Detroit Today: Breaking down Whitmer’s State of the State address
What’s next for Gov. Whitmer and the legislature, and what kinds of things might they pass in 2024?
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich.
In her State of the State address Wednesday night, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke about her goals for the coming year, including creating an innovation fund to invest in startups, advancing free community college and universal preschool, issuing a caregiver tax credit and building tens of thousands of homes.
Until about the end of 2023, the Democrats had a majority. And with it they were able to accomplish a lot. Michiganders saw a slew of bills get passed, including gun control reform, protections for abortion and LGBTQ residents, voting reforms that make it easier to cast a ballot, repealing right to work laws, mandating a 100% clean energy standard and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit.
So, what’s next for Gov. Whitmer and the legislature, and what kinds of things might they pass in 2024? Three guests joined Detroit Today on Thursday to discuss.
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Guests:
Zach Gorchow is the executive editor and publisher of Gongwer News Service-Michigan and co-host of the MichMash podcast. He says Governor Whitmer focused more on what has been accomplished than on what she hopes to accomplish going forward.
“This was a speech much more about ‘Look what he did’ instead of ‘Look what we’re going to do,’” says Gorchow.
Lauren Gibbons is a reporter covering Michigan politics for Bridge Michigan. She says the speech was centered on what can be done by the legislature without Democrats having a majority.
“I think the whole theme of the state of the state was really, ‘What can I get done while we’re waiting for those two (state) House seats to be filled?'” says Gibbons.
Greg Bowens is a political and communications consultant locally in Detroit. He says Governor Whitmer rightly focused on topics that can be related to from people around the state.
“There’s a lot more that connects across these lines of geography than doesn’t,” says Bowens.
Listen to Detroit Today with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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