garlin gilchrist II

An executive directive signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer declares racism a public health crisis in Michigan.

The directive creates a Black Leadership Advisory Council to identify resources within the executive branch to attack the problem of systemic racism, especially when it comes to health care.

The council will be lead by Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist. He says the council will identify ways that bias contributes to health disparities.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed a directive that will require health care professionals to be trained in ways to guard against bias as a condition of being licensed or re-licensed to practice.

She says that will include courses offered by state-licensed medical schools.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order to expand the commission that sets law enforcement training standards. 

Her order adds the state’s civil rights director to the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, which sets rules on licensing and training police officers. Most of them represent law enforcement groups. 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer released a video statement Sunday in response to demonstrations across Michigan over the weekend against police brutality.

Whitmer was joined on the video by Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist. They both said anger over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis is justified. But they asked people to find non-violent ways to express their frustration.

Black people make up more than 40% of all COVID-19 related deaths in Michigan, but black people are only about 12% of the state’s population.

Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist is starting a task force to address and deal with the racial disparities in Michigan

Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist became the first African American Lieutenant Governor to sign a bill into law Thursday.

Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II kicked off a media campaign to convince more Michiganders to obtain college degrees or professional certifications.

The “Going Pro” campaign is aimed at increasing the percentage of Michiganders with post-secondary credentials.

Gilchrist says Michigan will need to fill more than a half million skilled trades jobs between now and 2026.

The Michigan Democratic Party finalized its portion of the November ballot this weekend.

The Democrats held a so-called Endorsement Convention in April. It was there that they decided which candidates to throw their weight behind for races like attorney general and secretary of state.

Detroit’s election re-count carried on through a second day Wednesday.

Election workers are recounting just over 41,000 ballots cast in the November 7th election. That includes all absentee ballots, as well as results from 60 Election Day precincts with “documented issues at the polls.”

The candidate who narrowly lost his bid to become Detroit city clerk says he’ll ask for a recount of some votes cast in this month’s election.

Garlin Gilchrist II lost to incumbent clerk Janice Winfrey by about 1,400 votes. He easily won votes cast at polling precincts, but Winfrey dominated absentee votes by an even bigger margin.

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers will meet on Tuesday to review Detroit’s election tallies.

The board must certify the results that day to meet a state deadline.

Detroit elections officials say they’re confident the November 7 election results will be made official, despite some reported irregularities with absentee ballots, and lingering doubts over the city clerk's botched handling of the 2016 general election.

A Detroit activist has filed a lawsuit, asking a Wayne County judge to throw out absentee ballot results from Detroit’s election last week.

Anita Belle is co-chair of the Committee for Voter Justice and a gubernatorial candidate for the Michigan Green Party. She was an election challenger at Detroit’s Cobo Center last Tuesday.

Belle says per state election law and its manual for election officials, election workers are supposed to check ballot envelopes against absentee voter applications and precinct lists from the state’s Qualified Voter File before counting the votes.

Garlin Gilchrist II, who narrowly lost the Detroit city clerk’s race to incumbent Janice Winfrey Tuesday night, says he may petition for a recount.

Gilchrist was leading the vote tally for most of election night. But Winfrey surged ahead at the very end, squeaking out a win with just over 50% of the vote.

That could be due to Winfrey dominating the absentee ballot returns, which tend to be counted last.