(Source: MIRS.news, Published, 05/31/23) (MACKINAC ISLAND) – As Michigan's Democratic trifecta approaches the halfway point of its first year in power, one might wonder what happened to the fiery no-vote explanations and debate points from Democrats who once dissented from the pack.
Now in the majority, the powerful speeches that marked the Democrats' tenure in the minority have become a noted rarity.
When asked if Democratic legislators have become more reserved since the historic power flip they won in Michigan, the Senate Majority Leader Winnie BRINKS (D-Grand Rapids) said she doesn’t believe there’s a leader of any caucus not wanting members to speak thoughtfully.
While being interviewed on the Grand Hotel's porch, Brinks laughed when queried about what advice she'd give to a Democratic senator who's possibly angry and eager to go in front of a reporter.
"I'm starting to worry if you have a specific story for me," she said, explaining earlier that "I don't think there's a leader of any caucus, anywhere in the history of our nation who doesn't want their caucus members to be thoughtful about what they say, but certainly, it does have more impact when we have the ability to get policy done because we have the trifecta."
In November 2022, Democrats in Michigan acquired a national spotlight upon securing the executive office as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won reelection with more than 54% of the vote, and notably winning 56 of the state House's 110 seats and 20 of the Senate's 38 seats.
In the Senate specifically, Democrats had not held a majority since early 1984, before two special elections were won by Republicans. The elections were related to two successful referendum efforts that targeted then-Democratic Sens. Phillip Mastin of Pontiac and David Serotkin of Macomb Township.
The two Democrats backed a measure to increase the state's income tax from 4.6% to 6.35% as a strategy led by Democratic Gov. James Blanchard to alleviate a budget crisis. The two Republican victories in the Senate put the GOP in control of the chamber for the first time in a decade.
"I don't know (if) I would say reserved. I always say what's on my mind, but there is the level of recognizing that we do represent the majority now," Sen. Mallory MCMORROW (D-Royal Oak) told MIRS. "Something that is very different from my last term, is every bill introduction, everything we do, is now covered in a way that it wasn't in the last term."
During the first 100 days of the 2023-24 term, Whitmer was able to sign legislation ranging from a repeal of Michigan's 1931 abortion ban to a supplemental spending bill that allocated $800 million in incentives for Ford Motor Company's developing battery plant in Calhoun County.
Moreover, Whitmer has approved a repeal of Michigan's "Right to Work" policy, which authorized employees to opt out of paying union dues or fees for the benefits of having a bargaining representative.
She also signed phased-in legislation allowing taxpayers to have 100% of their retirement income, regardless of type, deducted from the state income tax exclusively for the 2026 tax year. Afterward, deduction limits would be restored to those in place for every retiree before the Snyder-era 2011 tax reform.
"There's a lot of pent-up policy asks, from a lot of people . . . we had the most productive session so far. I think more bills have been passed than the past six legislatures combined by this point," McMorrow said. "I'm really proud that we came out of the gate showing that we're not going to be shy."
As part of a Democratic trifecta, the MIRS and EPIC-MRA Capitol Insider Survey for 2023 found that 66% of Michigan's political insiders feel positively about how Whitmer has been performing, and 76% have the same response to House Speaker Joe TATE (D-Detroit)'s leadership and 69% for Brinks.
The survey – which used a sample of 577 lobbyists, legislators, department directors and others – differs from the Capitol Insider Survey for 2021. In the older report, 56% of 694 respondents felt positively about past Republican House Speaker Jason Wentworth's performance and 34% felt similarly about former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey's performance.
One can also observe the inner relationships of the Democratic trifecta varying from the Republican trifecta during former Gov. Rick Snyder's administration.
"Rick Snyder was quite independent and there were many times when engagement with Republicans in the Legislature with Rick Snyder (as governor) took the form of 'with friends like these, who needs enemies?'" Brian Calley, Snyder's lieutenant governor from 2011 through 2018, told MIRS. "Political parties are tense, where you have coalitions underneath those temps with competing priorities and opinions and disagreements."
During the conference, Calley told MIRS he suspects the same inner tensions exist within the latest single-party-led legislature and governor's post.
When asked what her response is to criticism that the Democratic-led Legislature could merely be taking orders from the Governor, Brinks said her caucus has a very healthy relationship with good boundaries with Michigan's executive office.
"I think as with any relationship, each person has their role that they play, they have their responsibilities, they have their obligations to each other…but they also have their obligations to their own goals and to their own individual progress," Brinks said, stating that as the Senate Democratic Caucus, "we have our priorities."
