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Whitmer revives 2 university board appointments rejected by GOP lawmakers

Craig Mauger
The Detroit News

Lansing — With Democrats now in control in the state Legislature, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is bringing back two university board appointments that were blocked by Republican lawmakers last year.

Whitmer announced Thursday she has again selected former state Rep. Jon Hoadley, a Democrat from Kalamazoo, to serve on the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees and former professor Michael Ryan of Big Rapids to the Ferris State University Board of Trustees.

The Democratic governor previously picked Hoadley and Ryan for the positions in February 2022. But the GOP-controlled Senate, which oversaw Whitmer's appointments, rejected the picks amid disagreements with the administration in April 2022.

Democratic State Rep. Jon Hoadley, the first openly gay candidate to run for Congress in Michigan, meets with supporters and donors at a private event in Colon, Michigan on September 27, 2020. Hoadley is looking to upset U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, the longest-serving Republican in the Michigan congressional delegation.

At the time, Republicans said Hoadley, who was studying to get a master's degree at Western Michigan, shouldn't serve on the board because he was a student and said Ryan had a history with the Ferris board that was problematic.

But Democrats won control of the Senate in November, giving Hoadley and Ryan clear paths to the seats on the boards.

"I’m thrilled to be back serving the WMU community," Hoadley said on Thursday. "Today really is a great day to be a Bronco."

Hoadley served in the state House from 2015 through 2020. He ran for the U.S. House in 2020 against then-Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, losing by 16 percentage points.

When GOP lawmakers blocked his appointment, Democrats said the fact Hoadley is gay played a role in Republicans' decision, an allegation the Republicans denied.

"If it wasn’t already clear that @MIGOP has declared open warfare on LGBTQ people, it should be now," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted at the time. "@JonHoadley is more than qualified for this position. This vote is outrageous."

Whitmer announced 14 appointments for university board positions on Thursday. Among them was Denise Mallett, a partner at Marygrove Consulting, for the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees. Mallett's company is a consultancy for universities and colleges.

The governor picked Marques Thomey of Plymouth, the director of business development and real estate at Wayne County Airport Authority, for the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents and former state Rep. Steven Lindberg, a Democrat from Marquette, for the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees.

She chose Ronald Hall of Bloomfield Township, the president and chief executive officer of Detroit-based auto supplier Bridgewater Interiors, and Shelley Padnos of Fennville, the executive vice president of PADNOS, for the board of trustees at Grand Valley State University.

cmauger@detroitnews.com