Opinion | Divided government requires bipartisan action — Michigan can do it again

In January elected officials across the nation will be headed to Washington and state capitols around the nation after the most contentious elections in our nation’s history — more of which focused on attacking opponents instead of offering solutions to our problems. 

But an important majority of American citizens want the conflicting political parties to put aside the hatred and distrust that were hallmarks of the campaign and work together to solve problems.  A survey by the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2023 showed 67 percent of voters say it is very important for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together to pass bipartisan legislation on the economy. 

Here in Michigan, we have divided government, with Republicans winning a narrow majority of state House seats while Democrats have a narrow Senate majority and the governorship. That means the path forward to address Michigan’s many issues will require compromise and bipartisanship.

Recently, we formed a project called MiGoodGovernment that focuses on providing stories and commentaries about how former legislative leaders, major opinion makers  both in government and business, and key legislative staff from both parties came together in Lansing at critical times to pass important legislation. As former legislative staffers and lobbyists, we had front row seats to watch how this process worked for our state. 

We asked our contributors to MiGoodGovernment to focus on one or more of these five main areas: leadership, key legislative accomplishments, surprising alliances that came together to solve difficult issues, the importance of networking in building trust and open communication, and memorable mentors and friends. Stories and commentaries quickly rolled in from Republicans and Democrats tired of the lack of civility, respect, and legislative successes in the political process that had been a part of Michigan’s government during our state’s more successful decades.

We have received over 40 stories and commentaries that show that our leaders can work together for the good of Michigan citizens, workers, and businesses. If you go on our website and read some of the stories you will see that our outstanding contributors are very passionate about our democracy and want to see it work in the best way possible. Many of them were known to be very tough negotiators who did not want to give up easily on any provision that was being debated. 

Many of the stories, about workers compensation or Right to Die legislation or tax issues, show that in the past, when very difficult issues came up in the Michigan Legislature, leaders from both parties put aside their differences and negotiated solutions that recognized the value of all points of view.

We also offer ideas about steps that lawmakers themselves can take to build a climate of trust and communication that can let good ideas bubble up and be considered regardless of which party is in power. We recognize that power usually rests on a handful of votes…neither party has a corner on the best solutions. We are open to your input – visit the website and send us your views.

We would hope that this MiGoodGovernment effort will help to stimulate discussion, reflection, and movement both in Michigan and nationally to bring back respect, civility, and open communication among our political leaders. Cooperation, not conflict, is the path forward toward good policy for the common good.