The Legislature’s first attempt to OK a ballot proposal to change how Michigan’s major university boards are selected failed for lack of Democratic support. Lawmakers should keep trying to draft a measure that meets the essential goal of replacing elected boards with trustees appointed by the governor.
Just one Democrat voted in favor of the measure, despite lobbying by Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The vote was 52-54, well short of the 74 votes needed to put it on the August primary ballot. Senate approval is also needed.
Backers have another shot to get a proposal before voters by placing it on the November general election ballot. They should make it a priority to negotiate a deal that can pass the Legislature and give voters an opportunity to vote on this vital reform.
The defeated proposal sought to change the boards of Michigan State, the University of Michigan and Wayne State from elected to appointed, which would bring them in line with the state’s other 12 public universities.
Opposition from labor unions, who are an influential force in university board elections, helped derail the measure introduced in the Republican-controlled House. Some lawmakers were also concerned that the elected boards would be dissolved at the end of this year, shortchanging trustees who had not yet served their full eight-year terms.
Democratic Floor Leader Sam Singh, whose district includes the MSU campus, has already introduced a revised proposal that offers hope of gaining consensus.
Singh proposes adding a measure requiring the secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor to be nominated in the August primary, rather than by partisan conventions.
That’s a good government reform that has support among the Democratic caucus, and is perhaps just as urgent as removing university boards from the political process. Party conventions are often controlled by fringe groups and produce nominees that are outside of the political mainstream.
Singh’s version would phase in the implementation of the appointed boards, allowing current trustees to serve out their full terms before being replaced by gubernatorial appointees. It also drops a provision that would have limited each party to no more than five seats on newly structured 9-member boards. Democrats, who currently hold the majority of university board seats, risked losing control.
It is important, however, that any new proposal maintain provisions added by Republican House Speaker Matt Hall to fully subject universities to the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings acts.
Protections against patronage should also be built in, including the creation of an advisory commission to recommend trustee appointees to the governor.
Michigan’s university boards have been a persistent embarrassment to the state and an obstacle to maximizing the potential of these valuable institutions. Lawmakers should rally to give them a chance to do better.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Keep trying on university board reform | Our View
Reporting by The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
