James Ananich ( ; born September 20, 1975) is a politician from the State of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He is a
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
member of the
Michigan State Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
representing the
27th district, which is located in
Genesee County and includes the cities
Burton,
Clio
In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing.
Etymology
Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλÎω/ÎºÎ»ÎµÎ¯Ï ...
,
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
,
Mount Morris and
Swartz Creek and the townships of
Flint Township,
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
,
Genesee
Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to:
Geographic features Canada
*Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community
United States
*Genesee, California
*Genesee, Colorado
*Genesee County, Michigan
*Genesee Co ...
,
Mount Morris,
Richfield,
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...
and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
Early life
James "Jim" Ananich was born to James and Susan Ananich as their only child. They raised him in Flint. His father was
Flint City Ombudsman. In 1986, Jim's mother died. Thus the following year his father resigned as ombudsman to teach policy science at
University of Michigan-Flint
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. He attend Flint Central where he played basketball and tennis.
Ananich attended and graduated in 1998 from
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics and a secondary teaching certificate in social studies. He also received a master's degree in Public Administration-Educational Administration from the
University of Michigan-Flint
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
.
At Michigan State he joined the College Democrats. In 1998, he interned with the
Michigan Democratic Party
The Michigan Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Michigan. It is based in Lansing. Lavora Barnes is the party's current chair. She was previously the party's Chief Operating Officer. The party currently con ...
then went to work for Senate Minority Leader
John Cherry.
From 1998 to 2001, he worked for U.S. Rep.
Dale Kildee
Dale Edward Kildee (September 16, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative of Michigan from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
His district included Flint, Saginaw and Bay ...
, D-Flint.
Until 2000, Ananich worked in Kildee's Washington, DC office. In 2000, his dad died thus he returned to Flint and worked out of Kildee's district office. After his 2004 primary loss, he worked for
Bob Emerson.
Ananich met Andrea Abdella at the voting booth. Jim and Andrea were wed on November 8, 2003.
He then became a teacher in the
Carman-Ainsworth and
Flint Community School Districts from 2005 to 2009 teaching social studies.
[ He was later employed by Priority Children as an education coordinator until 2011.][
]
Political career
Ananich served on the Flint City Council from November 8, 2005 to November 9, 2009.[ He ran against ]Lee Gonzales
Lee Gonzales (born 1950) is an American politician from the Michigan. Gonzales is a former Democratic Party member of Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented the 49th District, which is located in Genesee County and includes pa ...
for Michigan State Representative in the 2004 Democratic primary and lost. The next year, he was elected to Flint City Council and serve until 2009. On November 10, 2008, Ananich was selected by the council to be their president replacing Carolyn Sims. Ananich was succeeded as Council President by Delrico Loyd and as Member from the 7th ward by Dale Weighill. He then ran for State Representative in 2010 winning against Allan Pool 67% to 33%, succeeding Gonzales.
Ananich was unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 7, 2012 in his run for reelection, which he won on November 6 with nearly 74 percent of the votes. He introduced a bill on February 5, 2013 to correct a law regarding the abuse of vulnerable adults changing how prosecuting attorneys prove their case and was signed into law on June 4, 2013.[
In 2013, with a vacancy due to John J. Gleason's resignation from the 27 District State Senate seat, he won election to the position on May 7.] He introduced on October 23 a drive-by shooting incidents law that increased penalties which was passed and signed into law July 16, 2014. His scrap metal bill was signed into law on December 31. Ananich faced no opposition in the Democratic primary election on August 5, 2014.[ The Democratic State Senate caucus on November 6, 2014 selected Ananich to be the upcoming Senate Minority Leader.][
]
Issues
The Flint Water Crisis
Shortly into his tenure as Senator, the Flint Water Crisis enfolded over the course of several months and drew national attention to the Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
. On January 13, 2016, Ananich called for the state to refund the $2 million to the city; Ananich also requested further emergency funding from the state and a commitment to long-term funding to address the effects of the lead contamination. Senator Ananich also sharply criticized the role emergency managers played in worsening the crisis and that the law allowing the positions should be reviewed and repealed. "It's been a failed project," he said. "There's absolutely no accountability with the government. They are trying to circumvent local democracy and say, 'This one individual knows best.'" On January 20, 2016 Senator Ananich introduced Senate Resolution 0133 (2016) that would grant state lawmakers probing the Flint water crisis subpoena power over the Governor's office, which is immune to the state Freedom of Information Act.
On February 23, 2016, the Michigan State Legislature started a committee to investigate the crisis chaired by Representative Jim Stamas
Jim Stamas (born February 17, 1965) was a member of the Michigan State Senate and former Majority Floor Leader of the Michigan House of Representatives. He was inaugurated in the Michigan Senate on January 1, 2015 and left office on January 1, ...
and named Ananich as co-vice-chair along with Representative Ed McBroom
Edward W. McBroom (born May 30, 1981) is a Republican member of the Michigan Senate, representing the 38th district since 2019. The district is twelve of Michigan's fifteen Upper Peninsula counties: Alger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic ...
.
Cryptocurrency
Ananich is a supporter of cryptocurrencies
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank
A bank is a financial i ...
and stated that he wants to make Michigan the most pro-Bitcoin
Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: â‚¿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...
state in the country in 2022.
Elections
References
External links
Official Senate Profile
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ananich, Jim
1975 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
Flint Central High School alumni
Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Michigan city council members
Democratic Party Michigan state senators
Michigan State University alumni
Politicians from Flint, Michigan
University of Michigan–Flint alumni