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Alongside
Gov.
Whitmer
on
Sunday,
January
1, were
other
top
Democratic
leaders,
including
newly
reelected
Secretary
of State
Jocelyn
Benson,
Attorney
General
Dana
Nessel
and Lt.
Gov.
Garlin
Gilchrist
II.
(Photos
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network) |
| |
Historic
term
begins
in
Michigan
as
Whitmer,
others
sworn in
By JOEY
CAPPELLETTI
apnews.com
LANSING,
MI -
Michigan
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
was
sworn in
for
second
term as
the
state’s
49th
governor
on
Sunday,
pushing
a
message
of unity
and
working
together
during
remarks
on the
state
Capitol
steps as
Democrats
took
full
control
of the
state
government
for the
first
time in
40
years.
Whitmer,
who was
first
elected
in 2018
after
serving
as a
state
lawmaker
for 14
years,
won
reelection
in
November
by
defeating
Republican
Tudor
Dixon by
nearly
11
percentage
points.
Alongside
her on
Sunday
were
other
top
Democratic
leaders,
including
newly
reelected
Secretary
of State
Jocelyn
Benson,
Attorney
General
Dana
Nessel
and Lt.
Gov.
Garlin
Gilchrist
II.
During
her
inauguration
address,
Whitmer
pledged
to
pursue
“common
sense”
gun
reform,
continue
investing
in K-12
education,
improve
worker
rights,
lower
taxes
for the
state’s
retirees
and
tackle
climate
change,
adding
that she
would
provide
more
specifics
in her
upcoming
State of
the
State
speech.
“For the
next
four
years,
our task
is to
ensure
that
every
Michigander,
present
and
future,
can
succeed,”
Whitmer
said to
the
nearly
1,000
people
in
attendance.
“And our
message
is
simple:
We’re
putting
the
world on
notice
that
your
future
is here
in
Michigan.”
With a
newly
powerful
Democratic
caucus,
Whitmer
faces a
test of
delivering
on years
of
promises
in a
swing
state
where
Democrats
must
appeal
to more
than
just
their
base or
risk
losing
their
majorities
when the
Legislature
is up
for
grabs
again in
two
years.
Whitmer
acknowledged
several
Republican
legislative
leaders
and
promised
throughout
her
speech
to work
across
the
aisle
and with
“anyone
that
wants to
solve
problems
and get
things
done.”
Sen.
Aric
Nesbitt,
the new
Republican
leader
in the
state
Senate,
congratulated
Whitmer
following
the
inauguration
and said
in a
statement
that he
hopes
she
“actually
follows
through
on her
repeated
promises
of
bipartisanship.”
The
inauguration
ceremony
comes
days
after
two men
were
sentenced
to
lengthy
federal
prison
terms
after
they led
a plot
to
kidnap
Whitmer
in 2020
ahead of
the
presidential
election.
Whitmer
has
previously
blamed
Republican
leaders
for
stoking
violent
rhetoric
and
making
light of
the plot
to
kidnap
and
assassinate
her.
Michigan
Gov.
Whitmer
sworn in
for
second
term
Michigan
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
was
sworn in
for a
second
term as
the
state's
49th
governor
on
Sunday,
pushing
a
message
of unity
and
working
together
during
her
remarks
on the
state
Capitol.
(Jan. 1)
Michigan
Democrats
officially
took
control
of the
state
House
and
Senate
at noon
Sunday
after
winning
slim
majorities
and
flipping
both
chambers
in
November’s
election.
Newly
selected
Democratic
leaders
in the
Legislature,
Senate
Majority
Leader
Winnie
Brinks
and
House
Speaker
Joe
Tate,
joined
the
governor
in
stressing
the
importance
of
bipartisanship
during
their
speeches.
“A
stunning
opportunity
stands
before
us to
work
together
like
never
before
across
legislative
chambers
and
alongside
the
executive
branch,”
said
Brinks,
who was
selected
as the
Senate’s
first
female
majority
leader
in
December.
The new
legislative
session
is
required
to begin
the
second
Wednesday
of
January.
The
state’s
budget
will be
among
the
priorities
lawmakers
tackle
as they
carry a
nearly
$6
billion
surplus
into the
new
year.
History
was also
made
Sunday
on the
state’s
Supreme
Court as
Kyra
Harris
Bolden
was
sworn in
as the
first
Black
woman to
serve on
the high
court
after
Whitmer
appointed
the
former
state
representative
in
November
to
replace
retiring
Justice
Bridget
McCormack.
Bolden
also
administered
Whitmer’s
oath of
office.
___
This
story
corrects
that
Kyra
Harris
Bolden
was a
state
representative,
not a
state
senator,
in the
final
paragraph.
It also
corrects
an
earlier
version
that
stated
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
was the
first
female
governor
when
elected
in 2018.
___
Joey
Cappelletti
is a
corps
member
for The
Associated
Press/Report
for
America
Statehouse
News
Initiative.
Report
for
America
is a
nonprofit
national
service
program
that
places
journalists
in local
newsrooms
to
report
on
undercovered
issues.
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