October 5, 2021
FACT CHECK: Whitmer Won’t Be Known As A Fix-The-Damn-Roads Governor
LANSING, MICH – At an earlier rally with Joe Biden promoting tax hikes on middle class Michiganders, Gretchen Whitmer made claims about fixing the roads, a promise she made to Michigan voters and has not delivered on.
“Michigan Democrats, led by President Biden, try to play by their own rules. To add insult to injury, they now hope that Michiganders will have short memories and forget the laundry list of broken promises. We won’t.
“Families are in for tax hikes under this President and every Democrat that showed up to welcome these policies in Michigan should be worried. We will send a clear message when we retire Gretchen Whitmer and her cronies by electing a new Republican Governor to bring economic prosperity once again.” – Gustavo Portela, MIGOP Communications Director
WHITMER PROMISED TO “FIX THE DAMN ROADS” – SHE DIDN’T
- Whitmer has been promising that she will “fix the damn roads” since the early months of her 2018 campaign.
- Whitmer repeated her promise to fix the roads throughout 2018 and promised to follow through in her victory speech and her inaugural address.
- However, Whitmer failed to deliver on that promise.
- One month after taking office she tried to pass the buck and get President Trump to fix the roads for her.
- Whitmer hired a transportation lobbyist to represent her office in DC.
- Three months into office, Whitmer proposed a $2.1 billion plan to fund infrastructure projects by increasing the gas tax by 45 cents, nearly doubling it and making it the highest tax in the country.
- Whitmer campaigned against raising the gas tax and called the idea that she would raise gas taxes “ridiculous” and “nonsense.”
- When the legislature objected to her gas tax, Whitmer threatened to increase income taxes to pay for her infrastructure projects.
- When that failed, next Whitmer proposed a 41 percent tax increase on more than 100,000 small businesses.
- Whitmer line-item vetoed $375 million in funding for road improvement projects in the 2020 state budget passed by Republicans.
- In 2020, Whitmer went around the legislature and sought to borrow $3.5 billion, a far higher amount of spending, by issuing bonds.
- One month after taking office she tried to pass the buck and get President Trump to fix the roads for her.
- Whitmer’s current road plan only seeks to improve state-owned roads called trunklines, leaving county and local roads “in the dust.”
- According to Whitmer’s own “Rebuilding Michigan Program” tracker, after three years in office, most of her planned road improvement projects have either not been started or have barely started.
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