Article courtesy of MIRS for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
(GRAND RAPIDS) – Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) was announced as Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson’s running mate, creating Michigan’s first major-party all-female gubernatorial ticket and giving Democrats a West Michigan presence at the top of their ticket.
Assuming she wins approval at the Democratic Party convention, Brinks will also be the first Grand Rapids resident to appear on the party’s ticket in at least the last 60 years. A table featuring each major party’s top-of-the-ticket selections since 1966 can be viewed here.
“I’ve traveled the state as a candidate for governor, and I can see how important it is that every corner of the state is represented,” Benson said. “It’s about competent, results-oriented leadership, ensuring that the east side of the state and west side of the state are represented.
Political observers pointed to Brinks’ legislative experience, relationships at the Capitol and West Michigan roots as reasons the selection made sense.
Brinks is the term-limited Senate Majority Leader, who leaves with relationships on both sides of the aisle. She’s familiar with process, policy and the inner workings of the Senate. Also, as a West Michigan native and resident, the Brinks pick is a nod to a part of the state where Democrats have made substantial electoral gains in recent cycles.
“When you get right down to it, all things considered, Brinks probably was the best pick,” said Bill Ballenger of the Ballenger Report.
Democratic political consultant Jill Alper agreed.
“Secretary of State Benson’s pick of Sen. Brinks demonstrates her excellent judgment and readiness to become governor,” Alper said. “In Senator Brinks, she’s chosen a partner who understands the legislature, state government and who is a proven advocate for the people.”
Grassroots Midwest CEO Adrian Hemond called Brinks a “safe pick for a frontrunner.”
“Your job as the frontrunner is not to screw up, and Benson didn’t screw up,” Hemond said. “Winnie Brinks doesn’t have skeletons in the closet that we know of. She knows her way around the Senate.”
Brinks, 58, is finishing her second term in the Senate after having served three terms in the House. The married mother of three adult children came into the Legislature after the 2012 election, having defeated former Rep. Roy Schmidt in the party-switching scandal that involved Schmidt recruiting his nephew’s friend to run as a Democrat as part of a Filing Day switcheroo.
After the friend, Matt Mojzak, dropped out of the race, then-Rep. Brandon Dillon and other Grand Rapids Democrats brainstormed for non-traditional candidates who could conceivably defeat Schmidt in the fall. At the time, Brinks was a caseworker at The Source in Grand Rapids and an executive director for a nonprofit corrections agency. The Calvin University graduate earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a concentration in sociology.
Brinks said she wasn’t looking to get into politics back in 2012, but said she felt her community needed her, just like she feels like they need her now.
“I never planned to run for office,” Brinks said. “I was happy with my nonprofit work and life with my husband … while I could have thought of a million reasons not to run, I knew that if I wanted things to change, I couldn’t wait for someone else to do it.”
She earned a spot in the Legislature, and Brinks hasn’t looked back since. Dillon praised her legislative accomplishments, her temperament and her ability to “bring people together and then make tough decisions and stick to them.”
“It was a slam dunk pick,” Dillon said. “There’s a long list of bodies of people who have underestimated Winnie Brinks.”
Republicans countered that Brinks “oversaw the most left-wing, out-of-touch budget we’ve ever seen in Michigan,” according to Michigan Republican Party (MRP) Chair Jim Runestad.
“Her $9 billion in one-time funding included $200 million to fix the roads with zero to show for it,” said MRP spokesperson Ted Goodman.
But environmental and labor interests who tend to side with Democrats rushed to applaud the announcement, with Lisa Wozniak, president and CEO of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters saying, “There are few in the Legislature as tenacious and determined as Winnie Brinks – and she has a long, proven track record of advancing policies that protect Michigan’s water and the health of our communities.”
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