ALPENA — Lieutenant Gov. Garlin Gilchrist visited Alpena on Wednesday as part of his campaign to be elected Secretary of State this November.
He held a meet-and-greet at the Blue Moon Cafe and talked about his accomplishments and goals if he is voted in come November.
As lieutenant governor, Gilchrist said that he is most proud of his work implementing the Automatic Expungements: Michigan Clean Slate program, the restoration of Michigan residents drivers licenses, and Caring for MI Future, a program that aims to bring accessible childcare to Michigan families.
In regards to the criminal record expungement program, Gilchrist said that more people will have more job opportunities in the future because of his work.
“A million people are going to be job eligible in ten years because of that program,” he said. “We have so many small businesses that are so hungry for talent.”
In 2019, Gilchrist said that he oversaw a taskforce on jail and pre-trial incarceration to restore 400,000 drivers licenses to Michigan residents.
“If you talk to any job training program in the state of Michigan, they will say that a person having a drivers license is critical for them to be able to get the kind of work they need to support a family,” he said.
The third accomplishment Gilchrist highlighted was in regards to providing accessible childcare to working Michigan families.
“That opened 1,400 childcare facilities in 13 months across the state of Michigan,” he said. “The goal was to open 1,000 in two years.”
“Childcare is a significant challenge for families all across Michigan,” he said.
Gilchrist explained that a “significant” number of those facilities were opened in Northern-Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
He said that he wished he could have gotten more accomplished in providing accessible internet access to Michigan residents.
“I want Michigan to be the first large state to connect 100% of our people to fast, robust and affordable internet,” he said. “We are not there yet.”
“I'd hoped to be able to accomplish that as lieutenant governor, we didn’t quite get there,” he said.
Looking ahead to a potential tenure as Secretary of State, Gilchrist said that maintaining voting rights for Michigan residents will be his priority. When asked if he believes the voter roll in Michigan is accurate, he said that the voter roll is a living document and it will always be a priority to keep it current.
“The voter rule is always changing,” he said. “It’s always going to be important to make sure that you keep it current.”
If elected as Secretary of State, Gilchrist said that he will prioritize the protection of people’s data and information due to the amount of information the department holds.
“The Secretary of State's office has more information about Michiganders than any other State Department,” he said.
He added that he will also prioritize modernizing the Secretary of State experience for residents across the state, with the goal of making it easier and more convenient for residents to renew their licenses, registration, and more.
Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.
