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Transition teams get to work for new state administration

A new administration is getting ready to take over in Lansing for offices like the governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

Soon after the midterm election, the soon-to-be new governor, attorney general, and secretary of state started to announce their transition teams. These are the people who will try to make sure there’s a seamless transition of power from one administration to another. The staff of the current office holder also helps out.

Matt Resch owns a communications and public relations firm in Lansing. He says there are three types of people on these teams.

“The people who are going to do all the work, the people who try to get on them so they can get their name in the paper, or the people whose names will get the attention of people. And I think there’s a combination of all three of those on these,” he says.

The transition teams include former federal and state lawmakers, business leaders and philanthropists.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R