Ineffective Leadership: Whitmer Has Proven Herself Incapable Of Keeping Her Promises

“Gretchen Whitmer’s tenure as governor has been riddled with failure after failure, and Michiganders have had enough of her broken promises,” said Gustavo Portela, MIGOP Communications Director. “From neglecting to bring manufacturing jobs to a state whose economy relies on them, to abandoning her campaign commitment to fix the damn roads, it’s clear now more than ever that Gretchen Whitmer is not only an ineffective leader, but an incompetent one, too. Michiganders know Whitmer only cares about her own political ascent, not about actually serving and governing them through tough times, and are ready to vote in a Republican governor who will chart a new path for our state come November.”

The Roads Are Not Fixed

• The Michigan Republican Party produced an ad attacking Whitmer for not fixing the roads.
• This week, The Detroit News’ editorial board published a blistering piece on Whitmer’s failure to fix the roads.
  • Headline: “On roads, Whitmer made the promise, she owns the failure.”
• The Michigan Department of Transportation estimated that 40 percent of the roads in Michigan are in poor shape.

• Whitmer repeatedly promised that she will Fix the Damn Roads ever since she first announced she was running for governor in 2018.
• Whitmer made headlines in March for ordering her government to speed up road repairs, however, Whitmer’s plan is only to fix certain state roads and federal interstates called trunklines – Whitmer is not fixing county or local roads.

• Whitmer’s supporters claim that Whitmer is not at fault because she proposed a plan to fix the roads in 2019 that involved a 45-cent gas tax?
  • Does Whitmer support raising taxes on gasoline by 45 cents today?
• Whitmer also line-item vetoed $375 million in road funding passed by Republicans in the legislature.

Whitmer Is Failing To Acquire New Manufacturing Opportunities For Michigan

• In 2022, Whitmer traveled to Washington to see Joe Biden to get his help to bring semiconductor manufacturing to Michigan.
  • This comes after Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio secured a $20 billion deal with Intel to build semiconductor manufacturing plants in the Columbus area.
• In 2021, Whitmer skipped out on a presidential visit from Joe Biden when Biden went to Detroit to promote electric vehicle production.
  • Whitmer’s excuse for not attending the event with Biden was that she was meeting with Semiconductor industry leaders trying to draw some of their business into Michigan.
  • However, according to Michigan campaign finance records, Whitmer used that time in California to fundraise for her reelection.
• In 2021, Whitmer failed to place a bid on a Ford Motor Company electric vehicle expansion.
  • Ford decided to open up factories in Tennessee and Kentucky, an $11.4 billion investment which created 11,000 jobs between those states.
• In 2022, Stellantis and LG announced a $4.1 billion investment in Ontario building electric vehicle batteries in Windsor, just across the river from Detroit, creating 2,500 Canadian jobs.
  • Whitmer secured a smaller $1.7 billion deal with LG which will create a much smaller 1,200 jobs in Holland.

Whitmer Failed To Fix The Lead Pipes Despite Campaigning On The Flint Water Crisis

• Whitmer made fixing the lead pipes and providing safe drinking water part of her campaign for governor.
  • In May 2018, Whitmer released a video of herself handing out bottled water to flint residents claiming “this government has failed the people of Flint time and time again.”
  • In July 2018, Whitmer released an ad showing kids playing with a water sprinkler in a backyard saying that Benton Harbor’s pipes “now [has] more lead than flint.”
  • In August 2018, Whitmer released a video message saying: “We got a lot of work to do here in Michigan, whether it is restoring bottled water and expediting replacement of lead pipelines – lead drinking water lines in Flint…”
  • At a 2018 gubernatorial debate, Whitmer called clean drinking water a “fundamental human right” and vowed to create the Department of Great Lakes and Fresh Water so residents complaining about water “won’t get ignored for two years” and called for expediting lead pipe replacement and providing bottled water.
  • Garlin Gilchrist promised to “change out the pipes” if Whitmer is elected and creates the Department of Great Lakes and Fresh Water.

• However, as governor, Whitmer ignored Benton Harbor’s water crisis for three years.
  • EGLE Director Liesl Clark admitted that EGLE did not make a request for Benton Harbor to have their lead lines replaced for three years despite knowing that lead contamination levels were dangerously high.
  • In September 2021, Whitmer struck a deal with the legislature on a $70 billion budget deal, however only $18.6 billion of that went to fixing pipes.
  • Frustrated Benton Harbor residents begged the EPA in an “emergency petition” to intervene in speeding up the delivery of clean drinking water that Whitmer earlier promised but was too slow to deliver on.
    • The EPA responded with “support and oversight” assistance to fill in for where Whitmer failed.
  • Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad criticized Whitmer for not giving the city what it needed. Muhammed said “we are at the mercy of the state” and the state has not delivered.
  • Benton Harbor Community Water Council Leader Rev. Edward Pinkney criticized Whitmer for ignoring the rising lead levels in the water and not sounding the alarm sooner.

Whitmer Failed To Repeal The Pension Tax In Her First Year As Promised

• Whitmer campaigned in 2018 on repealing the pension tax promising she would get it done in her first year in office.
• Whitmer is now in her fourth year in office and failed to get it done in 2019 as promised, outraging many retirees.
• The repeal had bipartisan support.
  • Detroit Free Press’ Paul Egan: “…but more than a year after Whitmer took office, the tax remains in place, despite the fact majority leaders in both chambers say they support its repeal in principle.
• Whitmer poisoned the well by tying the pension tax repeal to an increase in taxes on Michigan’s businesses.

Whitmer Failed To Lower Auto Insurance Rates

• In 2018, Whitmer campaigned on lowering auto insurance rates saying she would make it a “major objective” of her first 100 days as governor.
• Whitmer blocked a Republican proposal that would lower the cost of auto insurance and ban non-driving factors such as zip to determine price.
• In 2022, Michigan had the highest auto-insurance rates in the nation.
• The cost of auto insurance increased in 2022.
  • The average American pays only $1,529 per year on auto insurance, however, the American Michigander pays $2,639 on auto insurance – 77.6 percent more than the average American.
  • There is no location in Michigan where the average premium is lower than $1,800.
• The average 65-year-old in Michigan pays the 1^st highest auto insurance rate in the nation.
  • The average 45-year-old in Michigan pays the 1^st highest auto insurance rate in the nation.
  • The average 25-year-old in Michigan pays the 2nd highest auto insurance rate in the nation.
  • The average 16-year-old in Michigan pays the 4^th highest auto insurance rate in the nation.

Whitmer Promised To Get Unlimited Money Out Of Politics, Then She Became The Undisputed Champion Of Excess Contributions

• Whitmer broke her campaign promise to get unlimited money out of Michigan Politics.
  • Whitmer campaigned on her “Sunshine Plan” which called for the reversal of Citizens United.
• Whitmer received nearly $4 million in excess contributions after falsely claiming she was in an active recall election and then and citing an obscure memo in the 1980’s to claim she violate contribution limits.
  • After being called out, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson suggested that Whitmer contribute the excess money to a charity.
  • Instead of a charity, Whitmer transferred the money to the Michigan Democrat Party to spend on political campaigns, including hers.
• A prominent pro-Whitmer super PAC called Road To Michigan’s Future, reported that they raised nearly $6.5 million in 2020.
  • The PAC is run by former Granholm staffers and shares a treasurer with Whitmer’s campaign.
  • The PAC promoted Whitmer’s Fix The Damn Roads initiative and funded a political activist group that tried to get the ballot initiative limiting her emergency powers on COVID-19 thrown out before it got to the ballot.

Whitmer’s Veto Rate Is Unprecedented In Modern Michigan History

• Whitmer averaged 31 vetoes per year, a higher rate than any governor on record for the last nearly 70 years.

• • Whitmer lobbed veto threats at Republicans at a greater frequency and intensity than her predecessors.
• Whitmer signed fewer bills into law than any of her six most-recent predecessors.