Jennifer Granholm

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Jennifer M. Granholm
47th Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 2003 – present
Lieutenant(s)	John D. Cherry
Preceded by	John Engler
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	February 05, 1959 (age 48) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Daniel Mulhern
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-born American politician and the current Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor John Engler. She was reelected in 2006, and sworn in for her second, and final, term due to term limits, on January 1, 2007.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Michigan Attorney General 3 Governor 3.1 2006 campaign 4 Controversies 4.1 Wayne County contracts 4.2 Kilpatrick memo 4.3 Budget cuts and the Bible 5 Electoral history 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Granholm was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Shirley Alfreda Dowden and Victor Ivar Granholm.^[1] She has some Finnish and Swedish ancestors who were born in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland^[2] (the name "Granholm" in Swedish means "spruce islet"). Her family moved to California when she was four. As a young adult, she attempted to launch a Hollywood acting career but was unsuccessful, and she abandoned her efforts at the age of 21. That year, 1980, she also became a United States citizen and worked for John Anderson's independent run for U.S. President, and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from UC-Berkeley in 1984 Phi Beta Kappa with two BA degrees, one in political science, the other in French. Granholm then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School, also with honors. She clerked for U.S. Judge Damon Keith on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1986 she married current "first gentleman" Daniel Mulhern, a Michigan native, and took his surname as her middle name; they have three children: Kathryn, Cecelia, and Jack. In 1990 she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. In 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel.

Granholm, like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was once a contestant on the daytime television game show The Dating Game.[1]

[edit] Michigan Attorney General

Granholm was elected Michigan Attorney General in 1998, the first female to hold that position, serving for four years (1999-2002), focusing on protecting citizens and consumers, and establishing Michigan's first HighTech Crime Unit. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Granholm directed state agencies to work with lawmakers in keeping the fight against terrorism within the powers of the state. She also imposed a regulation on gasoline dealers to keep them from raising prices dramatically, something which occurred massively across Michigan immediately following the attacks. In the election of 2002, she defeated former Governor James Blanchard and US House Democratic Whip David Bonior in the Democratic primary, and then went on to win the general election against the Republican nominee, Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus, to become governor.

[edit] Governor

Granholm was sworn in as the 47th Governor of the state of Michigan on January 1, 2003. In her inaugural speech, she said: "We've all heard that song, 'I Hope You Dance'. Well, I hope you dance with your government." The main issue facing the governor has been the massive budget deficit. Granholm has had to eliminate upwards of $200 per person from state budget expenditures. She has emphasized the need for the state to attract young people and businesses to Michigan. As Governor, she is a member of the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association. She lives in the official Michigan Governor's Residence located near the Capitol Building.

In 2003, Granholm ran five miles across the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the state's two peninsulas, in 47 minutes during the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Her run began a new tradition, and 2004 saw the first annual Governor’s Labor Day Bridge Run^[3] held hours before the Annual Bridge Walk. This time she finished the run in under 45 minutes. After joining her husband Daniel Mulhern for the last two miles of his October 24, 2004 Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon run, Granholm remarked "I would love to run a marathon before I'm 50."

At an awards ceremony October 28, 2004, Granholm was inducted into the "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame". She has also been the recipient of the Michigan Jaycees 1999 "Outstanding Young Michiganders" and the YWCA "Woman of the Year" awards.

In February 2005, Michigan's Republican-dominated Legislature refused to vote on Granholm's proposed state budget, citing concerns over cuts to state funding for higher education.^[4] In the previous years of Granholm's term, many cuts to higher education had been demanded and voted in the Legislature in order to balance the state budget. The year before, Republican leaders had called Granholm a "do-nothing Governor", claiming that she failed to lead, while Democrats accused legislative Republicans of being obstructionist. In January 2005, Granholm presented an early budget proposal, demanded immediate response from the Legislature, and held a press conference outlining the highlights of the proposed budget. After refusing to consider, debate, or vote on the proposed budget, Republicans stated they would prefer that the Legislature have more involvement in the formation of the state budget.^[5]

In March 2005, Granholm sought to withhold awarding scholarships earned through the MEAP scholarship program in order to trim an estimated $9 million off the state budget. The program awards $500 college scholarships to 11th-grade students that perform well on the MEAP standardized test. Granholm argued that the state had no internal means of determining which students had earned the scholarships. After much criticism, notably from the Detroit Free Press, local area lawyers, and parents (who claimed to have received, and did produce, official letters promising the money), she awarded the students their scholarships, though the state's budget difficulties remained unresolved. Liz Boyd, a representative for Granholm, said though “In many regards, it was a hollow promise made by the Engler administration. They cut revenue and didn’t cut spending and we are still reeling from the effects of those decisions today.” ^[6]

Granholm left for Japan on July 22, 2005, along with Michigan State University president Lou Anna K. Simon, and Department of Labor and Economic Growth Director (and former Lansing mayor) David Hollister. Their trip was planned, for the purpose of emphasizing Michigan as "the North American intersection of cutting-edge research, life sciences talent and high-tech innovation". They met with Shiga Prefecture Governor Yoshitsu Kunimatsu, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe and the representatives of 150 Japanese automotive, biotech, and human sciences companies. On the first day of the five-day trip, Monday, the 25th, Granholm led a seminar of 65 Japanese auto-related companies at the 2005 World Expo in Nagakute, Aichi. On the 26th, Granholm met with DENSO Corp. (employing 4,500 workers in Michigan) President and CEO Koichi Fukaya at the company's D-Square facility in Kariya, Aichi. Granholm then met with Gov. Yoshitsu Kunimatsu aboard the Michigan paddlewheel boat on Shiga's Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. Like the Great Lakes (which surround Michigan), Lake Biwa has a history of fighting against an influx of invasive species, the Prefecture paying bounties to fishermen and hiring 43 official catchers to curb the growth of species which threaten the natural freshwater ecosystem. Shiga Prefecture is Michigan's "sister state", selected in 1968 due to their similarity in sharing their nation's largest freshwater resource. Granholm returned to work in Michigan the next Monday.^[7][8] She also signed a legislation to keep steroids out of schools and requiring school boards to write their own steroid policies, though the stance did not go as far as random drug testing of athletes.^[9] She is trying to establish a $4000 scholarship for each Michigan college student.[2][3]

[edit] 2006 campaign

Main article: Michigan gubernatorial election, 2006

Granholm ran for a second term in the 2006 election. Her opponent was Republican businessman and politician Dick DeVos.

She was criticized for Michigan's lackluster economy. The state's unemployment rate hovered around 7% for much of her term, despite job growth in the national economy. In the fall of 2006, Michigan ranked among the worst economies in the country. Additionally, Michigan ranked #49 in retaining young adults between 2000 and 2005, again attributed to the sluggish economy.^[10][11]

Granholm won re-election, defeating DeVos 56% to 42%.

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Wayne County contracts

Granholm was accused in the 2002 Democratic primary of several allegations of cronyism while working as an attorney for Wayne County.

Her husband Daniel Mulhern had received several no-bid contracts for his leadership training company shortly after Granholm left her position as a Wayne County attorney in 1998. He received nearly $300,000 worth of contracts, despite being the highest bidder for one of those contracts. Opponents criticized Granholm supporters for engaging in cronyism and giving contracts to her husband immediately after she had left the county. Granholm and her supporters responded that no ethical violations occurred and that Mulhern had earned the contracts on his own merits.^[12]

Former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard and former Representative David Bonior faced Granholm in the Democratic primary and criticized her handling of contracting procedures at Detroit Metro Airport. Granholm was an attorney for Wayne County when the questionable corporate contracts on two parking projects took place from "an apparent pattern of cronyism and no-bid contracts," which prompted investigation by the FBI and by state and local auditors. She ordered a review as state Attorney General. Blanchard and Bonior criticized her for "reviewing" the project rather than ordering a full investigation, and Bonior insisted that Granholm should remove herself from the case. Granholm defended that she had taken the appropriate action and continued to oversee the review.^[13][14][15]

[edit] Kilpatrick memo

Shortly before the 2002 gubernatorial election, a memo was released to reporters from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick addressed to Granholm. It asked that in exchange for his support and Detroit votes, Granholm must provide jobs and appointments for Detroiters. The memo proposed numerous specific ways that Granholm could help if elected, including ensuring that 20% of new political appointees were African-American. Granholm’s opponent, Republican Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus, publicly denounced the “corrupt pact” between Kilpatrick and Granholm. Granholm said that she had never seen the memo, and she stated that she would never “respond to those kinds of demands.” In addition, Kilpatrick said he had not written the memo or signed off on its terms. ^[16]

[edit] Budget cuts and the Bible

During Granholm’s first year in office, she made a significant number of budget cuts. She was upset by proposals to cut state funding to social welfare programs, such as homeless shelters and mental health agencies. During an interview, she reflected on the proper perspective of budget cuts:

"Often those who cloak themselves in a cape of religiosity happen to be some who are the biggest cutters. Now, some of that can balance out. But when you get to cutting the services for the least of these -- in the 25th chapter of Matthew in the 37th verse the Lord says, 'Whatsoever you do to the least of these, so also you do unto me' -- that's when I question whether somebody is really living out the faith that they profess."

The interviewer noted that Granholm would be criticized, but she hoped that everyone would “keep those values in mind . . .through the budget process.” Betsy DeVos, the chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was upset that Granhom had decided “to cloak her views on balancing the budget in religious terms in order to demonize her political opponents.” Granholm responded that she did not think her response was controversial, and she said that many people of faith are serving in state government.^[17]

[edit] Electoral history

• 2006 Governor General Election^[18]
  • Jennifer Granholm (D), 56%
  • Dick DeVos (R), 42%

• 2002 Governor General Election^[19]
  • Jennifer Granholm (D), 51%
  • Dick Posthumus (R), 47%

• 2002 Governor Democratic Primary^[20]
  • Jennifer Granholm (D), 48%
  • David Bonior (D), 28%
  • James Blanchard (D), 24%

• 1998 State Attorney General Election^[21]
  • Jennifer Granholm (D), 52%
  • John Smietanka (R), 48%

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Michigan Office of the Governor Jennifer M. Granholm official state site
• National Governors Association - Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm biography
• Follow the Money - Jennifer M Granholm 2006 campaign contributions
• On the Issues - Jennifer Granholm issue positions and quotes
• Project Vote Smart - Jennifer M. Granholm (MI) profile
• Jennifer Granholm, John Cherry official campaign site
• Michigan Democratic Party

Political offices
Preceded by Frank J. Kelley	Attorney General of Michigan 1999–2003	Succeeded by Mike Cox
Preceded by John Engler	Governor of Michigan 2003 – present	Incumbent

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