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Jennifer Granholm

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Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is the current Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor John Engler. Granholm is a member of the Democratic Party.

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Early life and career

Granholm was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1959, and her family moved to California when she was four. As a young adult, she attempted to launch a Hollywood acting career but was unsuccessful, and she abandoned her efforts at the age of 21. That year, 1980, she also became a United States citizen and worked for John Anderson's independent run for U.S. President, and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from UC-Berkeley in 1984 Phi Beta Kappa with two BA degrees, one in political science, the other in French. Granholm then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School, also with honors. She clerked for U.S. Judge Damon Keith on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She married current "first gentleman" Daniel Mulhern, a Michigan native, and in 1990 became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. In 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel.

Granholm, like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was once a contestant on the daytime television game show The Dating Game.[link]

Michigan Attorney General

Granholm was elected Michigan Attorney General in 1998, the first female to hold that position, serving for four years (1999-2002), focusing on protecting citizens and consumers, and establishing Michigan's first HighTech Crime Unit. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Granholm directed state agencies to work with lawmakers in keeping the fight against terrorism within the powers of the state. She also imposed a regulation on gasoline dealers to keep them from raising prices dramatically, something which occurred massively across Michigan immediately following the attacks. In the election of 2002, she defeated former Governor James Blanchard and US House Democratic Whip David Bonior in the Democratic primary, and then went on to win the general election against the Republican nominee, Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus, to become governor.

Governor

Granholm was sworn in as the 47th Governor of the state of Michigan on January 1, 2003. In her inaugural speech, she said: "We've all heard that song, 'I Hope You Dance'. Well, I hope you dance with your government." The main issue facing the governor has been the massive budget deficit. Granholm has had to eliminate upwards of $200 per person from state budget expenditures. She has emphasized the need for the state to attract young people and businesses to Michigan. As Governor, she is a member of the National Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association.

In 2003, Granholm ran across the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge, which connects the state's two peninsulas, in 47 minutes during the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Her run began a new tradition, and 2004 saw the first annual Governor’s Labor Day Bridge Run[Governor’s Labor Day Bridge Run] held hours before the Annual Bridge Walk. This time she finished the run in under 45 minutes. After joining her husband Daniel Mulhern for the last two miles of his October 24, 2004 Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon run, Granholm remarked "I would love to run a marathon before I'm 50."

At an awards ceremony October 28, 2004, Granholm was inducted into the "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame". She has also been the recipient of the Michigan Jaycees 1999 "Outstanding Young Michiganders" and the YWCA "Woman of the Year" awards.

In February 2005, Michigan's Republican-dominated Legislature refused to vote on Granholm's proposed state budget, citing concerns over cuts to state funding for higher education.Panels pass over Granholm plan to cut budget By Tim Martin [(Source: Lansing State Journal, Feb. 16, 2005)] In the previous years of Granholm's term, many cuts to higher education had been demanded and voted in the Legislature in order to balance the state budget. The year before, Republican leaders had called Granholm a "do-nothing Governor", claiming that she failed to lead, while Democrats accused legislative Republicans of being obstructionist. In January 2005, Granholm presented an early budget proposal, demanded immediate response from the Legislature, and held a press conference outlining the highlights of the proposed budget. After refusing to consider, debate, or vote on the proposed budget, Republicans stated they would prefer that the Legislature have more involvement in the formation of the state budget.Granholm-GOP impasse stalls her agenda By Chris Andrews [Source: Lansing State Journal, Apr. 17, 2005.]

In March 2005, Granholm sought to withhold awarding scholarships earned through the MEAP scholarship program in order to trim an estimated $9 million off the state budget. The program awards $500 college scholarships to 11th-grade students that perform well on the MEAP standardized test. Granholm argued that the state had no internal means of determining which students had earned the scholarships. After much criticism, notably from the Detroit Free Press, local area lawyers, and parents (who claimed to have received, and did produce, official letters promising the money), she awarded the students their scholarships, though the state's budget difficulties remained unresolved. Liz Boyd, a representative for Granholm, said though “In many regards, it was a hollow promise made by the Engler administration. They cut revenue and didn’t cut spending and we are still reeling from the effects of those decisions today.” House speaker knocks Granholm on MEAP by Amanda Pennington [Source: The michigan Daily, Feb 25, 2005.]

On July 7, 2005, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial opinion piece co-authored by Representative Rick Baxter and Professor Gary Wolfram, in which the pair criticised Michigan as a state unworthy of attracting new business interests and investments due to its high taxes. Responding to the article in interviews, Granholm said, "When you are so engaged in building up your political party in such a way that you damage the state, that to me, that representative should be removed from office." Further, she attacked the column as a "kind of effort (that) is treasonous for the state of Michigan."" Editorial, Source: Detroit Free Press, July 14, 2005.

Granholm left for Japan on July 22, 2005, along with Michigan State University president Lou Anna K. Simon, and Department of Labor and Economic Growth Director (and former Lansing mayor) David Hollister. Their trip was planned, for the purpose of emphasizing Michigan as "the North American intersection of cutting-edge research, life sciences talent and high-tech innovation". They met with Shiga Prefecture Governor Yoshitsu Kunimatsu, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe and the representatives of 150 Japanese automotive, biotech, and human sciences companies. On the first day of the five-day trip, Monday, the 25th, Granholm led a seminar of 65 Japanese auto-related companies at the 2005 World Expo in Nagakute, Aichi. On the 26th, Granholm met with DENSO Corp. (employing 4,500 workers in Michigan) President and CEO Koichi Fukaya at the company's D-Square facility in Kariya, Aichi. Granholm then met with Gov. Yoshitsu Kunimatsu aboard the Michigan paddlewheel boat on Shiga's Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. Like the Great Lakes (which surround Michigan), Lake Biwa has a history of fighting against an influx of invasive species, the Prefecture paying bounties to fishermen and hiring 43 official catchers to curb the growth of species which threaten the natural freshwater ecosystem. Shiga Prefecture is Michigan's "sister state", selected in 1968 due to their similarity in sharing their nation's largest freshwater resource. Granholm returned to work in Michigan the next Monday.Granholm: Michigan has much to offer Japan By Chris Andrews [Sources: Lansing State Journal, July 23, 2005]Granholm Discusses Water Quality, Global Economy with Shiga Prefecture Governor [Office of the Governor page at Michigan.gov website, July 26, 2005] Detroit Free Press, July 27, 2005 'DENSO' Detroit Free Press, July 27th, 2005 'Granholm' She also signed a legislation to keep steroids out of schools and requiring school boards to write their own steroid policies, though the stance did not go as far as random drug testing of athletes. Granholm signs legislation to keep steroids out of school [Source: Associated Press, July 26, 2006]

2006 campaign

Granholm is running for a second term in the 2006 election. Her opponent is former Alticor/Amway President Dick DeVos. The economy is expected to be a prominent issue in the campaign: at one point in 2005, Michigan had the highest unemployment rate in the US. That rate has fallen, but is still #49 out of 50 states.

Presidential aspirations

Many people have suggested that she might run for U.S. president. However, the U.S. Constitution only allows for natural born citizens to serve as president, so barring the Canadian-born Granholm from holding the office. A campaign exists to amend the constitution so foreign-born U.S. citizens - such as Granholm or California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - would be qualified to run. Nonetheless, Granholm herself has said she cares "not a whit" about running for president. It has been suggested she may run for U.S. Senate should Sen. Carl Levin decide to retire at the end of his term in 2008.

Electoral history

References

External links

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