Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s husband breaks wife’s safety order for Michigan

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is being criticized over her husband’s request to have their boat prepared before the Memorial Day Weekend after her announcement days before that people should be cautious of travelling.
• The docking company posted on its Facebook page that her husband, Marc Mallory, was respectful and understanding when told that his request cannot be granted.
• Republican Senator Tom Barrett criticized Whitmer over Mallory’s action, saying that “her family is trying to cut people in line.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer came under fire after her husband appeared to deviate from her own advice regarding holiday travel restrictions.

The Democrat governor announced last Monday that she was lifting lockdown measures in some areas before the Memorial Day weekend. 

“If you don’t live in these regions … think long and hard before you take a trip into them,” she said.

“A small spike could put the hospital system in dire straits pretty quickly. That’s precisely why we’re asking everyone to continue doing their part. Don’t descend on [waterfront] Traverse City from all regions of the state,” Whitmer added.

Detroit News reported on Monday that just three days after Whitmer’s announcement, a dock company owner posted on Facebook that her husband, Marc Mallory, asked his workers to move their nearby boat in the water before the Memorial Day weekend.

“This morning, I was out working when the office called me, there was a gentleman on hold who wanted his boat in the water before the weekend,” NorthShore Dock LLC owner Tad Dowker posted Thursday on Facebook.

According to the news agency, the vacation property that the governor and her husband own is about 25 minutes from Traverse City.

Based on News’ report, Dowker wrote, “Being Memorial weekend and the fact that we started working three weeks late means there is no chance this is going to happen. Well our office personnel had explained this to the man and he replied, ‘I am the husband to the governor, will this make a difference?’”

The docking company later posted on its Facebook page that Mallory was respectful and understanding when told that his request could not be entertained, according to the News.

Senator Tom Barrett, a Republican, criticized Whitmer over Mallory’s action. According to the senator, while the governor urged her constituents not to go to Traverse City, her husband was doing otherwise.

“In the Army, we have a tradition that the leaders get in line for chow last behind everyone else in the unit… (then) Here is the leader of our state… Her family is trying to cut people in line,” he said.

The governor’s spokesperson, Tiffany Brown, did not deny the news involving Mallory but said her boss’ office won’t be responding to “every rumor that is spread online.”

With Michigan’s overwhelming COVID-19 cases and deaths, some of Whitmer’s enforced measurements were among the strictest in the US, which fueled mass protests by some Michiganians.

Source: New York Post