efficient offices. They strengthen democracy by making government more responsive, more accessible, and more worthy of public trust.
Richard Austin understood that. Garlin Gilchrist has the opportunity to build upon that legacy for a new generation.
Michigan voters should vote him in and have full faith in his ability to get that job done.
