Imagine you are on a new job for three months when the boss calls you in strongly suggesting that you need to perform a certain function which is against everything you stand for.
As they say on the TV broadcast, “What would you do?”
Say hello to Dylan Wegela. He’s better know in the Garden City area as State Rep. Wegela who was elected to the Michigan House after the 2022 election. He was part of the trifecta wave that swept over the state capitol propelling the state house, the state senate and the governor’s chair all into Democratic hands for the first time in an incredible 40 years.
The euphoria of that win was still heavy in the air in March when the governor asked lawmakers to pony up a $1.3 billion state aid incentive package for the folks who own the Blue Oval. Plunking down a big foot print in the EV battery market was super high on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s must do list and this new Ford plant in Marshall was a must win.
She needed all Democratic hands on deck to vote yes.
Rep. Wegela refused. Oh. Oh. Get the picture here. He is a newbie in this game and didn’t get the memo that new house members are suppose to seen but not heard. The drill is basically, do what you are told to do.
Rep. Wegela refused. The governor’s office knows a thing or two about how to cultivate votes and that sometimes includes horse trading.
Everybody in town knew that Mr. Wegela needed state aid to erase a deficit in the Inkster school system which was in his district.
So you can figure out where this was going.
Yep. In return for his yes vote, he would get the bail out money for school kids whose parents vote in that district.
Rep. Wegela refused. “The term that I use was ‘held hostage.’” He came into office promising his constituents that he was dead set against sending state tax dollars to big corporations. Some begrudgingly call it corporate welfare.
So the “hostage” had two choices: (1) bend his values and help his voters or (2) stand on principle while stiffing his governor in the process.
He did the later. And make no mistake governors never forget getting stiffed and could there be consequences for the stubborn lawmaker down the road when he wants something from the governor?
“That is one of the problems in Lansing. We use appropriation dollars to get people to compromise on their values and if we are constantly making trades on these things, we’re going to lead to the people in power and their values being reflected (in the legislative process) rather than the ones (values) you ran on.”
All together now, “Amen to that.”
BTW, he eventually got the money for his school while being able to look in the mirror every morning and see a rarity these days, someone not willing to go along, to get along. (Watch his personal account of all this at wkar.org and search for Off the Record.)
