LANSING — Lawyers and lumber barons.
Farmers and financiers.
Educators. A cheese maker. A civil engineer.
Those are some of the ways Michigan’s governors have made their livings since 1835, according to Willah Weddon’s “Michigan Governors: Their Life Stories,” and other sources that include the archives of the Detroit Free Press.
Although Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is Michigan’s 49th governor, Michigan has only had 47. That’s because two governors served, left office, and then returned. Gov. John Barry, a Democrat, was Michigan’s fourth and eighth governor. Gov. Frank Fitzgerald, a Republican, was the 34th and 36th.
Here are some details about the careers of Michigan’s governors:
Lawyers became Michigan governor
Michigan’s first 12 governors were all lawyers. The first non-lawyer to lead the state was Gov. Henry Crapo, a Republican who served from 1865 through 1868 and was the first of six Michigan governors who made a significant share of their incomes in the lumber industry.
Last Michigan governor who was not a lawyer
More than 57% of all Michigan governors have been lawyers, including the current governor and the four governors before her. The last Michigan governor who was not a lawyer was Republican Gov. William Milliken, who served from 1969 through 1982. Milliken worked in an eventually headed his family department store business, based in Traverse City.
7 Michigan governors had never won elected office before becoming governor
Most Michigan governors worked their way up to the state’s highest office, but not all of them. Seven Michigan governors had never won elected office before becoming governor, though nearly all of them had been active in politics in some way and had held appointed office or run for office and lost. The most recent political novice elected was Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, a computer company executive and entrepreneur who served from 2011 through 2018.
Michigan state senators became governor
Serving in the Michigan Senate is the most common political apprenticeship before being elected governor. Twenty of Michigan’s 47 governors, or nearly 43%, were state senators before they were governor.
6 Michigan governors had served as lieutenant governor
The lieutenant governor becomes governor when a Michigan governor dies in office or resigns. Six Michigan governors previously held the post of lieutenant governor. The most recent was Milliken. He became governor when Gov. George Romney resigned in 1969 to take a job in the administration of former Republican President Richard Nixon, as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Milliken went on to be elected governor three times.
3 Michigan attorney generals became governor
Three Michigan governors served as state attorney general before they took office. The most recent was Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was governor from 2003 through 2010. Three served as secretary of state before they were governor. The most recent was Fitzgerald, who held the post from 1931 through 1934.
Becoming Michigan governor doesn’t cap political careers
Being elected governor has often capped a Michigan political career, but it hasn’t always ended it. Two Michigan governors were elected to the state Legislature after they left office, but the last to do that was Democratic Gov. Andrew Parsons, who led Michigan in 1853 and 1854. Gov. William Comstock, a Democrat who served as governor in 1933 and 1934, was elected to the Detroit City Council after he left office. Five governors went to the U.S. Senate or U.S. House after leaving office. The last to do that was Democratic Gov. Woodbridge Ferris, who led the state from 1913 through 1916 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1923 to 1928. Former governors have also gone on to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court; most recently Democratic Gov. John Swainson, who led the state in 1961 and 1962. Former Michigan governors have also accepted a wide range of federal appointments. Notably, former Gov. Frank Murphy, a Democrat who led the state in 1937 and 1938 and had also served as mayor of Detroit, went on to become attorney general of the United States and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Michigan governors who are still alive
In addition to Whitmer, Michigan’s sitting governor, four former Michigan governors are still living.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Many different career paths have led to the Michigan governor’s office