LANSING — Yesterday, Governor Whitmer was in Saginaw to present her MI Safe Communities Plan with local community leaders and law enforcement officials. Initially proposed in August, the plan would allocate $32 million towards the recruiting, training, and retaining of police officers in local departments and direct an additional $6.35 million to get illegal guns off the streets.
Meanwhile, some Republicans running for governor have instead opted to defund the police altogether.
Ryan Kelley recently appeared on a far-right program to “defund all of the police” in Michigan to allow for a “constitutional militia” to take its place while Garrett Soldano vowed to slash Michigan’s budget “every single year over the next eight years when we’re in.”
As for the rest of the crowded slate, all have instead committed the majority of their focus to propping up the baseless crusade to relitigate 2020. All major candidates have either voiced support for an unnecessary partisan audit, echoed conspiratorial claims that Trump had a second term stolen, or thrown their support behind any legislation that will make it harder for all Michiganders to vote.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“When you look at the facts, the only folks itching to defund the police as governor are the Republicans. Rather than lay out clear plans to keep the communities they want to represent safe with programs that encourage local police recruitment and retention, they are instead prioritizing unhinged election conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Governor Whitmer is giving a masterclass in actually funding the police and getting dangerous weapons out of our neighborhoods. That’s the kind of leadership that puts Michiganders first and keeps communities safe.”
