Whitmer Wednesday: Whitmer Has Not Gotten The Job Done

Whitmer Has Failed To Deliver On Her Promises And Has Nothing New To Offer

WHITMER DID NOT FOCUS ON FIXING THE ROADS AS PROMISED

• Whitmer repeatedly promised that she will Fix the Damn Roads ever since she first announced she was running for governor in 2018.
• No significant progress was made in her first year after Whitmer demonstrated “an inability to build a working relationship with the legislature.”
• It wasn’t until 2021 that Whitmer came up with her first true plan to fix the roads.
  • However, the scope of the plan was only for 920 “lane miles” of highway, and would only affect state and interstate highway leaving local roads “in the dust”

• A May 2022 EPIC-MRA poll shows that 93 percent of Michiganders rated Michigan’s roads negatively.

• Reports from all over Michigan show that the roads were not fixed as Whitmer entered her 4^th year in office.
• In 2021, the Biden White House graded the roads in Michigan a D+
• Whitmer repeatedly promised that she will Fix the Damn Roads ever since she first announced she was running for governor in 2018.
• The average household is spending nearly $5,000 in maintenance and repairs to their cars annually.

WHITMER FAILED TO BRING DOWN THE COST OF AUTO INSURANCE AS PROMISED

• Whitmer promised to “bring down the cost of auto insurance” rated in the state.
• Auto insurance rates increased in Michigan in 2021.
• In 2022, Michigan had the second highest auto-insurance rates in the nation.
  • Auto insurance rates increased in Michigan in 2021.
• The average 45-year-old in Michigan is paying the highest auto insurance rate in the nation compared to 45-year-olds around the nation.
• The average 65-year-old in Michigan is paying the highest auto insurance rate in the nation compared to 65-year-olds around the nation.

WHITMER TRIED TO DOUBLE THE GAS TAX AFTER CALLING THE IDEA “RIDICULOUS”

• In 2018, Whitmer called the notion that she would raise the gas tax “ridiculous” and “nonsense”
• In her third month in office, Whitmer called for a 45-cent gas tax, effectively doubling it
• In April 2022, Whitmer vetoed Republican legislation to suspend the state gas tax to help alleviate the cost of rising gas prices.

WHITMER FAILED TO CREATE AUTO JOBS AND IS LYING ABOUT IT

• Whitmer visited a Detroit auto show in her first month as Governor in which she expressed the importance of investing in Michigan’s auto industry and supporting advanced vehicle technology.
• Since Whitmer took office, Michigan lost thousands of auto and auto parts manufacturing jobs combined and won’t stop lying about it.
  • PolitiFact rated Whitmer’s claim that she created 25,000 auto jobs as “mostly false.”
• Despite this verified fact as reported from the Detroit Free Press’ Clara Hendrickson, and The Center Square’s Scott McAllen, Whitmer has refused to take down official statements and tweets falsely claiming that she created 25,000 auto jobs.
• A total of $25.28 billion in auto investments left Michigan since January 2019.

WHITMER DID NOT WORK TO ENSURE CLEAN DRINKING WATER AS PROMISED

• 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.”
  • 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.

• 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.
  • 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 led lead levels in the water and not sounding the alarm sooner.

WHITMER FAILED TO GET UNLIMITED SPENDING OUT OF POLITICS

• Whitmer broke her campaign promise to get unlimited spending 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 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.

WHITMER FAILED TO GET THE PENSION TAX REPEAL THROUGH

• 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.