State Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt (right) speaks to Brad Thompson (left), chairman and chief executive officer of Detroit Legal News Publishing and co-chair of the Michigan Press Association Public Policy Committee, prior to an April 23 gubernatorial candidates forum at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson (left), a Democrat, meets with Brad Thompson (right), chairman and chief executive officer of Detroit Legal News Publishing and co-chair of the Michigan Press Association Public Policy Committee, shortly before a gubernatorial candidates forum April 23 at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
EAST LANSING – Five candidates for Michigan governor made their pitch as to why they should be the state’s next top elected leader at a candidates forum sponsored by the Michigan Press Association April 23 at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center.
Republicans Mike Cox, Perry Johnson, Aric Nesbitt, and Ralph Rebandt were joined by Democrat Chris Swanson for the forum, which addressed such topics as Freedom of Information Act issues and data centers.
The forum was moderated by Craig Mauger of The Detroit News.
Notably absent from the forum were three of the top contenders for the governor’s office – Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat; U.S. Rep. John James, a Republican; and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, an independent. Benson was meeting with voters in Detroit, James was in Washington for a House vote, and Duggan was “unavailable,” Mauger said.
The candidates were asked whether, if elected, they would sign an executive directive opening the governor’s office to Freedom of Information Act requests. It was a position Republican candidate Tom Leonard called for before he withdrew from the race prior to the April 23 forum. Currently, Michigan is one of only two U.S. states where the governor and the legislature are exempt from FOIA requests.
Nesbitt: “I think if we’re going to have an open and transparent government, if people are going to trust institutions again, they have to be able to trust the governor, they have to be able to trust the legislature.
I’m the only one here that has a record of actually voting for opening up, not just the governor’s office, but also the legislature, and also working to make sure it’s easier for residents, for families, for reporters, for folks to be able to investigate.”
Swanson: “When you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. When you make a mistake or there’s something unclear, then straighten it out …. When you have non-disclosure agreements and people are hiding behind that, you destroy public trust. You see that with local developments and data centers. We have backdoor deals being cut. When you have family members that are benefitting from (data centers), and you have a Public Service Commission that shuts down public comment. This is where the distrust (happens).”
Rebandt: “I would sign a bill that opens records for the governor’s office and every department underneath my care … The reality is, because of the fact that I’m a Christian, I realize that everything I do, everything I say, is open and transparent before God, so why should it not be open and transparent before you? I do understand … there are maybe occasions where we have to protect law enforcement or national security, I completely get that, but outside of those things, I will be the most open, honest and transparent governor you have ever seen.”
Cox: “When I was attorney general (2003-11), I created a site called trackyourtaxes.com, where we put all our spending online, we put all our vendor contracts online, salaries online. Now, it wasn’t as efficient as it would be now, but if I can order an Uber and I know the name of the driver, what he or she looks like, their record, long before they get to me, why can’t we in real time put all government documents online? Of course we can. You know what happened after I left the AG’s office? (The site) got taken down.”
Johnson: “If we’re going to return the money to the people, and we’re going to make sure we don’t have this income tax, we’re going to have to have a way of saving money, and the only way we can do that is to have (the government be) accountable for everything’s that done. And you have to have freedom of information to gain information. Otherwise, all we’re doing is fostering corruption.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised during her 2018 gubernatorial campaign that she would open the governor’s office to the Freedom of Information Act. That hasn’t happened during her two terms in office.
The state Senate voted 33-2 in January 2025 in favor of Senate Bills 1 and 2, that would apply the Freedom of Information Act to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Senate and the House. The bills were sponsored by Republican Sen. Ed McBroom and Democratic Sen. Jeremy Moss. The House, which is controlled by Republicans, have not acted on the legislation, and House Speaker Matt Hall said earlier this year “we’re just not going to do FOIA.”
Candidates also spoke out on the growing issue of data centers in the state, where many local communities are taking a stand against their construction.
Cox: “The governor took away siting decisions for battery power and siting decisions for wind and solar, but that the local control has not been taken away in regards to data centers. So every single community has the ability to put a moratorium on that. And so I’d encourage every single community to exercise local control … Let locals decide. There may be some locals that want it, who may want to cut a deal.”
Johnson: “In many of the states, what they’ve done is they’ve forced the data centers to actually absorb some of the incremental costs. If they’re going to make all that money, they should at least have to make an investment. We have various programs that we can have, such as requiring that you cannot have an increase in the energy cost greater than the rate of inflation.”
Nesbitt: “The government shouldn’t be subsidizing. I have a clear track record on opposing corporate welfare. We’ve got to grow the economic garden … The next governor, on data centers, needs to do a few things. One, no government subsidies. Two, they need to be located in industrial zones. Enough eating up hundreds of thousands of acres of farm and forest land around the state.”
Swanson: “When you shove it down people’s throats and they don’t have the ability to go to their local commission and have their voice heard, that’s a problem. When public service commissioners shut down public comment, that’s a problem. When there’s files that we’re given that’s redacted to the point where it has no value, that’s a problem. When you’re not answering questions of what the long-term impact is for that community, there you go.”
Rebandt: “I am against data centers because everything I read about them in my research, is that they corrupt our water, they corrupt the environment, they’re noisy … As with solar, as with windmills, now data, we get promised the moon. I’ve talked with people who are township supervisors, city managers, people who have been told by these various industries that, ‘we are going to take care of you, we’re going to build a park. We’re going to do this.’ And they never do. Their track record is lies.”
Michigan’s primary election will take place Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Zeeland Record
EAST LANSING – Five candidates for Michigan governor made their pitch as to why they should be the state’s next top elected leader at a candidates forum sponsored by the Michigan Press Association April 23 at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center.
Republicans Mike Cox, Perry Johnson, Aric Nesbitt, and Ralph Rebandt were joined by Democrat Chris Swanson for the forum, which addressed such topics as Freedom of Information Act issues and data centers.
The forum was moderated by Craig Mauger of The Detroit News.
Notably absent from the forum were three of the top contenders for the governor’s office – Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat; U.S. Rep. John James, a Republican; and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, an independent. Benson was meeting with voters in Detroit, James was in Washington for a House vote, and Duggan was “unavailable,” Mauger said.
The candidates were asked whether, if elected, they would sign an executive directive opening the governor’s office to Freedom of Information Act requests. It was a position Republican candidate Tom Leonard called for before he withdrew from the race prior to the April 23 forum. Currently, Michigan is one of only two U.S. states where the governor and the legislature are exempt from FOIA requests.
Nesbitt: “I think if we’re going to have an open and transparent government, if people are going to trust institutions again, they have to be able to trust the governor, they have to be able to trust the legislature.
I’m the only one here that has a record of actually voting for opening up, not just the governor’s office, but also the legislature, and also working to make sure it’s easier for residents, for families, for reporters, for folks to be able to investigate.”
Swanson: “When you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. When you make a mistake or there’s something unclear, then straighten it out …. When you have non-disclosure agreements and people are hiding behind that, you destroy public trust. You see that with local developments and data centers. We have backdoor deals being cut. When you have family members that are benefitting from (data centers), and you have a Public Service Commission that shuts down public comment. This is where the distrust (happens).”
Rebandt: “I would sign a bill that opens records for the governor’s office and every department underneath my care … The reality is, because of the fact that I’m a Christian, I realize that everything I do, everything I say, is open and transparent before God, so why should it not be open and transparent before you? I do understand … there are maybe occasions where we have to protect law enforcement or national security, I completely get that, but outside of those things, I will be the most open, honest and transparent governor you have ever seen.”
Cox: “When I was attorney general (2003-11), I created a site called trackyourtaxes.com, where we put all our spending online, we put all our vendor contracts online, salaries online. Now, it wasn’t as efficient as it would be now, but if I can order an Uber and I know the name of the driver, what he or she looks like, their record, long before they get to me, why can’t we in real time put all government documents online? Of course we can. You know what happened after I left the AG’s office? (The site) got taken down.”
Johnson: “If we’re going to return the money to the people, and we’re going to make sure we don’t have this income tax, we’re going to have to have a way of saving money, and the only way we can do that is to have (the government be) accountable for everything’s that done. And you have to have freedom of information to gain information. Otherwise, all we’re doing is fostering corruption.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised during her 2018 gubernatorial campaign that she would open the governor’s office to the Freedom of Information Act. That hasn’t happened during her two terms in office.
The state Senate voted 33-2 in January 2025 in favor of Senate Bills 1 and 2, that would apply the Freedom of Information Act to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Senate and the House. The bills were sponsored by Republican Sen. Ed McBroom and Democratic Sen. Jeremy Moss. The House, which is controlled by Republicans, have not acted on the legislation, and House Speaker Matt Hall said earlier this year “we’re just not going to do FOIA.”
Candidates also spoke out on the growing issue of data centers in the state, where many local communities are taking a stand against their construction.
Cox: “The governor took away siting decisions for battery power and siting decisions for wind and solar, but that the local control has not been taken away in regards to data centers. So every single community has the ability to put a moratorium on that. And so I’d encourage every single community to exercise local control … Let locals decide. There may be some locals that want it, who may want to cut a deal.”
Johnson: “In many of the states, what they’ve done is they’ve forced the data centers to actually absorb some of the incremental costs. If they’re going to make all that money, they should at least have to make an investment. We have various programs that we can have, such as requiring that you cannot have an increase in the energy cost greater than the rate of inflation.”
Nesbitt: “The government shouldn’t be subsidizing. I have a clear track record on opposing corporate welfare. We’ve got to grow the economic garden … The next governor, on data centers, needs to do a few things. One, no government subsidies. Two, they need to be located in industrial zones. Enough eating up hundreds of thousands of acres of farm and forest land around the state.”
Swanson: “When you shove it down people’s throats and they don’t have the ability to go to their local commission and have their voice heard, that’s a problem. When public service commissioners shut down public comment, that’s a problem. When there’s files that we’re given that’s redacted to the point where it has no value, that’s a problem. When you’re not answering questions of what the long-term impact is for that community, there you go.”
Rebandt: “I am against data centers because everything I read about them in my research, is that they corrupt our water, they corrupt the environment, they’re noisy … As with solar, as with windmills, now data, we get promised the moon. I’ve talked with people who are township supervisors, city managers, people who have been told by these various industries that, ‘we are going to take care of you, we’re going to build a park. We’re going to do this.’ And they never do. Their track record is lies.”
Michigan’s primary election will take place Tuesday, Aug. 4.
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