Latest news with #WinnieBrinks
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Progressive advocates highlight opposition to annual Mackinac Island conference
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Twp., and House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, participate in a PAC reception during the third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) The Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference is a controversial fixture of Michigan politics. Each year politicians, lobbyists, business representatives and community leaders gather at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island for three days of handshaking, networking and panel discussions aimed at issues like education, housing, economic development and foreign policy. Recent conferences have featured appearances from members of the state's congressional delegation and remarks from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, alongside various politicians, politicos and business leaders such as former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and businessman Mark Cuban. However, the conference has drawn criticism from Detroiters who say the chamber's agenda doesn't match their needs, while activist groups have raised concerns about the influence of corporate money in politics. While media and certain government officials receive complimentary registration, attending the conference carries a multi-thousand dollar price tag, with registration for the 2025 conference coming in at $3,700 for general members of the Detroit Regional Chamber and $4,900 for future members. The conference also carries several big name sponsors including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Rocket Companies and the state's largest energy providers, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. Sam Inglot, director of the progressive advocacy group Progress Michigan called the conference 'a petri dish of some of the worst aspects of our political system.' 'Corporate money flooding our politics, exclusive access for only those with money and a lot of self-congratulatory bullcrap from political and lobbying insiders. What do Michiganders actually get out of this performance?' Inglot said in a statement. As part of its monthly Lake Effect Poll, conducted by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, Progress Michigan asked 622 Michigan voters between May 30 and May 31, 2025 about their thoughts on the conference. One question states 'these lawmaker trips to Mackinac Island are often funded by corporate lobbyists, who join lawmakers on the island as they make public policy decisions,' before asking voters whether they supported lawmakers traveling to places like Mackinac Island to make policy decisions that impact communities across the state. In response, most voters opposed having their officials travel to the conference, with 44% in strong opposition and 27% saying they somewhat opposed the notion. While Republicans and Democrats offered similar levels of opposition to lawmakers making the trip to Mackinac to talk policy, independents offered the strongest opposition of any subpopulation, with 47% in strong opposition and 27% saying they were somewhat opposed. Another question states 'Every year Michigan lawmakers travel to Mackinac Island, a place accessible only by ferry or private plane, to gather and make important public policy decisions,' before asking voters whether they support officials traveling to the island to make policy decisions. Responses to this question were increasingly split, with 45% of voters offering their opposition – with 25% strongly opposed – compared to 38% in support. The remaining 17% responded they weren't sure of their opinion. While Democrats were more supportive of lawmakers traveling to the island to make policy decisions with 46% offering support, Republicans and independents were more opposed to officials going on policymaking trips. Fifty-one percent of Republicans offered some form of opposition, while 50% of Independent voters were opposed, compared to the 35% of independents in support. 'The more people learn about the Mackinac Policy Conference and the corporate lobbyists who are the engine of it, the less they support it,' Inglot said. 'This is a trend we are seeing across the state, people are fed up with the corporate dominance of our politics. They want to see the money and the corrupting influence it brings out of our political system.' Catia Sabak, the chamber's director of communications said the Detroit Regional Chamber is proud to have led the conference for almost 50 years. 'Other states have tried, and failed, to recreate this special convening of the state's top leadership. It is truly unique in the nation,' Sabak said. 'Despite that the Conference is hosted by a private business organization and hosted on private property, the Chamber's current leadership has made most of the thought leadership shared on the Island available free of charge via a partnership with Detroit PBS and includes over 130 working media from local, state and national outlets, including CNN.' In an emailed statement, Kim Murphy-Kovalick, the senior director of policy for Voters Not Politicians, said Progress Michigan's polling underscores a key point: voters are fed up with the corrupting influence of money in politics. While the conference is great for getting access to lawmakers and political leaders, the people who can afford to make that trip are mostly lobbyists, special interests groups and industry insiders, not voters, Murphy-Kovalick said. Michigan politicians should instead place their focus on representing the voters who are excluded from attending the conference, Murphy-Kovalick said. 'Most everyday people have no insight into how Lansing functions, and this conference is one reason for that. If politicians can't afford to attend on their own dime, how can everyday Michiganders hope to compete with wealthy special interests and corporations for their attention?' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Michigan Senate Democrats won't consider a trans athlete sports ban. Will Trump target the state?
A trans rights flag at the Transgender Unity Rally at the Michigan Capitol. Jan. 30, 2025. Photo by Jon King. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit's free newsletter to keep up with the city's public school system and Michigan education policy. The Republican-controlled House passed two bills last week that would bar transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams. But Democrats, who control the Senate, say they will not consider the legislation. 'Our legislative agenda is long and attacking kids is not on it,' Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, a Democrat from Grand Rapids, told Chalkbeat in a statement. Failure to take up the Republican-sponsored bills could draw unwelcome political attention to Michigan at a time when the Trump administration has targeted for investigation states that don't comply with its view on Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex. Since taking office for the second time, Trump has issued several executive orders targeting the rights of transgender Americans. One in January said the U.S. government would only recognize two genders, male and female, while another issued that month attempted to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. A February executive order called for schools to block trans girls from competing on girls sports teams. Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that don't comply with his executive orders. Executive orders cannot override existing state and federal statutes, though, and there have been legal challenges to the constitutionality of Trump's executive orders. But the Trump administration's threats to states that don't comply with the order have stoked fears over how he intends to enforce it. Multiple federal agencies opened investigations into Maine this year after a heated exchange between Trump and the state's Democratic governor, Janet Mills, in which she promised to follow the state's law protecting transgender rights. In one of those federal cases, a judge issued an injunction to stop the government from freezing federal funds to the state. But there are two other open cases that have been assigned to the Department of Justice to enforce. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said other states are at risk of losing federal funding for Title IX violations, specifically singling out California and Minnesota. Officials in those states have said their civil rights laws preclude them from complying with Trump's executive order. Bondi's office announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into California. Like some other states, Michigan recently expanded state protections from discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender identity and expression. The expansion of those protections two years ago has long been a signature issue for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She signed the expansion of the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in 2023, saying in a statement that 'Michigan is a place that will fight for your freedom to be yourself.' It is possible what has happened in Maine could happen in Michigan, said Nancy Chi Cantalupo, associate professor of law at Wayne State University. 'But what is happening in Maine is in no way a success for the current administration at this point,' she said, noting that the federal government has never withdrawn funds from a state under Title IX or any other civil rights statutes it enforces. 'It's not like there's a light switch the federal government can use to just turn off federal funds at its whim,' she said. 'There are a lot of steps it has to go through.' Brinks did not respond to a question about whether she or others in the Democratic Party have concerns Michigan may be targeted by the Trump administration. Whitmer's office did not respond to questions about the bills. In Michigan, a prohibition against trans girls competing on girls sports teams would affect few athletes statewide. The Michigan High School Athletic Association, the private organization that runs the state's high school sports competitions, said there were no trans girls competing on spring sports teams this year. None played on winter sports teams, while two played on fall teams. About 25 states have already passed similar laws restricting trans girls from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identity. Advocates for transgender rights say sports bills aren't really about limiting the teams trans girls and women can play on. 'If this bill were just about sports, it wouldn't be proposed in coordination with all of these other anti-trans bills [nationwide,]' said Kye Campbell-Fox, a research assistant and laboratory manager at Michigan State University, who studies the impact of legislation targeting the rights of trans kids. 'This is a coordinated campaign to push trans people out of public life.' Though the Michigan bills have effectively died, advocates say lawmakers' focus on the issue — and the language they often use to talk about trans athletes — is still harmful to all trans children. The Michigan bills, for example, referred to trans girls as 'biological males,' ignoring their gender identities. And some lawmakers have said that the presence of trans girls in locker rooms could lead to sexual violence against other girls. Rep. Mike Harris, a Republican from Waterford, said during a hearing for the bills that he was concerned about the potential for sexual assault if trans girls use girls locker rooms. 'I don't think it's appropriate to place biological boys and girls in the same room, to strip down naked next to each other,' he said. There is no evidence to support the idea that trans girls will assault other girls, though there is evidence that trans populations face increased risks when they use bathrooms according to the sex they were assigned at birth. Republican lawmakers' rhetoric has emboldened some students and adults to feel freer to make hateful remarks, and LGBTQ+ youth are being affected by it. 'I'm hearing a lot of fear from youth,' said Jude Krajnyák, a regional coordinator for a research policy project at the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health. 'Things everyone else gets to take for granted — like playing soccer in middle school — are rights that are being taken away from us.' Krajnyák said he heard from a trans girl in middle school who gave up on playing soccer because she said 'it's just not worth' the backlash. Currently, the Michigan High School Athletic Association determines eligibility for trans girls to play on girls teams on a case-by-case basis. The executive director of the association, Mark Uyl, makes the determination based on a number of factors, including what gender is recorded on the students' school documents and other paperwork. Students are also asked whether they've begun hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries. 'The MHSAA asks for documentation on therapy and surgery as our policy allows for a waiver to be both approved and denied — and part of that decision is based on where in the transitioning process a student is at the time,' Geoff Kimmerly, director of communications for the association, told Chalkbeat. The policy went into effect in 2012, according to the association. It aligned with federal law during the Obama administration, as well as federal requirements from the Office for Civil Rights during Trump's first term and Biden's presidency. 'The MHSAA follows and will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws,' said Kimmerly in a statement. 'We are monitoring developments in this regard closely.' Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@ Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brinks says passing road funding and public safety trust fund will take conversations and compromise
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, participates in a PAC reception during the third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) MACKINAC ISLAND – With a little over a month until the July 1 deadline, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) told the Michigan Advance she has concerns about whether the Legislature would be able to pass the state's budget for Fiscal Year 2026 before the end of June. 'We're at the stage where we need to negotiate the differences between a House budget and a Senate budget, and the House has not passed what you can reasonably or meaningfully call a budget that we can even negotiate from. So they're pretty far behind in the process. And so that gives me pause about that deadline,' Brinks said. Michigan House Republicans took control of the chamber in the 2024 election, winning a 58-52 majority and bringing an end to Democrats' trifecta control of the House, Senate and governor's seat. As a result, the Legislature has deadlocked, passing only four bills since the start of the year. Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has repeatedly refused to commit to meeting the July 1 deadline, when lawmakers are legally required to pass a budget. However, the state's fiscal year does not start until Oct. 1, with Hall telling reporters in January that the budget may not be done until Sept. 30. A failure to have a budget in place by the Oct. 1 deadline would force a state government shutdown. As Democrats raise alarms about the potential for a shutdown, House Republicans have passed what they call a 'shutdown prevention plan' which allocates $20 billion for critical programs like schools and local law enforcement if the Legislature cannot reach an agreement by the end of September. While there is no penalty if lawmakers fail to agree on a new budget by July 1, Brinks noted in an interview with the Advance during the Mackinac Policy Conference that completing the budget on time is critical for municipalities, K-12 schools and universities. 'They're all making their plans right now for how they expend resources and serve their folks that they serve. I don't want to show up at my kid's school and find out that they didn't know enough about the resources they have coming from the state to be able to hire enough teachers to teach the kids and have larger class sizes. That's a completely unnecessary thing, and it's completely avoidable,' Brinks said. And while Hall has slammed the Democratic-led Senate for failing to act on bipartisan road funding legislation and policies establishing a public safety and violence prevention fund to support local law enforcement and community violence intervention organizations, Brinks said those conversations need to be held in the context of the state's budget. 'You know something like the public safety trust fund, while there's a policy element to it, it's essentially a budget conversation. So get back in the room and have a budget conversation. I know our appropriations chairs have had some conversation, but there's so much more to the process…. This is exactly the kind of thing that could be worked out in a budget process, and there will, by necessity, need to be compromise,' Brinks said. Similarly, allocating $3 billion towards road funding should also be subject to bipartisan discussion, Brinks said. 'So far, there hasn't been a lot of willingness to actually have those conversations between us from Matt Hall, and so, you know, at that point, they're simply just ideas that have been thrown out in the ether. The real work comes in the conversation, in the negotiation, in the sitting down and hashing things out,' Brinks said. 'It's not glamorous, right? You don't get to start in your own press conference for two hours as a negotiation. That's not negotiating. If he wants to do that, that's fine. But in addition to that, he's going to have to really find some time or empower his caucus, and there are some capable people there to sit down and really, do that work,' Brinks said. While the House and Senate were able to break through their deadlock earlier this month to extend the filing deadline for lawmakers' legally-required financial disclosures amid frustrations with the rollout of the state's new financial reporting system, Brinks said there are several other policies they could be working on if Hall was interested. 'We could be talking about prescription drug affordability. We could be talking about ways to ensure, you know, we have more affordable housing, we could, you know, be talking about FOIA, you know, something that passed with a really strong bipartisan vote,' Brinks said. In January, members of the Senate voted 33-2 to advance Senate Bills 1 and 2 to the House. The package looks to extend FOIA to include the Legislature, the governor and the lieutenant governor, which are exempt under the current state law. However, Hall has declared the package dead, calling them 'a very low priority.' While Hall has pointed to the public safety trust fund as a bipartisan slam dunk, Brinks said the same about FOIA reform. 'It could be an easy bipartisan win that really helps improve transparency and the ethical environment in our state,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Democrats hold off on specific road funding plan, cite need for bipartisan agreement
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, left, and state Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, right, discuss Senate Democrats' priorities during a panel in the lobby of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., during the first night of the Mackinac Policy Conference on May 27, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) MACKINAC ISLAND – Senate Democrats avoided detailing a specific road funding plan during the first day of the Mackinac Policy Conference. Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said her caucus is 'trying to put the pieces together that will create a plan that could actually get through the Legislature.' 'It's not enough just to have a plan, and it's not enough to even pass things through one chamber – if it's not bipartisan and bicameral, it will not be successful,' Brinks said. While Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, (R-Porter Township), and Sen. Jim Runestad, (R-White Lake), were scheduled to appear in a similar panel later in the day, Sen. Roger Victory, (R-Hudsonville), represented the Senate Republicans. He proposed a reward system where the state would match local governments' funding for local road repairs. 'Sometimes with state funding, we act like a fire department. We're always out there trying to put fires out,' Victory said. 'I think we need to get ahead of the fires and just do fire prevention.' The GOP-led Michigan House passed a $3.1 billion road funding plan in March, which Democrats criticized as potentially endangering vital services, as well as the state's School Aid Fund. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brinks joins board of Democratic state legislature campaign arm
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks speaks at a rally in support of gun safety legislation with former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords on March 15, 2023. (Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks is joining the board of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which aims to elect Democrats to state legislatures across the country. Brinks said in a statement that the DLCC's work was instrumental to Michigan Democrats winning their first legislative trifecta in 40 years during the 2022 midterms. 'As the first Democrat to serve as majority leader in my chamber since the 1980s, I know firsthand what Democratic majorities can achieve here in Michigan and across the country as we continue to advocate on behalf of working families,' Brinks said. Democrats lost their trifecta when Republicans took back the majority in the Michigan House last November. Brinks has since been in a legal battle with House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richmond Township), who has refused to pass along nine bills passed during the lame duck session but not transmitted to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature. Brinks said electing Democrats to state legislatures is important to stand up to the administration of President Donald Trump, vowing to 'maintain a blue firewall in the states that will stand against this extremism.' Brinks is one of seven Democratic state legislators added to the board Monday. Joining her are California Speaker Robert Rivas, Colorado Senate President James Coleman, Illinois Speaker Pro Tempore Kambium Buckner, Oregon Speaker Julie Fahey, Virginia Speaker Don Scott and Wisconsin Minority Leader Greta Neubauer. DLCC Chair Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader and president pro tempore of the New York Senate, said in a statement that Brinks 'embodies the diverse expertise needed to drive and elevate our strategy to build durable state power through the end of the decade,' calling her 'battle-tested.' 'The stakes couldn't be higher, but we have the team in place to meet this moment,' Stewart-Cousins said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
