Garlin Gilchrist facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Garlin Gilchrist
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Gilchrist in 2022
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| 64th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2019 |
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| Governor | Gretchen Whitmer |
| Preceded by | Brian Calley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Garlin Gilchrist II
September 25, 1982 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ellen Gilchrist |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Michigan (BS) |
Garlin Gilchrist II (born September 25, 1982) is an American politician and engineer. He currently serves as the 64th lieutenant governor of Michigan. He has held this important role since 2019. Gilchrist is a member of the Democratic Party.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Garlin Gilchrist was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1982. His family later moved to Farmington, Michigan. His mother worked for General Motors for 32 years. His father worked for the United States Department of Defense.
Gilchrist studied at the University of Michigan. In 2005, he earned a degree in engineering. He focused on computer science and computer engineering.
Career Journey
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After college, Gilchrist moved to Redmond, Washington. He worked as a software engineer for Microsoft for four years. There, he helped create a program called SharePoint.
Later, Gilchrist became a community organizer. He worked for the Center for Community Change, now called Community Change. He also directed new media for them. After that, he worked for MoveOn.org in Washington, D.C.. He was the national campaign director.
In 2014, Gilchrist returned to Detroit. He worked for the city government. He was the director of innovation and emerging technology. He helped create the "Improve Detroit" app. This app lets people report problems to the city.
He also became the first executive director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility. This center is part of the University of Michigan School of Information.
In 2017, Gilchrist ran for Detroit City Clerk. He lost the election by a small number of votes. In 2019, he was recognized as a "Community Change Champion." This was for his work to improve social and racial fairness in the United States.
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Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
In 2018, Gretchen Whitmer chose Gilchrist as her running mate. They ran together in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election. They won against the Republican team.
When Whitmer won, Gilchrist made history. He became the first African American to be Michigan's lieutenant governor. He was also the first lieutenant governor born in the 1980s. He started his term on January 1, 2019.
Gilchrist was also a vice-chair for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. In November 2022, Whitmer and Gilchrist were re-elected. They won by a large number of votes in the 2022 Michigan gubernatorial election.
On April 9, 2020, Governor Whitmer asked Gilchrist to lead a special task force. This group looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected different racial groups. They wanted to understand and fix racial differences in health outcomes.
Gilchrist later announced that the task force had succeeded. They helped reduce the differences in COVID-19 deaths. A study in 2021 showed their work was very helpful. It helped lower the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths among Black residents. For example, cases for Black residents dropped from 176 per million people per day in March 2020 to 59 per million per day by October 2020.
Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration
Gilchrist also helped lead another important group. This was the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. This group included leaders from both major political parties. They looked at why so many people were being held in jails before their trials. The number of people in jail had grown a lot over 30 years.
The task force held many public meetings across Michigan. They worked together to find solutions. In January 2021, many of their ideas became law. These new laws aimed to keep communities safe. They also helped thousands of people avoid arrest for minor, non-violent issues.
These new laws were praised as a great example of teamwork. They included rules to:
- Stop suspending driver's licenses for reasons not related to dangerous driving.
- Change minor traffic offenses to civil violations, like a ticket.
- Allow police officers to give tickets instead of arresting people for many minor offenses.
- Make it harder for job licensing boards to consider old, minor offenses.
- Keep juvenile records private and allow them to be erased automatically.
- Limit the use of arrest warrants for people who miss court for minor first-time offenses.
- Remove required minimum prison sentences for certain minor violations.
Personal Life
Garlin Gilchrist is married to Ellen Gilchrist. They have three children together.
See also
In Spanish: Garlin Gilchrist para niños
