Fellow Democrats miffed at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over $50M copper mine subsidy

A $50 million subsidy for a proposal to bring back copper mining to the UP sidestepped the Legislature
Whitmer appointees were instrumental in approving the money
That’s upset some Democrats who say the subsidy would have never been approved by lawmakers

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — already facing criticism from fellow Democrats over her economic development policies, support for data centers and unpopular vetoes — now faces blowback from some members of her own party over a $50 million subsidy for a copper mining proposal.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved the funding on Tuesday, two years after multiple efforts stalled to persuade legislators to approve money for the Copperwood Mine deal in the western Upper Peninsula.

Whitmer appointees were crucial to approving the deal, which sidesteps legislative approval. The money came from a 4-year-old state appropriation for a separate project that lawmakers had already approved.

The governor’s staff is “trying to repurpose those dollars,” state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, wrote on Facebook. He called it “a bad project for public funds.”

“They did this because this project didn’t have support in our Legislature,” Irwin said, “but they wanted to do it anyway.”

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Votes on the Strategic Fund board are usually unanimous, but in an unusual show of dissent, the board voted 7-2 to award $45 million to the project’s developer Highland Copper Inc. Three members did not attend the meeting.

The board unanimously approved a second grant for $5 million for local road improvement to facilitate the project.

Four of the ‘yes’ votes for the corporate subsidy came from Whitmer’s administrative staff: Quentin Messer Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Susan Corbin, director of the Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity, Michael Kapp, economic development administrator of the Department of Transportation, and Chief Deputy Treasurer Lance Wilkinson.

The project is widely supported by Upper Peninsula lawmakers because the area has been decimated by job losses.

Whitmer told Gongwer News Service she’s committed to supporting businesses and “protecting the UP’s air, land and water for generations.”

The approval came after dozens of critics spoke out against the proposal, which has gained the ire of environmentalists because it is close to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains.

Details on the funding proposal were not available to the public until just ahead of the vote.

During the meeting, comments from citizens who attended remotely were delayed until the end of the meeting, after the votes had already taken place.

Among them was state Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township, who said the board “cut out the voices of many residents” by shifting the comment time.

The Strategic Fund board set some safeguards for the money.

Mine developers now must obtain financing for at least $150 million, invest at least $425 million and hire at least 308 workers to obtain the full $45 million grant.

Irwin said the money for the mine had been approved for a microchip factory that did not decide to build in Michigan.

The MEDC was not able to confirm which project when asked Tuesday by Bridge.