How 6 leaders describe the impact of outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
It will be a full circle moment when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer takes the stage with me on Friday, Nov. 20, at the next Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club speakers forum. The last time we appeared together was January 2019. She had recently taken the oath of office as Michigan's 49th governor and that morning marked her first public event. Eight years later, the relentless hard-working daughter of the late Sherry Whitmer, a former assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, and the late Dick Whitmer, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, has blazed trails of her own through politics and business, and along the way has become a national public figure. Serious issues no one could have anticipated arose during her time in office. Topping the list: a 100-year pandemic in 2020 that impacted the entire world and Michigan, with a vengeance. Then, it was the upheaval of the state’s auto industry brought by changing policies of the Biden administration to encourage a focus on electric vehicles. The upheaval continued with the return of the Trump administration and its changes on EVs. A rise in inflation, a tariff war with Canada and the war with Iran have
