A commission to study a commission: Michigan State Rep. draws attention to "unserious" efforts in Lansing
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Last week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a new commission to tackle Michigan's lagging population growth - a move one state representative calls "unserious."
In response, State Rep. Angela Rigas announced a commission to study the commission, a push she tells CBS News Detroit to call attention to the frivolous nature of commissions in Lansing.
"We're not actually establishing a commission," said Rigas. "We're just trying to call attention to Whitmer's lack of taking responsibility for the decline of the population in Michigan. It's her authoritarian style of governance that has led to the decline here," she said.
Rigas blames Whitmer's leadership for the state's slow population growth.
"Whitmer's failed policies are what led us to the decline in population, especially during COVID, the closure of businesses. So for her to establish a commission to study those issues is just laughable because ultimately Whitmer is to blame for the decline in Michigan."
CBS News Detroit covered Whitmer's new commission last week. According to her office, it will be bipartisan, led by a Republican and a Democrat.
"It will bring leaders in industry, education, and government together to focus on growing Michigan's population together in a smart strategic way," Whitmer said during her announcement.
CBS News Detroit reached out to the governor's office for comment but did not hear back.