Just weeks ago, activist judges on the U.S. District Court sided with a liberal political group and Democratic attorneys, ordering state lawmakers to draw new legislative and Congressional maps before the summer is out, for new elections in 2020.  Of course, following the 2020 elections, a new “commission” will almost immediately begin drawing another set of maps for use in 2022 – the result of last year’s Proposal 2.

This column originally appeared in the Detroit News.

Late last month, a trio of activist judges on the U.S. District Court handed down a decision that sent shockwaves through Lansing’s political class and may soon deprive you of the right to be represented by the man or woman you recently elected.

The judges sided with a liberal political group and Democratic attorneys, declaring Michigan’s current legislative boundary maps unconstitutionally gerrymandered and ordered lawmakers to draw new maps before the summer is out, for new elections in 2020. Of course, a new “commission” will almost immediately after that election begin drawing another set of maps for use in 2022 – the result of last year’s Proposal 2.

Lawmakers’ most important job is protecting our Constitutional rights.  They took that job seriously last week when they voted to require local governments to obtain a conviction before seizing property or money from individuals they arrest – citizens who are innocent until proven guilty.

This column originally appeared in the Detroit News.

Government shutdowns are bad for working families. Michigan learned that the hard way just a decade ago, when a pair of shutdowns paralyzed the state, took police off the road, and put the proverbial flashing neon sign at the state’s southern border, warning workers and job creators to stay far, far away.

Here we go again. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is threatening to shut down state government this year if Republican lawmakers don’t acquiesce to her demands for a regressive $2.5 billion annual hike in our gas tax, a $600 a year punch in the gut for working families who can afford it least.