Michigan’s Future (Guest: Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist)

Another bizarre week in Michigan politics: * former Michigan Republican chairperson Laura Cox is subpoenaed by Congress * the home of two top staffers of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield is raided by the state police * the Michigan Republican Party has an internal fight over how it will count votes at its state convention – will they continue to use the machines they bought from Dominion? Mark Brewer and Jeff Timmer analyze the political fallout. Then they are joined by Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist for a broad-ranging discussion of the Whitmer administration’s priorities for 2022 and beyond. Lt. Governor Gilchrist’s professional background is in technology, receiving his first computer at age five and setting up a computer lab in a Detroit community recreation center using computers that he built himself at age 16. He studied computer engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, graduating with honors, and later had a successful career as a software engineer at Microsoft, helping to build SharePoint into the fastest growing product in the company’s history. Lt. Governor Gilchrist spent the next several years of his career as a social entrepreneur and community organizer who helped people in communities across America realize their full economic and political potential. As part of the Whitmer Administration, Lt. Governor Gilchrist has sought to address injustice and inequity across our state at every level co-chairing the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration to leading the Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities. Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist and his wife, Ellen, reside in Detroit where they are raising their twins, Emily and Garlin III, and daughter, Ruby.