Washtenaw representatives take oath of office for 98th legislative session

 

Courtesy photo. State Rep.Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14. Joining her are her three children: Ryan, Matt and Marielle Driskell.
Courtesy photo. State Rep.Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14. Joining her are her three children: Ryan, Matt and Marielle Driskell.
Courtesy photo. State Rep. Adam F. Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14. Left to right: Girlfriend Kelly Tebay, mother Lori Zemke and father Fred Zemke.
Courtesy photo. State Rep. Adam F. Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14. Left to right: Girlfriend Kelly Tebay, mother Lori Zemke and father Fred Zemke.

State Rep. Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline), Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), David E. Rutledge (D-Ypsilanti) and Adam F. Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) took their oath of office on Jan. 14, starting their next terms in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Reps. Driskell and Zemke will be starting their second term after a very active first two years in the Legislature. “In my first term, I worked on a number of issues for my constituents, including broadband accessibility and finding sustainable solutions to access natural resources,” said Driskell in a press release. “While a lot was accomplished these last two years, there’s still a lot to be done.”

Zemke was equally enthused, stating, “I was proud to work in a bipartisan manner, especially when trying to establish better educator evaluation standards. I will continue this and other priorities to help the citizens of the 55th District and the entire state.”

Courtesy photo: State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14, 2015. Joining him were his spouse Kathryn Loomis, their children Sylvia and Mackinac, and his parents Cynthia Williams and former state senator Mitch Irwin.
Courtesy photo: State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) takes the ceremonial oath of office from Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack on Jan. 14, 2015. Joining him were his spouse Kathryn Loomis, their children Sylvia and Mackinac, and his parents Cynthia Williams and former state senator Mitch Irwin.

Irwin and Rutledge now begin their final terms and will continue their leadership on and championing of progressive values and middle-class priorities.

“I’m excited about the upcoming session. I’m hopeful that Michigan will make progress on issues like clean energy and energy efficiency,” Irwin said. “Thank you to my constituents for the opportunity to serve, and I encourage you to contact me with any concerns or questions.”

“We ended last session on a high note,” said Rutledge. “Democrats and Republicans came together to pass a road funding measure that would provide adequate resources to repair our roads and educate our children, while also providing tax relief for our working poor. My hope is that we will continue that sense of bipartisanship into the new term.”