Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touted her accomplishments while showering bipartisan praise in her eighth and final State of the State address Wednesday in Lansing.
The governor received criticism from one House Democrat after she praised President Donald Trump for an investment at a Macomb County Air Force base. Democrats, Republicans and their guests filled the House floor during her speech in front of a joint session of the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate.
Mention of the state’s role in its largest city happened just twice during Whitmer’s State of the State; Whitmer mentioned mentioned the Gordie Howe bridge and the city of Detroit’s population increase, but didn’t offer Detroit residents. However, the governor ended her speech with a nod to the affectionate nickname given to her by Detroiters, “Big Gretch.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, who answered questions to press following the governor’s address, sat in front of Macomb and Oakland County Executives Mark Hackel watching Whitmer’s speech. Detroit City Council President James Tate, members Mary Waters and Latisha Johnson were also present for Whitmer’s speech.
While most Democratic advocates, staffers and lobbyist said the address was bittersweet given the governor’s lame duck status, some progressive advocates in Metro Detroit aren’t singing the praises of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer like they were years ago.
“People feel slighted because promises that were made have not been fulfilled,” James Johnson, political director at Detroit Action, told Michigan Chronicle ahead of her remarks. “The expectation is that the desire won’t even be addressed. We don’t foresee this governor doing the big thing.”
Johnson says residents are desperate for politicians who will address people’s issues, not their opponents. He points to the so-called affordability crisis as the reason young people aren’t buying new homes or vehicles. He said he’s been disappointed expanded childcare wasn’t on the table.
The Detroit Action leader says his organization will also be pushing for further funding of right to counsel with a state appropriation, which is a tall task in a divided government where Republicans keen on cutting spending control the state House.
Republican leader Matt Hall has pitched a $5 billion-a-year property tax relief package paid by a new 6% sales tax on certain services used by high earning residents and tourists.
Hall criticized Democrats for increasing spending in the state budget under Whitmer, but did say he looked forward to working with the governor on property tax cuts that he says would save residents an average of $900 year. Hall also said he wants to work with the governor to force utility companies to lower rates by over a billion dollars.
Whitmer during her speech, said she can’t change tariff laws, but she can build housing.
“We’ve invested more to build housing than any administration in state history,” she said.
Whitmer said the state has already built 80,000 new homes, with a new target goal of 115,000.
She said she would do so by getting rid of burdensome regulations that raise construction costs and slow down projects. The comment earned a bipartisan applause from lawmakers inside the Michigan House chamber.
The governor’s office said that includes making it easier to build in-law suites and duplexes and modernizing lot sizes, setback rules, and parking requirements.
Whitmer also said she would streamline zoning laws ot make it easier to build more homes of all kinds, especially in cities where young people most want to live and work.
Whitmer also pointed to the state’s First-Generation Down Payment Assistance pilot that helped families purchase homes. MSHDA is now operating from a waitlist and will allocate funds to those on the list as additional resources become available.
She pushed for an affordable housing tax credit, saying that doing so could build thousands of more homes in the state.
“Too many workers are being priced out of homeownership,” Whitmer said.
Johnson said the governor’s focus on building housing is encouraging, but said he feels like new homes being built aren’t affordable.
“Most of the new homes build aren’t affordable. Developers build to make profit. That’s not going to get the average Michigander the opportunity for housing. Detroiters are looking for an answer to housing. So many people within our party’s elite has gotten so entrenched in their echo chambers they don’t know what people are saying and how they’re feeling.”
Sheffield, the new mayor of Detroit, told Michigan Chronicle inside the House Appropriations room following the governor’s remarks that she plans to announce the next round of down payment assistance in the coming weeks.
“We want to continue to invest in that program and grow it even more so that more people have access,” Sheffield said.
When asked about her time watching Trump’s State of the Union address in Washington DC the day prior, Sheffield said she was proud to attend.
“I’m very proud that I went to represent Detroit,” Sheffield said. “A lot of good reception to Detroit from Senators — being able to make connections and insert us in the conversation nationally, I thought was important.”
Whitmer in her speech highlighted successes she signed into law during her tenure with Democratic control, like civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ residents, the repeal of the state retirement tax, the 5% increase to the working families tax credit, and the reversal of right to work law.
Whitmer proposed erasing medical debt as Michiganders by capping interest rates on the type of debt, preventing medical debt from showing up on credit reports, requiring hospitals to set up financial assistance programs, and banning liens or foreclosures because of medical debt.
She also touted some of the bipartisan work since Trump’s election, at one point turning around to high five the Republican House Speaker. She even thanked President Trump for a promised investment to the Selfridge Air National Guard Base, in Harrison Township.
“I think it’s really concerning that our governor is praising Trump in her address and not criticizing him at all,” said Garden City Democrat Dylan Wegela. “We have a detention center coming to Romulus, and instead of using this moment to push back on that, she used it to celebrate Trump.”
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, who organized a protest against a planned ICE office in Southfield last week, told Michigan Chronicle Democrats did a lot of big things under Whitmer, adding that sometimes he thinks people forget.
“Tonight was a really good recap — delivering a billion dollars to seniors and working families in Michigan that’s headed off some of the squeeze caused by the federal government,” Moss said. “We’ve protected fundamental freedoms. We protected labor rights, enacted the first gun safety laws in Michigan in a generation. Those are big things in Michigan that are quite literally saving lives toda because we took big, bold stances.”
