A Big Day in Lansing: 100th Legislature Gavels In, Women Take All Top Elected Roles
New Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and former state House speaker Jase Bolger join Detroit Today.
Michigan State Capitol building.
This week marks the beginning of a new era of divided state government in Michigan as the 100th Legislature gavels in for the first time. And a lot happened in each branch of government on the first day.
It was a bit of a surprise when the Republican majority on the Michigan Supreme Court elected Bridget Mary McCormack, a Democrat, to be the chief justice. McCormack says this is all in the spirit of the court’s members being committed to non-partisanship. She rounds out a historic lineup of women in all of the top elected positions in the state.
McCormack joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about her position in the court and the political atmosphere in Lansing.
Meanwhile, at the state Capitol, new House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) called a meeting with living former state House speakers. Eight of them gathered to discuss leadership in the Legislature.
Jase Bolger, a Republican from Marshall was among them.
He’s considered in Lansing to have been a very effective speaker when he served in that role from 2011-2014.
Bolger also joins Henderson to talk about the situation in Lansing, as well as his advice for 30-year-old Speaker Chatfield, the youngest state House speaker in more than a century.
Click on the audio player above to hear those conversations.
