Michigan House Democrats’ campaign and finance chairmen resign
Lansing – The campaign manager and treasurer of the Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives have resigned from their positions as campaign managers, just four months before Election Day.
Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate (Detroit) acknowledged the resignations during a virtual meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday around 8:30 p.m., according to three participants who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about the internal discussions.
Subsequently, Representative Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), chair of the Campaign Committee, and Representative Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills), chair of the Finance Committee, confirmed their resignations Wednesday morning.
“The Speaker is in the process of revising the structure of the caucus campaign and streamlining the process,” Tate’s spokeswoman Amber McCann said. “He appreciates the hard work of Rep. Weiss and Rep. Steckloff over the past few months and looks forward to their continued support in November.”
The development was a sign of turmoil among Democrats in the swing state, where concerns about President Joe Biden’s performance in a debate last week have dominated recent headlines. Democrats in Michigan hope to retain their narrow 56-54 seat majority in the state’s House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 general election.
“I have decided to step down from my role as House Democrat Finance Director,” Steckloff said Wednesday. “While this decision was not easy, I made it for several reasons. Most importantly, it will allow me to focus on family and personal matters that require my attention.”
“I will continue to be actively involved in the election campaign and am determined to retain the majority in November.”
Normally, Weiss and Steckloff would be key figures in the effort to retain the majority by advising – and raising money for – the political efforts of Democratic candidates and incumbents in the House.
Weiss, a former teacher, and Steckloff were among a group of House Democrats frustrated that House Democratic leadership passed a state budget last week without introducing a separate bill that would guarantee longer-term financial aid to school districts.
In view of the differences of opinion of the last few days, Weiss and Steckloff resigned from their election campaign posts.
Neither Weiss nor Steckloff addressed the budget dispute in their statements to The News on Wednesday.
Weiss said she is proud of the work she has done over the past year and a half. She said her decision was motivated in part by the need to focus on her own race in the 5th District, where Weiss faces three Democratic challengers in the Aug. 6 primary.
“I have decided to step down from my position as House leader to focus on my campaign in a newly opened seat and balance that with my family,” Weiss said. “I remain committed to maintaining and expanding our majority and look forward to working with the new House leader to deliver a victory for House Democrats in November.”
The state budget has been criticized by many school leaders because it does not include a traditional increase in districts’ per-pupil base allowances, which currently stand at $9,608 per student. Instead, the budget covers about $598 million of school districts’ pension costs, freeing up that money for instructional expenses.
However, some school inspectors are concerned that retirement funding will not be guaranteed in future budgets and will not be able to counteract the effects of inflation and rising health care costs.
The Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators issued a statement last week saying the budget plan “will result in layoffs this fall and in the future.”
On Thursday morning, Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a bill that would have capped constituent pension payments in the future. However, Tate’s leadership team did not send the bill to the Senate before it went into summer recess.
Six members of the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives told the Detroit News last week that they believe they were misled by Democratic leadership during the budget vote, believing the longer-term pension bill would be sent to the Senate for a vote.
In November 2022, Democrats won a majority of seats in the Michigan House of Representatives for the first time since the 2008 election. Democrats currently control the state government, holding the House of Representatives, the Senate and the governorship.
But Republicans have a chance to reduce Democrats’ influence in November by gaining the upper hand in the House of Representatives.
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