Bill Schuette

William Duncan "Bill" Schuette
Attorney General of Michigan
Incumbent
In office
2010 - Present
Term ends
2014
Years in position	3
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Mike Cox (R)
Compensation
Base salary	$124,900
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	2 terms
Prior offices
Michigan State Senate
1994-2002
Michigan Director of Agriculture
1991-1994
U.S. House of Representatives
1985-1991
Education
High school	Herbert Henry Dow High School (1972)
Bachelor's	Georgetown University (1976)
J.D.	University of San Francisco School of Law (1979)
Personal
Birthday	October 13, 1953
Place of birth	Midland, Michigan
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Episcopalian
Websites
Office website

William Duncan "Bill" Schuette (born October 13, 1953, in Midland, Michigan) is the current Republican Attorney General of Michigan. Prior to this, he was an attorney and a former justice on the Michigan Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Schuette plans to run for re-election as attorney general in the 2014 elections.

Biography

Schuette is a native of Midland, Michigan and has had a long career in the public eye. This started when he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1980s. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1990. Following his loss in that election, he was appointed Michigan Director of Agriculture. In 1994, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate. He was selected by George W. Bush to be a representative to Australia in May of 2001 for the Australian-American Friendship week. Following his 6 years as a judge on Michigan's Court of Appeals, he worked for a private legal practice with the law firm of Warner, Norcross & Judd. There he served as senior counsel.

Schuette has also served in the following roles:

• Board member, Education Freedom Fund
• Member, Board of Trustees - Albion College
• Member, Visiting Committee - Gerald R. Ford Institute at Albion College
• Trustee, Elsa U. Pardee Foundation
• Vice President, Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation

Schuette received the Public Servant of the Year Award (2008) from the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

Education

• Graduated from Herbert Henry Dow High School (1972)
• Bachelor's degree (in foreign service), Georgetown University (1976) (cum laude)
• Juris Doctorate degree, University of San Francisco School of Law (1979)

Political career

Michigan Attorney General (2010-Present)

On September 19, 2009, Schuette announced his candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat being vacated by Mike Cox, who was barred by state term limit laws from running for a third consecutive term in office. Schuette secured the Republican nomination at the State Party Convention on Friday, August 28, 2010 by a delegate vote of 1,072 to 971 over State Senator Mike Bishop. He went on to defeat Democratic challenger, David Leyton, in the general election on Tuesday, November 2nd after receiving fifty-two percent of the vote.

Marijuana

Schuette, a long time opponent of medical marijuana, made his feelings clear regarding a bill to decriminalize marijuana that was introduced in 2013 by state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D). Schuette stated, "We should not go down this road of legalizing drugs. It exposes young kids, children, to ever more potent drug use and I think that's not good for them in the future."

Recall effort

Protestors at a pro-medical marijuana rally on September 7, 2011, called for the recall of Schuette because of his support for laws they believed would hurt the ability of patients to access marijuana. That same day the Midland County Election Commission approved the recall language submitted by petitioner Richard C. Clement Sr., who said Schuette failed to uphold some provisions of the state Medical Marihuana Act. The law was passed by 63 percent of the voters in 2008.

Clement had 180 days to gather 807,000 valid signatures in order to put a recall election on the ballot. All signatures had to be collected during a 90 a period. A substantial recall effort never materialized.

Birth control mandate

Schuette responded to the Obama administration's mandate that the majority of employers include birth control coverage in their health plans by calling it an attack on religious liberty. He made plans to sue the administration on February 10, 2012, and named himself leader in the nation's Attorneys General efforts to file briefs in support of lawsuits filed by the conservative religious rights group Becket Fund for Religious Liberty against the new insurance requirement.

Court of Appeals Judge (2002-2009)

In 2002, Schuette was elected to serve as a judge on the Michigan Fourth District Court of Appeals. He remained there until 2009, when he quietly let his term expire in order to establish his campaign for state attorney general.

Michigan State Senate (1994-2002)

Schuette was elected in 1994 to serve as a Republican member of the Michigan State Senate, representing the state's thirty-fifth senate district; he remained in office for eight years. As a state senator, he worked with a number of legislative committees, among them the Judiciary Committee, the Technology and Energy Committee, and the Gaming and Casino Oversight Committee. In addition to those, he served as chairman of both the Economic Development Committee as well as the Reapportionment Committee.

Michigan Agricultural Commissioner (1991-1994)

Republican Governor John Engler appointed Schuette as director of the state's agricultural department in 1991. It was during this time that he and his wife, Cynthia, founded the Michigan Harvest Gathering, a food and fund drive to help feed hungry people throughout the state, which, in conjunction with the Food Bank Council of Michigan, raised more than $4.9 million and 7 million pounds of food for Michigan families over a period of fifteen years.

U.S. House of Representatives (1985-1991)

Five years after receiving his law degree, Schuette was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of Michigan's tenth congressional district; he replaced Democratic incumbent Donald J. Albosta. During his six year tenure in office, he served on the House Budget Committee, the House Agriculture Committee, and the House Select Committee on Aging. Additionally, between 1987 and 1989, Schuette sponsored eleven bills, none of which made it out of committee or were successfully enacted; he co-sponsored three-hundred and eight bills also during this time period. In 1991, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to unseat Democratic incumbent Carl Levin in the United States Senate.

Elections

2014

See also: Michigan attorney general election, 2014

Schuette is eligible for re-election as Michigan's attorney general in 2014 and has stated his intention to seek a second term in the state executive post rather than pursue a higher office, as some rumors indicated prior to March 2013.

The general election will take place on November 4, 2014.

2010

See also: Michigan Attorney General election, 2010

At the State Republican Party Convention on Friday, August 28, 2010, Bill Schuette secured the nomination over Mike Bishop by a delegate vote of 1,072 to 971.

MDP attack ad

The Michigan Democratic Party released an online advertisement in May 2010 attacking Schuette, Republican candidate for state attorney general, who, at this point in time, had not yet secured the nomination of the Republican Party. The ad attempted to link the former state senator with the Big Oil industry and, in effect, the BP offshore oil rig disaster because during his tenure in the state legislator he sponsored and voted in favor of legislation that would allow for drilling in the Great Lakes.

Critics argued, however, that the video distorted what the measure was really about. Although the legislation did allow for drilling in the region, "the vote in question was not for drilling IN the lakes but rather under it... From shore."

2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Bill Schuette	52.3%
	Democratic Party	David Leyton	43.5%
	Libertarian Party	Daniel W. Grow	2.3%
	U.S. Taxpayers	Gerald Van Sickle	1.9%
Total Votes			3,136,224

1998

• 1998 Race for State Senate, District 35 - Republican Primary

• Bill Schuette ran unopposed in this contest

1998 Race for State Senate, District 35 - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	a Bill Schuette	70.4%
	Democratic Party	Brian Baldwin	29.6%
Total Votes			87,410

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Bill Schuette's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Bill Schuette's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Attorney General of Michigan		1998 Michigan State Senate District 35
Total Raised	$2,203,755		$205,662
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$714,580		$0
Top 5 contributors	Michigan Republican Party	$66,319	Michigan Credit Union League	$5,150
	Great Lakes Education Project and Michigan Association of Realtors	$34,000 each	Detroit Auto Dealers Association	$4,200
	Michigan Chamber of Commerce and BCBS of Michigan	$34,000 each	Michigan Auto Dealers Association	$3,100
	Republican State Leadership Committee and Meijer Inc	$34,000 each	Michigan Association of CPAs	$2,900
	Michigan Health & Hospital Association	$34,000	Michigan Manufactures Housing RV & Campground Association/MMHR and Association Underground Contractors/AUC PAC	$2,500 each
Individuals	$1,481,703		$117,673
Institutions	$595,750		$82,730
In-state donations	$1,966,368		$192,477
Out-of-state donations	$196,114		$13,185

Recent news

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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Bill + Schuette + Michigan + Attorney"

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Bill Schuette News Feed

• Michigan AG Bill Schuette weighs in on IRS scandal, invites impacted groups to ... - Bay City Times
• Michigan Attorney General Schuette calls alleged IRS targets to come forward - WKZO
• Decriminalize marijuana? Michigan AG Bill Schuette doesn't want to go down ... - MLive.com
• Attorney general talks to Westwood Heights students about Internet safety ... - Mlive- flint
• Why Bill Schuette Hates Patient Rights - Detroit Metro Times
• Kalamazoo Democrat Mark Totten may seek the Michigan Attorney General's job - WKZO
• Flint woman pleads guilty to embezzling from dementia patient to pay for ... - Mlive- flint
• USA: MLCV Applauds Attorney General Bill Schuette - Dredging Today
• Police, attorney general should investigate $7.45 million in Skills Center tax ... - Mlive- flint
• Schuette: Michigan to get $2.3M from drug case - MyFox Detroit

Personal

Schuette and his wife, Cynthia Grebe, have two children, Heidi and Billy.

Contact Information

Capitol Address:
Office of Attorney General
110 State Office Building
305 Lundington
Escanaba, MI 49829

Phone: (906) 786-0169
Fax: (906) 786-6445
E-mail: miag@michigan.gov

See also

• Attorney General of Michigan
• Attorney General
• Profile of Judge Bill Schuette on Judgepedia

External links

• Official Michigan Attorney General website
• Bill Schuette for Michigan Attorney General Campaign website
• Bill Schuette's Facebook profile
• Bill Schuette's Twitter account
• Warner Norcross & Judd LLP - Bill Schuette profile
• Project Vote Smart - Bill Schuette biography

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mike Cox (R)	Michigan Attorney General 2010–present	Succeeded by NA