CMU trustee appointments nixed by state Senate
Two of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s appointees to Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees were blocked Wednesday by the Michigan Senate.
Kevin Kelley, Wayne County’s director of senior and veterans services, and Ronald Edmonds, vice president and controller of the Dow Chemical Company, were the two appointees.
The call for rejections was led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop.
“The citizens of this state and our state universities are the real losers today,” Granholm spokeswoman Megan Brown said in a statement. “Senator Bishop rejected qualified appointees to serve our state universities, making them nothing more than partisan political pawns.”
Matt Marsden, Bishop’s press secretary, said the decision to block Granholm’s appointments has nothing to do with party affiliations or qualifications of the appointees. He said it is too early to begin replacing current positions on various public university boards since it is nine months before there are any vacancies.
“This is more about procedure than it is about the qualifications of the candidates,” he said. “In fact, I think they’re all fine candidates.”
Kelley and Edmonds were two of 14 appointments Granholm made to public Michigan universities March 24 that have all been rejected. Eastern Michigan, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Michigan Technological, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan universities also had board appointments rejected by Bishop, R-Rochester.
“At this point, the governor will continue to perform her duty to appoint qualified individuals to state office through the end of her term of office,” Brown said.
Steve Smith, director of public relations for CMU, said the university has nothing to do with the decision. “We really have no role,” he said. “That’s up to the governor’s discretion.”
Granholm will leave office at noon on Jan. 1. Because of Michigan’s term limits, she cannot run for office again.
-The Associated Press contributed to this report
