Pam Byrnes (born June 25, 1947) is a former
Democratic State Representative in the
Michigan State House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...
, representing the
52nd District, which covers parts of
Washtenaw County. On July 18, 2013, Pam Byrnes announced that she will run as a Democratic candidate to challenge Republican
Representative Tim Walberg
Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023.
Early life, educa ...
in
Michigan's 7th congressional district.
Career
Byrnes is a lawyer and small business owner, and lives on a small farm outside of
Chelsea, Michigan
Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled as early as 1820 within the Michigan Territory by settler Cyrus Beckwith. It would be organize ...
with her husband, Kent Brown. She is the former director of
Washtenaw County Friend of the Court. She served as the Executive Director of the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
-
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...
Joint Institute, a program that provides University of Michigan students and faculty a platform to engage in engineering education and research in an international setting, often collaborating with Michigan businesses, such as
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
and
TRW Automotive
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was an American global supplier of automotive systems, modules, and components to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and related aftermarkets. Tracing its roots from TRW Inc. it was originally h ...
.
State legislative career
Byrnes was elected to the State House in 2004, beating
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Joe Yekulis by over 5000 votes. She competed with Yekulis for the section of western
Washtenaw County that he had represented on the County Commission for the past decade. In 2006, Byrnes was the lone
Democrat running for State Representative in the district. She faced Republican Shannon Brown in the general election, and she was reelected by over 11000 votes. Byrnes ran for re-election to the State House for the final time in November 2008, due to Michigan term limits. Byrnes' Republican opponent was Eric Lielbriedis, of
Saline. She was reelected with over 62% of the vote, and a margin of over 16000 votes. While in the House, Byrnes served as House Speaker Pro Tempore.
On December 13, 2009, Pam Byrnes announced her candidacy for State Senate in Michigan's 18th district at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse in Ypsilanti's Depot Town. Five days before the election, an article in a Michigan newspaper revealed that the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP), a Political Action Committee funded in part by Republicans Dick &
Betsy DeVos
Elisabeth Dee DeVos ( ; ' Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support for ...
, made two independent expenditures promoting Pam Byrnes and one independent expenditure criticizing her opponent. GLEP lobbies for choice, accountability and quality in education and assists candidates that support education reform. Byrnes lost the Democratic primary to
Rebekah Warren, 55-41%. Warren would go on to win the general election.
2014 Congressional election
On July 18, 2013, Pam Byrnes announced her candidacy for Congress in
Michigan's 7th congressional district. In announcing her candidacy, Byrnes stated, "Washington is broken and Rep. Tim Walberg is part of the problem. Michigan's middle-class is paying the price for his partisan politics that put special interests and corporation before working families." Byrnes was endorsed by
EMILY's List
EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...
.
She would go to lose by 53% to 41%.
Electoral history
References
External links
Pam Byrnes for Congress campaign siteMichigan House Democrats Michigan House Democratic Site
Michigan Democratic Party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrnes, Pam
1947 births
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Women state legislators in Michigan
University of Michigan staff
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
People from Washtenaw County, Michigan