Jason Morgan wins House seat in District 23. Washtenaw Voice file photo
Jordan Scenna
Deputy Editor
In a historic midterm election Michigan Democrats claimed the house and senate last week, taking control of both legislative branches for the first time in almost 40 years. Jason Morgan, Washtenaw County commissioner and part-time WCC instructor, was part of the “blue wave,” earning a landslide victory over Republican Richard Sharland in District 23 for house rep. The celebration might be short lived, as Morgan sees a lot of work to be done, including improvements to education, infrastructure, transportation, and water systems.
“There’s a lot that we’re going to have to do after taking the reins from Republican leadership,” Morgan said.
Tuesday’s election prompted the largest voter turnout for a midterm election in Michigan’s history, with 4.45 million people casting their votes, according to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Morgan says that Michigan voters know Democrats are working for them, and went to the polls to show their support.
“Michigan voters saw a vision for a brighter future with Democrats,” Morgan said. “On the other side they saw a Republican party very set on rolling back our reproductive rights, voting rights, and civil liberties.”
Jason Morgan takes a Political Science class to meet with politicians in Lansing. Voice file photo
Morgan has been a part-time WCC instructor since 2019 and has worked as the college’s director of government relations. He says that WCC has done an exceptional job keeping tuition affordable for students, but doesn’t think higher education as a whole is being funded adequately, which is causing rising tuition rates.
“When universities and colleges raise their tuition, it’s usually the result of not having support from the state,” Morgan said. “Funding by the state has significantly declined over the past few decades, far below other states. We are not funding higher education as we should.”
According to the National Science and Engineering Statistics website, Michigan spends less per full time student than Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, and New Mexico, among others.
“Now that we have a Democratic majority, I think we can make meaningful, large investments to make college more affordable,” Morgan said.
Mental health is also a major concern for Morgan. He believes that Michigan doesn’t pay mental health and social workers enough money to do their jobs effectively. Salary for social workers can vary dramatically depending on level of education, location, and other factors, with the low-end earning less than $30,000 a year.
“We have people doing incredibly difficult work and getting paid sometimes $9-$10 an hour with a master’s degree,” Morgan said. “This is not a situation that should be acceptable.”
Other priorities on Morgan’s agenda are repealing “Right to Work” and passing a “pollute or pay” bill. “Right to Work” is a law that restricts union resources and makes it harder for workers to negotiate and enforce contracts with employers. “Pollute or pay” is a bill that would ensure anyone who pollutes the environment has to pay for cleanup.
