State House Democrats will elect a new leader today.
With Minority Leader Kwame Kilpatrick, D-Detroit, packing his bags for his new job as mayor of Detroit, the Democrats will fill the void of his departure.
State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said she’ll support Rep. Samuel “Buzz” Thomas of Detroit, to become the caucus leader.
“I think that Buzz has a real comprehensive vision about where we need to go for the remainder of the session,” Whitmer said. “Each of the people running bring strong leadership qualities.
“But at this point, Buzz is probably the choice that makes the most sense.”
Other possible candidates include Reps. Julie Dennis of Muskegon, Jack Minore of Flint, Nancy Quarles of Southfield and Joseph Rivet of Bay City.
The winner will take over Jan. 1, the day Kilpatrick becomes Detroit’s mayor.
Secretary of state branches to close
Four secretary of state branch offices will be closed by the end of January in response to state spending reductions.
The Lansing South branch, 5102 S. Cedar St., will be one of those closed. Gov. John Engler’s executive order reduced the secretary of state’s budget by more than $3 million - five percent of its general fund.
“We expect the budget cuts to impact our customer service,” said Elizabeth Boyd, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Candice Miller. “It is possible our customers will experience longer wait lines when they come to our offices.”
In addition to the closings, 12 manager trainees will be laid off and the part-time staff budget will be cut by more than $500,000.
“Our hope is that the economy will rebound and we won’t have to implement further cuts,” Boyd said.
Cloning won’t happen in Michigan, for now
State Sen. Loren Bennett, R-Canton, reminded Michigan residents last week that the state banned cloning in 1998.
Researchers in Massachusetts recently announced that they had cloned a human embryo, returning the issue of cloning to the spotlight.
“I don’t see anything changing in Michigan because we permanently banned it in the state of Michigan,” Bennett said. “We already have the law in place to make sure that it doesn’t happen, at least in the state of Michigan.”
Bennett said he remains opposed to forming human life for the purpose of experimentation.
“This is something that when I passed the legislation, people at that time said it was just science-fiction and that it will never happen,” he said. “I submit that I was correct in doing what I was doing.
“At least it won’t be happening here in Michigan.”
