Michigan Legislature Convenes Wednesday; Will Be More Diverse. 46 new House members are settling into their new offices near the Capitol.
Most of the new lawmakers — 44 — are filling seats vacated by lawmakers who left because of term limits. The 110 House members are limited to three two-year terms.
The Senate's 38 members can serve two four-year terms. Senate elections will take place in 2010.
Newcomers to the House will deal with split power again during the 2009-10 session. Democrats hold a 67-43 advantage in the House while Republicans have a 21-16 edge in the Senate.
More than half of the new House members have at least some local political experience. Among them are former Flint Mayor Woodrow Stanley, a Democrat, and former St. Joseph County Sheriff Matt Lori, a Republican. Former Rep. Andy Neumann, D-Alpena, returns to the House after a six-year absence.
But several others are relative newcomers to politics. More than a dozen of the new lawmakers run, own or recently owned small businesses — including a pizza parlor, woodworking shop and photography-commercial printing store.
The former real estate agents, financial planners and accountants newly elected to the House are bringing their expertise on the implications of Michigan's current economic pain with them to the Capitol. The ranks of new lawmakers also include teachers, a dairy farmer, an emergency room nurse and a respiratory therapist.
Women will be better represented in the new Michigan Legislature. Fifteen of the incoming House members are women, compared with seven in the departing class. In all, 37 of Michigan's senators and representatives are female, nine in the Senate and 28 in the House, making up roughly a quarter of each chamber.
Racial and ethnic minorities also are represented in rare or new ways.
Larry DeShazor of Portage and Paul Scott of Grand Blanc are two of the relatively few black Republicans ever elected to the Michigan Legislature. Rashida Tlaib, a Detroit Democrat who's the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, becomes the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature.
"I've been really impressed with the diversity and the talent of the group," said Tim Bledsoe, D-Grosse Pointe, who taught political science at Wayne State University. "Certainly, this is probably as challenging a time to come into state government as we have ever had. But the kind of economic crisis we face can create opportunity as well."
The key, both Democrats and Republicans say, is to look beyond quick political gimmicks to fix Michigan for the long term.
For the full article, see Tim Martin, "New Michigan lawmakers have diverse backgrounds", MLive, January 11, 2009. [Red Tape Blog]
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