Livingston Today

A Republican state House rep from southeast Livingston County, who last week criticized Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for increased restrictions in her stay-at-home order, admitted that the governor isn't having an easy time.

"There is no doubt the governor has a tough job and has had to make difficult decisions," Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Township) said in a post to her Facebook page. "I don’t envy her position."

Things are especially tough right now as the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan worsens, according to numbers provided by the Detroit Free Press.

"Public health is the priority, but we also have to plan for a safe return to work," Bollin said in her Facebook post. "I think our best recipe for success is working together to get Michigan moving forward, and the best way to do that is to hear from you."

Bollin will be hosting GoToMeeting virtual roundtables for about a week beginning Friday and is urging those in her district who want to participate to sign up as soon as possible at Michigan House Republicans.

Roundtable topics are expected to include Realtors, all trades of construction, law enforcement, financial services, educators and education, food services, professional services, landscapers and greenhouses, caregivers and first responders, and local government.

Bollin, who has represented the 42nd District in southeast Livingston County since she was first elected to the seat November 2018, is seeking a second term in November's general election. Her Democratic opponent is urgent care doctor and former teacher Donnie Bettes of Genoa Township.

The 42nd District includes Brighton, Genoa, Green Oak, Hamburg and Putnam Townships, the City of Brighton and the Village of Pinckney.

Before being elected to the state House, Bollin was Brighton Township's longest-serving town clerk, serving in that office from 2003 to 2018.

Bollin was critical of Whitmer's April 9 extension of her "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order to the end of this month, as Michigan reported the third-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation.

In her own statement issued the following day, Bollin said that "the governor moved in the wrong direction" by placing even more restrictions on Michigan workers.

Bollin specifically called out portions of the governor's extended order that directed stores to "no longer sell what she considers nonessential items and block off those areas so customers cannot access them."

"We have spent the last three weeks living under an order with tight restrictions and without clarity," Bollin said to Michigan House Republicans. "We were all asked to do our part to level the spread. And we did."

Whitmer ignored suggestions about social distancing, hygiene protocols, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) guidelines, and the state's economy, Bollin's statement said.

"The Governor said no," the statement continued. "Nationally, the CISA guidelines were revised to provide clarity and offer options for certain services to be classified as essential. The Legislature requested their adoption at the state level to allow more Michiganders to safely return to work while following strict social-distancing guidelines, but they were ignored."

Whitmer has received wide-ranging criticism over her extended order, including decidedly not socially distant protests and litigation, but the order is holding.

Earlier today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Jeffersonian Apartment complex in Detroit after the complex's management company reportedly threatened to evict tenants who are behind on their rent, according to ClickOnDetroit.

Whitmer's executive order issued last month barred such evictions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, except in cases in which a tenant "poses a substantial risk to another person or an imminent and severe risk to the property."