Editorial Roundup: Michigan

Detroit News. October 31, 2023.

Editorial: MSU needs less intrigue, more sunlight

Scary things happen in the dark. Just look to Michigan State University, where a civil war that was raging among the eight board of trustee members in secret has spilled out into the open, much to the detriment of the school’s already battered reputation.

The fight, which played out in a public meeting after private discussions of the board and its various factions, seeks the resignation of Chair Rema Vassar, a professor of education at Wayne State University who was elected as an MSU trustee in 2020 and elected chair on Jan. 11.

Vassar is accused by some fellow trustees, as well as other critics, of violating the trustees code of ethics and conduct by meddling in a series of internal MSU affairs, being a bully, flying on a donor’s private plane and seeking the release of documents related to serial molester Dr. Larry Nassar, who is in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of MSU female athletes.

The campaign has all the hallmarks of a coordinated coup, though the true reasons for it are shrouded, in no small part because the events and fissures that have led up to it have been, up till now, secret.

The initial call for Vassar’s head came in a detailed letter from her fellow Democratic Trustee Brianna Scott.

Scott’s call was followed by a statement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expressing concern about the dysfunction of the board. With amazing rapidity, others soon joined the chorus asking Vassar to step down, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow and former Gov. James Blanchard, both Democrats and MSU alums, former longtime Democratic trustee Joel Ferguson, former Republican trustee Melanie Foster, the school’s Faculty Senate and others.

Board members Dianne Byrum, the influential former chairman, and Renee Knake Jefferson, a confidant of Whitmer, are aligned with Scott.

Recent public meetings of the board have been emotional and chaotic, packed with Nassar survivors, Black student groups who see racism at work (both Scott and Vassar are African American) and pro-Palestinian advocates.

Speculation is rampant and elaborate about the motivation for the power struggle, including attempts to influence the current search for a new MSU president and the political aspirations of some trustees. Who’s the villain and who’s the victim is difficult to ascertain.

What’s much clearer is the damage being done. The university’s image is already in tatters thanks to the Nassar scandal, last year’s campus shootings, the mishandled exit of business dean Sanjay Gupta and the sexual harassment allegations against football coach Mel Tucker.

Having board members at each other’s throats risks alienating donors and making it more difficult to recruit a top-notch president. It also could impact the attraction and retention of the highly sought research talent essential to a university’s ranking.

MSU needs help in a hurry. Whitmer has made one admirable appointment to the board in business executive Sandra Pierce. Whitmer could test her powers to remove the remaining board members for failure to do their jobs and replace them with an appointed fiduciary board to resolve the various issues.

In addition, the board should release the 6,000 Nassar documents requested by Attorney General Dana Nessel. It has hidden long enough behind attorney-client privilege, a privilege it can freely waive in a single instance.

The Legislature should get behind the two proposals offered by Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, to replace the three elected university boards in Michigan with trustees appointed by the governor and, essentially, to compel those boards to operate under the state’s Open Meetings Act.

That might serve to remind trustees of a key part of their code that seems perpetually forgotten: “We will support open communication, transparency, and the free expression of ideas.”

Sunlight, before issues become intractable, is the only thing that will chase away the demons haunting Michigan State.

Traverse City Record-Eagle. November 3, 2023.

Editorial: Election Day is Tuesday; so what are you doing about it?

Some citizens may think of casting their ballots now as something akin to casting up their accounts, thanks to all the scandals concerning elections in recent years.

For those of you who feel this way, we understand. Now get over it. You’ve got a job to do. Election Day is Tuesday and, if you haven’t voted yet, that’s your next assignment.

All the efforts to discredit voting and pervert the process must not discourage or dissuade anyone from applying their freedoms and doing so in an informed and productive fashion.

The problems experienced with elections in recent years have put everyone on high alert. And that’s not necessarily bad. Everyone should be paying attention.

Whether people realize it or not, the press is like an insurance policy. We’ve been here all along, observing the process and reporting what we know and can corroborate to readers.

We’ve been contacted by people who read something on social media and want to know why we’re not publishing it. We’re happy to help when readers call and ask us about these rumors. We always check them out and, if we can’t verify it, we don’t report it.

This is one of many fundamental roles we serve to support the democratic process. Official checks of the voting system are a tradition, too. These trial runs are open for voters to attend; we always do and we document it.

The opinions of readers and candidate endorsements have filled these pages — another tradition that engaged citizens rely on. News stories offer interviews of candidates and describe the proposals that residents will be voting on. We’ve been hearing from readers recently about how important this reporting is to them. They would not feel well-informed without it.

Our coverage is intended to answer all the questions and provide the background so that voters can make up their minds for themselves.

Plus, the act of casting ballots is more accessible to voters than it was in the past. Same-day voter registration has been approved and absentee voting has been expanded.

Voters in 2022 also OK’d a nine-day early voting period, which will happen in Grand Traverse County in 2024; approved requiring photo ID or an affidavit signature for in-person voting or absentee ballot application; agreed that overseas and military ballots should be counted if they’re postmarked by Election Day; and said that the state should provide funding for drop boxes.

We hope these changes will encourage greater participation and higher voter turnout.

And perhaps all the controversy and concern about elections will just serve to galvanize more citizens to exercise their right to vote. That would be ideal.

What better time for we, the people, to get back to good governance?

Iron Mountain Daily News. November 3, 2023.

Editorial: A week to recognize Michigan’s veterans in small business

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has recognized this to be Veterans Small Business Week in Michigan, “to celebrate the positive contributions made by veteran-owned small businesses to our local communities and economies across Michigan,” the governor’s office stated in a news release.

“During Veterans Small Business Week, let’s support Michigan’s strong, local veteran-owned small businesses and celebrate the huge impact they have on our economy,” Whitmer said in the statement. “Michigan’s entrepreneurs and small business owners move our state forward. They create good-paying jobs and make our cities and towns better places to live and work. Many are owned and operated by Michiganders who served our nation in uniform and continue to make a difference in their community. This week and every week, let’s support our veteran-owned small businesses.”

According to the statement, Whitmer has worked to ensure Michigan’s veterans and their families have the opportunities and support they need to succeed. She has signed legislation to reduce barriers to professional licensure, creating an expedited path for veterans and their families to practice their licensed profession in Michigan, easing the pathway to reciprocal licenses through expedited processing and waiving initial license and application fees.

Veterans interested in registering a business in Michigan may also qualify for a waiver of fees for profit corporations, limited liability companies and nonprofit corporations. For more information, go to https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/cscl/corps/how-do-i/services/waiver-of-fees-for-veterans.

“LARA is proud to show appreciation for members of the armed forces and their families by offering initial license/registration and application fee waivers,” said Marlon I. Brown, acting director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. “Our department offers several licensing supports for those currently serving and for those service members transitioning from active duty. LARA also counts military training and experiences toward fulfilling the requirements for certain licenses.”

Brian L. Love, director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, said small businesses are the backbone of the Michigan economy and a key part of the state’s “Make it in Michigan” economic development strategy.

“We want Michigan to be the ‘startup state’ by being the best place for veterans to start their own businesses,” Love said. “When veterans return home, they bring with them a unique skillset that is invaluable in the entrepreneurial space. But the skills veterans gain in the military can often feel non-transferable on a resume and that’s led them to innovate and hire other vets. The MVAA is here to support veterans as they return home and enter the civilian workforce or start their own small business. We know having meaningful employment saves lives and we are glad small business owners go beyond thanking our vets for their service and recognize their service by hiring them and promoting them.”

For more information on professional and entrepreneurial development for veteran-owned businesses, small business training and counseling, networking opportunities and mentoring programs, the MVAA advises going online to the websites for Veterans Entrepreneurship, the U.S. Office of Veterans Business Development or Michigan SBDC.

Michigan is committed to making the state the premier choice for military service members, veterans and their families to live, work, serve and play, according to the MVAA. In support of this effort, the MVAA helps connect veterans with federal, state and local benefits and resources they earned for their service. To learn more about employment, health care, education and quality-of-life benefits, veterans can contact the Michigan Veteran Resource Service Center at 1-800-MICH-VET or go online to www.michigan.gov/MVAA.

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