Posted: September 5, 2024 5:04 PM

Results from statewide standardized testing in math and English language arts for Michigan's students illustrate a continued trend of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds underperforming academically, an issue officials said will have to be addressed through financial support and instructional change.

The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress scores for the 2023-24 school year were released by the Department of Education last week, offering some insight into how students' performance has been impacted by various conditions like poverty, school district and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A considerable gap persists between students of different economic status. On both math and language arts, students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to score in the proficient or advanced percentile groups.

On the language arts section of the M-STEP for grades 3-7, 57 percent of economically advantaged students' scores were proficient or advanced. Their peers from economically disadvantaged backgrounds saw only 27 percent of students scoring at that level. Similarly, in math, 21 percent of economically disadvantaged students were designated proficient or advanced, while 53 percent of economically advantaged students scored within those categories.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice said there are several factors that can contribute to lower test scores, but poverty is one of the most consistently adverse ways a student's performance can be impacted.

"Poverty has consistently had a substantial, adverse effect on student academic performance," he said in a statement. "This year's scores also show that, on average, being educated remotely during the 2020-21 school year rather than in-person during the pandemic affected progress. Being in the learning-to-read window – in preschool or early elementary grades – when COVID-19 hit also affected assessment results on average. Poverty, remoteness of instruction in the 2020-21 school year, and being in the learning-to-read window at the beginning of the pandemic have been layered challenges with which some of our children continue to struggle."

Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds did, however, increase their proficiency rates by 1.1 percentage points in math and 0.1 percentage points in language arts, compared to the previous year's scores. The small improvements are a positive sign as students continue to recover from lost instructional time during the pandemic, but officials said there's still more to be done.

"We are encouraged to see continued gradual improvement in proficiency levels measured on most M-STEP and SAT/PSAT tests, particularly on M-STEP math assessments," Rice said. "These results reflect hard work by students and educators and investments in education by the governor and legislature. That said, much work remains, both instructionally and financially, for needed supports to students."

Overall, test scores improved in grades 3-7 on the math section for the second year in a row. In English language arts, proficiency rates improved in grades 5, 7 and 8, remained the same in grade 6 and decreased in grades 3, 4 and 11. After 7th grade, students begin taking the PSAT instead of the M-STEP and then take the SAT in 11th grade. Math scores also decreased for 8th graders taking the PSAT and 11th graders taking the SAT last year.

State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh echoed Rice and said she and her colleagues on the board will continue seeking out solutions to improve academic outcomes for students across the state.

"The State Board of Education is committed to ensuring that all students in Michigan learn what they need to know," Pugh said in a statement. "We will continue to work with local schools, MDE leadership, legislators and the governor to improve student learning. It's nice to see progress on most assessments this year, but we want our students to continue their progress in the coming years as well."

Jennifer Mrozowski of EdTrust Midwest said the scores are indicative of the need to more equitably fund schools, making sure areas experiencing higher concentrations of poverty receive targeted funding for underserved students.

"The bottom line is that money matters in education, especially for students who are underserved. The Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity continues to urge state leaders to fully fund the Opportunity Index, which directs additional resources to districts based on their concentration of poverty," Mrozowski said in a statement. "As it now stands, our state lacks systems to show which interventions are being used, whether they are effective at accelerating student learning, and whether dollars intended for students with the greatest needs are reaching their schools."

Mrozowski also called for the Legislature to pass SB 567 and SB 568 , which would require schools to screen early elementary students for dyslexia and provide certain interventions to improve literacy outcomes. The bills received mixed testimony before the House Education Committee earlier this summer and have not yet moved out of committee. Rice and members of the State Board of Education have spoken out as well about the necessity of passing the bills and addressing dyslexia in Michigan students.

"MDE continues to advocate for LETRS literacy training so that all elementary school teachers are informed by this deep science of literacy professional development," Rice said. "So far approximately 7,300 Michigan K-5 teachers have either completed or are taking LETRS training. MDE also is urging legislators to approve literacy/dyslexia legislation that would help children with characteristics of dyslexia learn to read."

The Great Lakes Education Project issued a Wednesday statement calling the scores an indicator of "dramatic learning loss" brought on by Governor Gretchen Whitmer's handling of the pandemic.

"Gretchen Whitmer's unscientific school closures have devastated our kids," GLEP Director Beth DeShone said in the statement. "We don't do ourselves any favors by refusing to call a spade a spade, or by allowing Whitmer, the State Board of Education, and other lockdown advocates to duck responsibility for the harm they've caused our kids. Ignoring their culpability is the surest way to make sure it happens again, and that's the last thing struggling readers can afford."

Rice acknowledged in his statement the impact of learning loss during COVID-19 on students, especially those who were early readers when school closures were happening sporadically. He said it's likely the students struggling the most with critical reading skills will require additional in-person instruction time, whether that be through a longer school year or instruction during the summer being made available.

"Our in-person instructional school year was skinny before the pandemic and, for some students, became skinnier during and after the pandemic," Rice said.

Posted: August 2, 2024 12:24 PM

DETROIT – Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told reporters at a Monday press conference that over 10,600 voters cast ballots during the first two days of the early voting window Saturday and Sunday, and 700,000 of the over 1.6 million Michiganders that requested mail-in ballots for the August 6 primary have already submitted their votes.

Early voting began on Saturday and will continue until Sunday, August 4. Benson said that while it's too early to compare early voter turnout for the August primary to that of the February presidential primary, a significant number of Michiganders are taking advantage of the new options available for casting a ballot outside of election day.

Benson said the changes made through Proposal 2022-2 will help election officials tabulate ballots and publicize results in a timelier manner than in the 2020 or 2022 election cycles. Early voting and preprocessing of absentee ballots were key changes approved by voters.

"There are 1.6 million absentee ballots already requested for this election cycle, and nearly half of them have already been returned. That means under these new procedures, 165 jurisdictions are able to begin preprocessing and tabulating those ballots now, the week before election day," Benson said. "It's a significant change that we know will contribute to helping us ensure our counting of valid votes continues to be secure, efficient and that we can give results to all of you in the media, as well as citizens, throughout our state and country as quickly as possible while maintaining that security."

Benson and David Becker, director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, stressed the differences between elections this year and the ones that preceded them.

"Let's think back to Michigan's last non-COVID presidential election, which was eight years ago in 2016," Becker said. "Michigan went from offering relatively few options with regard to early or mail voting to now becoming a leader, joining so many other states in offering many convenient options for eligible voters to vote in this state. That is that is a really good thing."

Benson acknowledged that advances in election accessibility and technology don't come without concerns over security but said she's confident in election workers' ability to follow procedures, even with the pressure of possible high turnout or technological issues.

"We'll work throughout the cycle ahead to make sure that we continue to communicate to every citizen the rightly placed right they should have in our elections and our processes and the faith they should have in their voice, in their vote," Benson said. "Today we want to make sure in the primary election that every voice is heard, and every eligible voter casts their ballot in this primary and again in November."

After a state server issue affecting electronic poll books briefly interrupted early voting on Saturday, Benson said she discussed troubleshooting with the Department of Technology, Management and Budget to ensure no more technological issues occur during the voting process. If something does go awry, she said, election workers know what to do.

"As it unfolded, (I was) grateful to see how clerks who had been trained to know how to respond in the instance of any technology failing quickly responded with the backup plans we had in place and it showed that even though we can't perhaps eliminate any potential variable in occurring, we can minimize its impact, and that's what we were able to do on Saturday," Benson said.

Benson said in both the August primary and the November general election, Michiganders can expect to see election results sooner than they did in the 2020 presidential cycle. Sterling Heights City Clerk Melanie Riska said the early voting window makes it much easier for her election workers to spread out the mammoth task of processing and tabulation.

"We processed about 42,000 absentee voter ballots at the presidential election in 2020. That took our team about 27 hours, and it took about 90 people," Riska said. "That's a huge strain on the process overall. And so, with early voting, we hope to have some of those voters vote early. And then with preprocessing or early tabulation, we hope to alleviate some of that work and that strain that we have on election day. That will give us an opportunity to focus on the ballots that are being returned the day before or on election day to process those on election day."

While results could come earlier on election night, Benson encouraged voters, media and candidates themselves to refrain from being hasty in responding to results that aren't yet official.

"We want to make sure candidates know to not falsely, prematurely declare victory before every vote is counted, because that helps us ensure that as the votes are tabulated, the process remains secure," she said. "And citizens can have faith and trust the results as they become available as we get closer not just to election day on Tuesday in our primary, but election day in November."

Once the primary election concludes, Benson said the data surrounding early voting will be helpful in voter education and turnout efforts ahead of the November election.

"What I hope to be able to do after the primary election is actually release the top ten communities for early voting in our state and encourage citizens who want their community to be in the top ten to participate in the fall," Benson said. "We also see data that the more people know that they can vote early and that it's easy and secure and they know where to go, the more likely they are to take advantage of it, and so a lot of what we're doing is that proactive education, and we'll get a sense after this primary of where we need to perhaps lean in and do a little more leaning into November."

Posted: May 31, 2024 7:32 AM

MACKINAC ISLAND — With just over six months left in her tenure in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow is reflective – but has no intention of becoming a lame duck.

After announcing her intent to retire in November 2023, Stabenow has largely stuck to her routine in the Senate, opting to wait on endorsing a candidate to replace her until the Democratic primary takes place in August. She said more than anything, she's currently focused on shepherding a five-year farm bill through Congress, a process that's become pricklier over the course of Stabenow's 23 years in the Senate.

"As chair of the Agriculture Committee, it's time to do a five-year farm bill," Stabenow told Gongwer News Service in an interview at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. "It's become much more partisan than in the past, which makes it difficult, but I'm working very hard to get five years."

Stabenow was recognized at the Mackinac Policy Conference Thursday by fellow U.S. Sen. Gary Peters and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who reminisced about hard-fought battles throughout Stabenow's career that often ended with her victorious, having secured federal funding for a Michigan project. Now, she said, it's harder to find the inroads with her colleagues that used to consistently lead to results.

"Obviously, there's always been partisanship," Stabenow said. "But I've been able to work through that and get things done all the time, really with the philosophy in which you find the one thing that you can work with somebody on and do. That has changed, honestly, because of Donald Trump."

She said something changed in her Republican colleagues in the Senate after Trump's election: things became more tenuous. Deals became harder to make and some Senators' attitudes towards governing shifted. Stabenow attributes it to former President Donald Trump's approach to politics.

"He wants to be rewarded for his chaos; he wants loyalty," she said. "He doesn't like actually getting things done."

When it comes to getting things done, Stabenow has a wish list for her last months in office, but she remains cautious about the chances of success.

"I would love to see us really take on legislation that would reinstate Roe v. Wade and a woman's reproductive freedom, but it's just not going to happen," Stabenow said. "I'd love to see legislation protecting IVF and contraception, and we are we are going to be doing a vote next week on contraception bills to make sure that women can make their own choices."

Having served terms in local government in Ingham County and later in the Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House, Stabenow said she's been pleased with the recent turn Michigan politics have taken under the leadership of Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic Legislature.

"I've loved seeing the last two years with what the Democrats have been able to do," she said. "I think it was wonderful to see that only two weeks after the horror at Michigan State they were doing the hearings on gun safety, and then four weeks later, they were passing bills. So, I'm very proud of what they've done."

Despite her party's successes at the state level, Stabenow said she feels many of the same problems that plague the U.S. Senate are causing thorniness in Michigan as well.

"There's always ways to shift things around, but it feels like more people are not rewarded for working together," she said. "It seems like there's more and more election deniers and people who think it's okay to use violence if they don't agree politically, and it's made it much more difficult."

Colleagues praised Stabenow's career-long commitment to securing results through relentless collaboration and cooperation, including, as Duggan recalled, during Detroit's 2013 bankruptcy when the city desperately needed federal assistance. Duggan said when he asked Stabenow to bring $250 million home to Detroit, she was first unconfident that then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) would ever support it, but eventually won his vote after enlisting business leaders like Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert to lobby Republican senators.

"The reason the population (of Detroit) rose for the first time in 60 years was because of what Debbie Stabenow did," Duggan said. "She helped bring the city back a decade faster than we would have, that's the kind of tenacity one of the greatest senators Michigan has ever had."

Stabenow's congressional colleagues agreed with Duggan's assessment.

"Having Debbie as my partner was a godsend," Peters said. "There is nobody who knows how to get things out of other members in the Senate like Debbie Stabenow. She is the most tenacious person that I know when she goes on a cause."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said her friendship with Stabenow has stood the test of time, jokingly referring to the two as "the Debbie squared caucus."

"Let's just say you don't want to have both Debbies mad at you at the same time," Dingell said.

Posted: May 29, 2024 8:54 PM

MACKINAC ISLAND — Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined state and local leaders in housing and clean energy projects Wednesday to announce new goals for increasing housing inventory and supplying homeowners with subsidies for renewable energy sources that could decrease utility costs.

Michigan State Housing Development Authority Director Amy Hovey and Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Phil Roos appeared alongside Whitmer and local housing and energy stakeholders in a press conference at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. At the 2021 conference, Whitmer set a goal of permitting, building, or rehabbing 75,000 additional units in five years – by September 2026 – an amount she increased to 115,000 in the Tuesday announcement.

"This year, we're making the largest housing investment in Michigan's history to build or rehab 115,000 units, driving toward a shared goal," Whitmer said. "At the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference, we set a goal of permitting, building or rehabbing 75,000 units in five years. So, by September of next year, but guess what? We are way ahead of schedule. We already met that goal this month."

Hovey said the earlier-than-expected completion of the 2021 goal can be attributed to the success of various MSHDA programs resulting from the agency's regional housing partnerships, such as the Missing Middle grant program and the MI Neighborhood credit.

"One thing that all of those programs have in common is that they are flexible," Hovey said. "They're easy to access, and they have removed the barriers that have prevented people from entering in building up in the fight to create affordable housing to make sure that every Michigander has a home that they can afford."

The second element of Whitmer's announcement was the influx of federal money headed towards lowering energy costs for Michigan homeowners, with $367 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Rebates and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Solar for All programs slated for investment in Michigan. $210.8 million will be directed to Home Energy Rebate Programs, $105.6 million of which is specifically designated for Home Efficiency Rebates, and $105.2 million of which will be allocated for Home Electrification and Appliance rebates.

Roos said the federal dollars will make it easier for homeowners to replace old or inefficient appliances and utilities with newer, more environmentally friendly models without the financial pressure to pay themselves.

"These programs will help at least 28,000 families across the state for the focus on families with the most need," Roos said. "Not only are these big programs for the environment, but they're good for the pocketbook, and they're good for our communities. These programs will allow families to have access to rooftop solar energy efficiency measures and efficient appliances and more without having to pay for their own pockets. It will lessen the burden of paying utility bills for families trying to make ends meet."

EGLE already helps provide community solar projects statewide, but Roos said the new funds will help significantly expand those abilities. EGLE will also assist in the rollout of funds and the community application process.

"They are rolled out through our Energy Services Unit within EGLE," Roos said. "They're going to administer the grants for both home energy rebates and the MI Healthy Solar plan. And there's also some technical assistance that's going to be provided, particularly on the solar, because, you know, you've got communities that are working on this, (who may need help) filling out the application."

Whitmer said that qualifying families could see their bills reduced by an average of 20 percent with the available rebates.

"Making these upgrades is going to save more than 28,000 households a heck of a lot of money and improve the quality of life," Whitmer said. Lower income households can see their bills drop by an average of 20 percent, and they can live in a nicer, more affordable, comfortable space. So just think about what that quality of life means for people."

The dissemination of the federal funding will occur over the course of the next year.

Posted: May 28, 2024 9:55 PM

MACKINAC ISLAND – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan State Housing Development Authority Director Amy Hovey discussed advances made in Michigan's housing shortage and the obstacles that remain persistent in providing accessible housing on Tuesday.

The Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference panel, moderated by Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), also included Ann Arbor City Councilmember Linh Song and Communities First, Inc. CEO Glenn Wilson, who discussed community-level improvements that can be made to address housing access issues. Hovey said the current housing crisis is a natural response to a heightened demand coupled with lesser supply.

"We do not have enough housing units for our families," Hovey said. "In basic economics, if you are short on supply and high on demand, the cost increases. So, we really have to help the market."

Duggan cited recent housing improvements made in Detroit as potential models for the rest of the state to consider.

"We just had our announcement that we did a $1 billion in affordable housing projects in the last five years in the city of Detroit," Duggan said. "You will not find any homeless encampments in the city of Detroit because of our aggressiveness."

Song said Ann Arbor has had the unique experience of navigating housing access in a university town where thousands of students rent property in the city, but aren't permanent, taxpaying residents. In the post-pandemic housing shortage, she said the city has gotten creative to help bolster housing construction.

"In the early days of the pandemic, we were hearing from residents who were worried about whether federal relief was coming and if evictions were going to start, so we started looking around as to what we could do, and a lot of it had to do with rezoning," Song said. "So, we have zoned along transit corridors. We got rid of parking minimums. We had to learn really quickly how financing works, and support city staff looking for creative solutions."

Hovey said instances like these are a critical driver of MSHDA's regional housing partnerships and the MI Neighborhood grant program, which allow communities to set their own housing goals and apply for funding to implement them, with the state as a supporter rather than a director of the process.

"I was super impressed with the vision that Mayor Duggan had for housing in his city and following it through with the money, with looking at the systems and approving permits," Hovey said. "Where we see housing recovering most quickly is in communities where there are strong, courageous leadership, leadership that's willing to do the right things, be consistent and steady enough for us to see the impact long term."

As housing continues to hold center stage in discussions about retaining Michigan's population and attracting young professionals to the state, Anthony said cooperation between political parties and organizations will be key to implementing equity-conscious housing policies.

"Guess what, this is not a partisan issue," Anthony said. "This is something that goes across both (aisles). If you don't have a wealthy person in your family, if you don't have someone that's passing down a home, is it going to be very hard for you to get one."

Posted: May 17, 2024 5:02 PM

The Detroit Regional Chamber announced its agenda for this year's Mackinac Policy Conference in a May 8 press conference, which will include a U.S. Senate debate and feature leaders in business, politics and higher education on various panels.

Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah and conference chair Suzanne Shank explained that this year's conference theme, "Bridging the Future Together" was created in hopes of engaging Michigan's leaders in "mutual respect."

"We wanted a theme around collaboration and working together to move Michigan," said Shank, who is CEO and co-founder of Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC. "So, our theme is centered on inspiring radical collaboration."

The conference, which takes place May 28 to May 31, will include the first debate between candidates for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat. Baruah said that the three highest-polling candidates from either party were invited to participate, and the chamber is confirming attendance in the coming weeks.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, actor Hill Harper and businessman Nasser Beydoun were the three Democratic candidates invited to the debate. On the Republican side, former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Justin Amash and businessman Sandy Pensler were invited.

"The format will allow both parties to be onstage at the same time," Baruah said. "We think this is a unique format that really pushes candidates to a broad audience just as opposed to speaking to their base voters. So, it does create a different dynamic, and we're very excited about that."

A new speaker was also announced for the conference: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who will participate in a conversation about her tenure in President Joe Biden's administration.

"We're looking forward to having a one-on-one discussion with her about her extraordinary career and her leadership of the Department of Commerce," Shank said. "And, her leading role in the development of many of the policies in the administration, we think, have been critical to our businesses, including the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act."

The conference will also feature Governor Gretchen Whitmer, legislative leadership from both parties, members of Michigan's congressional delegation, presidents of the state's flagship public universities, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Rocket Companies founder Dan Gilbert as speakers, among others.

Full conference schedules and a speaker's list can be found on the Mackinac Policy Conference website.

Posted: April 3, 2024 11:25 AM

Halfway through Governor Gretchen Whitmer's second term, some left-leaning advocacy groups are beginning to feel the sting of unmet policy goals and deference to business interests from the administration.

Hopes of seeing their priority initiatives included in Whitmer's budget recommendation or mentioned during the State of the State address dashed, groups like the Michigan Environmental Council, Detroit Action and Fund MI Future have begun pressing the administration for action from the outside.

Following the State of the State in January and the budget presentation in February, several left-leaning groups released statements critical of the lack of certain policies in those widely covered events.

Whitmer has acknowledged there is always more work to be done and negotiations to be had. Groups have also said the essential lack of a functional Legislature has made it difficult to get progressive priorities to the governor in 2024, because the House is tied at 54-54 and needs at least one Republican to pass anything.

Carlee Knott, a climate and energy policy coordinator for the MEC, said that it was disappointing to see no funding for climate-conscious housing programs in Whitmer's budget proposal, even if other priorities of the organization were present.

"We always end up wishing that there was more included, and we have our own priorities that we're always looking to include," Knott said.

Fund MI Future issued a statement after the budget presentation earlier this year, praising Whitmer's "winning strategy" of providing resources for schools, families and communities, but criticized tax "giveaways" to large corporations and the state's wealthiest families.

"We just have to go all in and stop pairing these improvements with tax giveaways that benefit wealthy corporations," the statement said. "Imagine how much farther we can go if we invest in our people and make sure the wealthy corporations and rich households pay what they owe in taxes."

Whitmer acknowledged that certain priorities, like a minimum wage increase or consideration of a graduated income tax, didn't make it into this year's budget proposal. She said that while she shares many of those goals that groups on the political left are fighting for, her top concern is getting her budget through the Legislature.

"I'm really proud of the budget that I put on the table," Whitmer said. "Obviously there's always more that we are going to want to work on. Getting this budget done is first and foremost on my list as I think about this this year that's going to be an important electoral year. People are going to want to get into their districts, but I want to get this budget done. And I think we've set the right tone, but there's always negotiation that's going to happen."

The budget proposal isn't the only thing breeding some frustration on the left, though. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) joined a coalition of environmental activists in a Thursday press conference calling for an overhaul of public input processes in the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

The congresswoman and activists said the process unfairly benefits corporations and robs residents of the ability to fully understand and comment on polluter projects in their areas.

Donele Wilkins, CEO of the Green Door Initiative, said Whitmer has the ability to make changes within the department to promote environmental justice and protect communities affected by pollution.

"The governor's opportunity is to utilize her administrative powers," Wilkins said. "At her level, she has the ability to look at some of the things that the agency is doing, and while some activities may require a legislative way of turning things around, she has the administrative strategies that help us get at what we need to be better informed, and to make some changes."

Whitmer has championed the right climate policies, the coalition said, but needs to make "clear directives" for enforcing them.

Knott said that Whitmer's administration, including department heads, has been supportive of many environmental policy changes that groups like the MEC have floated, but policies that benefit businesses often win out.

"Governor Whitmer is a very business friendly administrator," Knott said. "So, when they come out with things like the budget, or different issues that they're prioritizing, a lot of it is business. So, we just have to be there to remind them that there's other issues too."

Despite the roadblocks, liberal groups aren't jumping ship when it comes to supporting Whitmer anytime soon. Knott said she thinks last year's victories, because of the Democratic trifecta, have slowed down in 2024 due to the outstanding tie in the House. She said she's optimistic that things will start to pick up after special elections to fill the two empty seats in April.

"Progress has been slow so far, but we are kind of just working with the Legislature that we have, and we hope once we get those two seats filled that we'll be able to pass a lot of stuff forward (to Whitmer)," Knott said.

Posted: February 23, 2024 2:00 PM

GRAND RAPIDS – Kent Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi announced Thursday that he intends to make a ruling in the Michigan Republican Party leadership case next week after reviewing evidence and testimony.

The case, Pego v. Karamo (Kent Docket No. 24-00658), pits disputed Michigan Republican Party Chair Kristina Karamo against a faction of opposing party members led by co-chair Malinda Pego, whose legal team argued that Karamo was ousted as the leader of the party in a January 6 vote and later replaced with former ambassador Pete Hoekstra.

Hoekstra has already been recognized by the Republican National Committee and former president Donald Trump as the rightful leader of the MIGOP, but Karamo's faction maintains that the process of installing him was done fraudulently and deceitfully.

After Rossi rejected a request from Karamo attorney Don Campbell to dismiss the proceedings on Tuesday, hours of witness testimony were heard Wednesday and Thursday regarding interpretation of the party's bylaws and Robert's Rules of Order (See Gongwer Michigan Report, February 21st).

After cross-examination of two witnesses, former MIGOP 8th Congressional District Chair Anne DeLisle and state committeewoman Margaret Kurtzweil, Campbell motioned again to dismiss the case. Rossi heard opposing arguments from both parties on whether to grant the preliminary injunction and said he intends to take the weekend to consider the evidence before heading back to court on Tuesday, February 27.

DeLisle, who had already taken the stand on Tuesday, was cross-examined for two hours Thursday about the January 6 meeting of breakaway committee members, where she was appointed by Pego as secretary pro tempore in the absence of the committee's permanent secretary.

Campbell argued that the MIGOP bylaws mandate that a member cannot serve in two positions at one time, thus vacating DeLisle's spot as 8th District chair when she took on the secretary pro tem position. DeLisle remained firm in her interpretation of the bylaws as allowing a member to serve as temporary secretary without vacating a previous position.

Kurtzweil, who is also a South Lyon City Council member, testified regarding financial contributions to the party made by members who signed a petition calling for a vote to remove Karamo as chair in December 2023. Some members who signed had yet to pay the $50 dues that allowed them voting privileges on the committee, which Campbell argued invalidated the petition to remove Karamo.

Pego's attorney, Jonathan Lauderbach of Warner Norcross + Judd, made the case that all the members who signed the petition paid their dues by the end of 2023, making their signatures valid when the petition was submitted before the meeting on January 6. One signatory did not submit his payment for dues until December 31, but had signed the petition at the beginning of the same month.

"The petitions weren't submitted until January, and (the last signatory to pay his dues) was in good standing when the petition was submitted for the removal of Chair Karamo on the 6th," Lauderbach said.

Kurtzweil, who supports Hoekstra, said that she will not be contributing financially to the party until the matter of the chair is resolved, citing a federal statute that prohibits people from falsely acting on behalf of a party to solicit political donations.

"I will not raise money from Michigan Republican Party until this dispute is resolved because the criminal consequences are way too severe," Kurtzweil said.

Several supporters of Karamo in the audience were visibly and verbally approving of Campell's tactics and showed disappointment and disbelief at comments made by Kurtzweil and DeLisle.

Rossi said he may rule from the bench on February 27, as he did on Tuesday when rejecting Campbell's request to dismiss, given the time-sensitive manner of the dispute. Both parties were given until 9 a.m. Friday to submit any final proofs for evidence consideration.

If Rossi does rule next Tuesday, the case will be resolved just days before two opposing Republican caucuses are set to take place in Detroit and Grand Rapids on March 2. Lauderbach said that if the party does not have a singular leader to unite it in time, Michigan could potentially lose delegates at the Republican National Convention this summer.

Even if a party chairperson is neatly affirmed by the court next week, it's hard to say how long it could take for internal rifts to mend between Karamo and Hoekstra supporters.

When asked by Campbell which convention she plans to be at on March 2 regardless of Rossi's ruling, Kurtzweil was definitive.

"I'll be at the (Hoekstra-chaired) Amway in Grand Rapids," she said.