A Governor`s Story, by Jennifer Granholm: on Principles & Values


Carolyn Kilpatrick: Son Kwame resigned as Detroit mayor in criminal scandal

In August 2007, Kilpatrick was accused of having an affair with Christine Beatty, his chief of staff and herself a young mother. After unsuccessfully attempting to oust the mayor on its own, the Detroit City Council made an unprecedented formal request, based on separate provisions in our state constitution and statutes, to have the governor remove the mayor [for corruption].

The mayor's mother, Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, was a member of Congress and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. She and the mayor rallied their most influential supporters to demand that I wait to hold hearings on removing the mayor until the criminal case had concluded.

I made my own position clear: We would do what the law required, nothing more and nothing less. The law required a quasi-judicial proceeding, with the governor acting as judge & jury at a hearing that allowed the mayor to present evidence as to why he should not be removed. [As a result, the mayor resigned, and pled guilty to the criminal charges.

Source: A Governor's Story, by Jennifer Granholm, p.151-153 Oct 1, 2005

Jennifer Granholm: Born in Canada; raised in California; elected in Michigan

Most of my supporters knew it was a fluke that I'd been elected governor at all. I wasn't even from Michigan. I'd been born in Canada and raised since the age of 4 in California's San Francisco Bay area, far from the factories and farms of the Midwest. My dad, Victor Ivar Granholm, is a gentleman and a Republican, a stoic Swede who never raises his voice. My mom, Shirley Dowden Granholm, is a pragmatic, earthy Newfoundlander. When I was little, my mom gave me 3 specific pieces of advice: "Don't talk about yourself--nobody wants to hear it--don't ask strangers for money, and don't wear your dress-up clothes every day." With that guidance, I have no idea how I ended up running for office.
Source: A Governor's Story, by Jennifer Granholm, p. 5-6 Oct 1, 2005

Jennifer Granholm: Elected Attorney General on slogan, "I'll take your case!"

I worked as a successful federal prosecutor and then, beginning in 1994, as Wayne County corporation counsel, where I led the law department of Michigan's largest county. But in 1998, when Michigan Attorney General shocked political followers by announcing his retirement after 37 years on the job, a former Democratic Party chair began prodding me to "go for it."

So I leaped. Seven other candidates, all men, and none with my prosecutorial and civil law experience, vied for the spot. I built my campaign around a promise to fight for everyday people. "I'll take your case!" I told ripped-off consumers. "I'll take your case!" I told environmentalists eager to protect the waters of the Great Lakes. "I'll take your case!" I told parents who wanted to guard their children against online predators, and seniors who needed protection from financial con artists. I won the Democratic nomination and subsequently became Michigan's attorney general.

Source: A Governor's Story, by Jennifer Granholm, p. 10-11 Oct 1, 2005

  • The above quotations are from A Governor`s Story
    The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future,
    by Jennifer Granholm    .
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