LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – After Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State address last week, Northern Michigan leaders shared a mix of praise, priorities, and concerns.
For Samantha TwoCrow, Indigenous Education Director at Suttons Bay Public Schools, the governor’s emphasis on literacy and education stood out.
“Emphasizing on the need of making sure that we’re hitting those marks and also bringing that cultural piece into the narrative is super critical for families to rebuild that generational trauma that has existed in tribal communities,” TwoCrow said.
TwoCrow said many Native families are still healing from the legacy of Indian boarding schools, which disrupted cultural traditions and family literacy practices. She said rebuilding literacy access in homes is essential not only for student success, but for community healing across Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribal nations.
State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) echoed support for the governor’s education focus and said health care affordability remains a pressing concern in her district.
“We need Congress to restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It is devastating to so many families in my district up there in the U.P. who are losing access to health care because of that action at the federal level,” Coffia said.
Coffia also pointed to housing affordability as a growing crisis and said she would support stronger action against corporate investors purchasing residential properties.
“Hedge funds are buying up our single-family housing. They’re buying up apartments. They’re buying up a lot of the housing stock and making it inaccessible to next generations. I think we need to ban that practice in michigan,” she said.
Republican lawmakers found common ground on literacy and housing, while also emphasizing regulatory reform and fiscal restraint.
Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs) said the governor’s housing comments align with ongoing Republican efforts to reduce regulatory burdens in residential construction.
“Housing was a big one that the governor mentioned tonight. that’s something that we’ve been working on,” Fairbairn said, adding that lawmakers should revisit the scope of Michigan’s residential building codes.
Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) praised the governor’s call to “turn down the temperature” in political discourse.
“I was very happy to hear her talk about this, because it’s so important. Until we can start to communicate and work together you can’t even get to the policies, because you’re mired in fights,” Damoose said.
However, Damoose expressed concern about the size of the governor’s proposed $88.1 billion budget.
“We cannot spend this much money and stay afloat,” he said.
Despite differences over spending levels and regulatory approaches, Northern Michigan lawmakers from both parties said they hope to continue bipartisan work, particularly on housing and education, as the legislative session moves forward.
