“This is not the first time the governor has neglected to have U.P. representation,” Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, said in a written statement. “A few months ago, she failed to maintain an appointment on the Agriculture Commission for a U.P. citizen for the first time in any history I could find.”

The U.P. has had a substantial decline in population for decades, especially with the loss or reduction of various natural resource industries, the Michigan Senate Republicans said in a news release.

“The state of Michigan continues to make it harder and harder to live here, then they choose to ignore us on items like this,” Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, said in a statement. “They hinder mining opportunities, buy up our land, restrict what we can do on our land, make it harder to get affordable energy and then fail to give us a voice on the issues behind our population loss — that is simply unfair.”

McBroom said, “No area of the state has a longer history and deeper understanding of the crushing blow of population loss. We know it well and have already produced data and reviewed research. Numerous nonpartisan experts offered to serve on this panel, and none were appointed. It is hard to see this and not take it as a personal affront to the U.P.”

GREG MARKKANEN

Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River, said in a statement, “The U.P. legislative team needs to pull together and speak with a united voice that we will not stop advocating for our citizens. There is simply no reasonable excuse for such an oversight. A commission of this size on a topic that is so incredibly relevant to this third of the state landmass loses legitimacy by having no one chosen.”

According to the Michigan Senate Republicans, the U.P. was given to the state as a compromise over the fight for the Toledo Strip during the pursuit of statehood from 1835-1836.

Panned as a “worthless patch of wilderness that no one would ever want,” the U.P. became a powerhouse of natural resource wealth and hard-working, Native American and immigrant labor that pulled the state through many hard and destitute times for its first 150 years, the Michigan Senate Republicans said, adding that even as it has declined in population over the past 50 years, it has the nation’s only operating nickel mine, Eagle Mine.

That mine, the group said, is vital to many industries, including batteries, and its forests and iron mines continue to play an “oversized role” in the forest products industry as well as steel and auto production, respectively.

“Gov. Whitmer always talks about wanting to be bipartisan and representative of all Michigan residents,” Rep. Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix, said in a statement. “Why is she excluding an entire region and people that have been so important to this state for so long?”

JENN HILL

McBroom said, “While deeply disappointed in the oversight, we represent resilient, passionate people that motivate us to stand at the ready to work with the governor and this council to offer solutions that address the foundational challenges that underlie the loss and aging of our population in the U.P.”

State Rep. Jenn Hill, D-Marquette, issued her own statement on the lack of U.P. representation.

“The U.P. has so much to offer Michigan, and I am deeply disappointed that the co-chairs of the council did not choose to include our voices in these critical discussions,” Hill said. “Our northern communities have been working to overcome significant hardships in the post-pandemic era, and population stagnation has taken a toll on us. I strongly urge the council co-chairs to expand their vision and implement a more inclusive strategy for tackling this statewide problem.”