Curtis Hertel is a relentless advocate for Mid-Michigan who believes that the only way to accomplish our shared goals is to listen and work with others to find solutions that help everyone.
As Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Director of Legislative Affairs, Hertel led the state through passing bipartisan legislation that cut taxes for seniors and working families, expanded workers’ rights, and won additional new investments in advanced manufacturing that will bring good-paying jobs to Mid-Michigan and across the state. He was also instrumental in passing legislation that repealed the archaic 1931 law that banned abortion in Michigan, even in cases of rape and incest.
Curtis’s son is a student at MSU and was on campus the night of the horrific mass shooting that killed three students, injured five more, and terrified all Michiganders. In the wake of that tragedy, Curtis led the team that passed common sense gun safety legislation, including red flag and safe storage laws and extreme risk protection orders.
“My heart sank when my son called me the night of the shooting, asking me what to barricade the door with. Like any parent, my immediate concern was my family, but in the days and weeks after that horrible night we all knew that we had to act. A national problem became a personal tragedy. I’m a proud Spartan myself, and I’m proud of how we came together to finally pass meaningful laws to help protect Michigan kids.”
In the legislature, Curtis led the fight to preserve Michigan’s status as the world leader in auto manufacturing and bring thousands of next-generation electric vehicle jobs to Mid-Michigan by working with Democrats and Republicans to help pass the legislation that won GM’s $6.5 billion investment in the Delta and Orion Township battery cell and electric vehicle plants.
“The Michigan we grew up in led the world in auto manufacturing, but politicians sold us out and let our jobs get outsourced, and Michigan suffered. We are turning that around and bringing the factories and the jobs that are the future of auto production here – battery plants and next-gen cars. We pulled Democrats and Republicans together to get that done, and it is a generational win for Mid-Michigan”
“It’s hard to believe that some legislators were arguing against the GM deal that is bringing a critical auto supply chain to mid-Michigan. To me, it was a no-brainer, which is why we worked so hard to get it done.”
Hertel has been a passionate supporter of Michigan’s first responders, including passing landmark bipartisan legislation to provide ongoing medical assistance to firefighters who get cancer as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals while on the job.
Curtis also served on the Ingham County Commission, where he worked to expand access to affordable health care, lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, and preserve Michigan farmland. Later as Register of Deeds, Curtis helped to uncover one of the largest cases of foreclosure fraud in Michigan history, taking some of the biggest banks in the country to court to preserve the homes of people who had been cheated.
“I was disgusted when I saw big banks kicking families out of their homes during the foreclosure crisis – even using forged documents to pad their own profits, so I sued them. It was time someone held big banks accountable to protect Michiganders.”
Curtis Hertel knows that cutting taxes for retirees and working people, restoring vital manufacturing jobs, and protecting our rights and safety are all critical to Mid-Michigan, and none of them would have been accomplished without working with Democrats and Republicans to get it done.
