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Gov. Whitmer focuses on education, LGBT rights, roads during first State of the State address

The House chamber Tuesday evening, where Whitmer delivered her first State of the State address.
Zoe Clark
/
Michigan Radio
The House chamber Tuesday evening, where Whitmer delivered her first State of the State address.

Morning Edition host Doug Tribou and Michigan Radio's Zoe Clark break down the 2019 State of the State.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer deliveredher first state of the state address at the State Capitol in Lansing Tuesday. She focused on LGBT rights, infrastructure, and education. Zoe Clark is Michigan Radio’s program director and our resident political junkie. She joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to talk about the speech. 

Clark says Whitmer's biggest proposals Tuesday night included what the governor has referred to as "dining room table issues," such as education.

"So you can hear her talking directly, it felt like, to Michiganders who were watching or listening to the speech, rather than necessarily lawmakers who were in the chamber," says Clark.

Whitmer also addressed some Democratic issues, such as LGBT rights in the state. When asked about the expansion of LGBT rights after the speech, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-16th District) told Michigan Radio he believes his chamber has higher priority issues.

So what's next for Michigan's new governor?  

"One of the bigggest things now for this governor is how is she going to pay for all of these proposals, right? And this speech is very much about big vision and policy goals," says Clark. "What you want to watch for is early March. That is when the governor will deliver her budget proposal for the year and how she plans to actually pay for this wish list."

Copyright 2019 Michigan Radio

Zoe Clark is a producer as well as the co-host of the Friday afternoon segment It's Just Politics on Michigan Radio. She produces Morning Edition, Jack Lessenberry’s daily essays, and Michigan Radio’s local interviews, including those by All Things Considered host Jennifer White and Morning Edition host Christina Shockley. She is also a substitute on-air host. She has been at Michigan Radio since 2006.
Doug Tribou joined the Michigan Radio staff as the host of Morning Edition in June 2016. Doug first moved to Michigan in 2015 when he was awarded a Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.