A new undersheriff named for Kalamazoo County. WMU, K-College and KVCC presidents state support for DACA students. A poll shows a tight race in one potential matchup for governor next year.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller has appointed a new Undersheriff. The Kalamazoo Gazette saysFuller announced that Operations Division Captain James Vandyken will replace current undersheriff Paul Matyas, who is retiring early next month. Vandyken has been with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department since 1991.
The presidents of Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College have issued a statement in support for students in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order. President Trump announced this week that he is ending the DACA program in six months. In the statement, WMU President Edward Montgomery, K-College president Jorge Gonzalez and KVCC President Marilyn Schlack call on Congress to legislate a solution to students here under DACA.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen faced members of the U.S. Senate Wednesday. She testified at a confirmation hearing on her nomination to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. She was named to the court by President Trump. But Larsen says she made no promises on how she would rule on cases. The Detroit News reports that Larsen says she would have no problems reversing a law or a presidential order. Larsen says lower courts must follow US Supreme Court rulings, and that includes applying the Roe versus Wade decision to abortion cases. But she would not say whether she personally supports the ruling. Trump put Larsen on his list of potential US Supreme Court nominees last year when he was a candidate for president.
A new poll shows a tight race for governor of Michigan next year in a hypothetical matchup between Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette and former state Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer. The poll conducted by EPIC-MRA for the Detroit Free Press shows Schuette and Whitmer deadlocked, while Schuette enjoys a 10-point lead over attorney Geoffrey Fieger. The poll does find that Fieger enjoys an advantage in name recognition over Schuette, Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, who is expected to launch a campaign for governor.