A Republican candidate for governor has been kicked off of his Senate committees.
Senator Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton) is known for being outspoken on conservative issues – even against his own party. He’s spoken out against Republican handling of the Medicaid expansion and the gas tax. Colbeck was already one of the few Republican Senators without a committee chairmanship.
Colbeck said he’ll continue to represent his district – it just might be a little harder now.
“This is a prime example of politics as usual,” he said. “This is swamp politics and this is exactly what people are ticked off about. Frankly it’s the reason why I ran for office in the first place.”
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-Grand Haven) is keeping a tight lip on the specific reasons Colbeck was booted.
“The action that Senator Meekhof took is as a result of multiple concerns not the limited explanation that Senator Colbeck has provided,” said Senate Republicans Press Secretary Amber McCann.
Colbeck said he was kicked out because he went to Meekhof’s district for an event without telling Meekhof ahead of time. It’s customary for Senators to tell each other when they will be campaigning in their districts. According to the Michigan Information & Research Services new site, Colbeck told his caucus members that as a candidate for governor it’s not realistic for him to contact the home senator every time he visits their district.
Colbeck was on the committees for Elections and Government Reform, Education, Judiciary, and Veterans Military Affairs and Homeland Security.
“It just means we gotta work twice as hard to get the same effect,” he said. “And I’ll still be very vocal on policy issues across the board.”
