CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH JAKE PUTALA, UNLOCK MICHIGAN
The effort to repeal the 1945 law that Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been using to issue executive orders is building steam across the Upper Peninsula.
Jake Putala is the Regional Director for “Unlock Michigan”, which is in the process of gathering 340-thousand petition signatures and will be having more signing events this weekend in the U.P. He says the effort is not to weaken Whitmer, but to prevent any governor from unilaterally running a state without legislative input.
“This wouldn’t repeal all emergency powers of the governor, but would restore checks and balances and force her to work with with legislature under a 1976 law,” Putala told RRN News. “We need to ensure that separation of powers in our state government is respected again, and ensure that our elected representatives have a seat at the table.”
Putala called it a non-partisan movement, but the petition drive has been heavily supported by Republicans, both publicly and financially. The Republican-led legislature has been up front about its plans to pass the citizen’s legislation, should enough signatures be collected to put the question before them.
“This campaign has an unprecedented level of energy,” Putala said. “We’ve had over 1,300 Yoopers in all 15 counties sign up to either help, or to circulate petitions themselves. And we’ve mailed out thousands and thousands of petitions to Yoopers.”
An event will be held Friday night at the Watermark Restaurant parking lot in Menominee, from 5-until-8 Central time. Another will be held tomorrow in Manistique, at 183 River Street, from 11 until 3…and in the Copper Country town of Mohawk from noon until 3 tomorrow.
They also just added an event tomorrow in Sault Ste. Marie, and will be collecting signatures in Escanaba’s Ludington Park next Saturady the 22nd from 11 until 3.
The governor has called efforts to limit her powers “foolish and dangerous”.
Whitmer, incidentally, has a news conference set for 11:00 Friday morning. She will be joined by the lieutenant governor and the state’s chief medical director.
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