The following was written by District 101 Representative Joseph Fox of the Michigan House of Representatives in response to Gov. Whitmer's recent State of the State Address.

After listening to Governor Whitmer’s annual State of the State address on Wednesday, it’s clear that, looking at her record, her lauding of bipartisanship constitutes a half-truth meant to score political points.

If she was serious about bipartisan legislation, then she and the Democrats would share power with Republicans in the evenly split House of Representatives and have conversations about bills that benefit Michigan families. With 54 Republicans and 54 Democrats in the House, now marks a crucial time for these discussions. Instead, bipartisanship has become a buzzword to boost Whitmer’s political ambitions, which leaves the rest of Michigan behind.

Reflecting on all the legislation that passed the House last year, which was overwhelmingly supported only by Democrats, it is plain that Whitmer is making phony claims to bipartisanship. While Democrats passed a laundry list of bills into law – from restrictions on Second Amendment rights to anti-life policies and beyond – they never consulted with Republicans. Conservative voices were outright ignored.

Governor Whitmer also spoke at length on the $82 billion state budget passed last year, which was the biggest in Michigan history. But, Michigan can’t prosper while the government throws money at Democrat pork projects and burdens middle-class families with high taxes. How can she think that Michigan is becoming a more attractive place to live? Worse, most of the $82 million went to Detroit and other cities; rural and northern Michigan residents had to fight for the scraps, and I anticipate the same will occur this year. Under the governor’s administration, big
budgets are in style, and taxpayers must foot the bill.