Whitmer announces task force for Michigan's population growth

A bipartisan commission will develop a statewide strategy to grow the state's lagging population, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced at the Mackinac Policy Conference Thursday.

Driving the news: The governor signed an executive order Thursday to establish the Growing Michigan Together Council, which will identify a population goal for 2050 and advise the governor on policies to grow the state.

• She also announced the creation of a statewide role during her keynote presentation: chief growth officer.
• The state hired Hilary Doe, a Michigan native who lived in Brooklyn for a decade before moving to Detroit, to fill the role.

What they're saying: "It's time for a growth strategy led by leaders and experts focused on our collective goals rather than personal, political or partisan agenda," Whitmer said.

• "I felt like I needed to go someplace else outside of Michigan to be the professional that I dreamed of," Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, who moved to the West Coast to pursue a career in software, said at a press conference. "We want people coming up in Michigan schools to know they have a future here."

Zoom in: The council will be made up of 28 members, 21 voting and seven non-voting. In addition to the bipartisan co-chairs, voting members will be members of the Michigan House and Senate, plus the director of the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

• It will be co-chaired by Shirley Stancato, a Democrat who sits on the Wayne State board of governors, and John Rakolta Jr., a Republican who was former President Trump's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

Yes, but: Just one of the 28 appointees to grow the state's population will be younger than 25.