This article originally appeared in the Detroit News February 11, 2025.

Last year, as the final moments of the Democratic trifecta in Michigan ticked away, one lawmaker became increasingly critical of her party’s leadership. Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, was completing her first term in the state House. She had just won reelection in a high-profile race.

After the Nov. 5 election, Coffia and fellow House members returned to Lansing for a lame-duck session — a last chance to pass bills before Republicans took over the House. Heading into lame duck, Gov. Whitmer’s top priority was to secure more funds for business incentives.

That’s when Coffia decided to speak out. On Nov. 11 Coffia shared a pointed message on X.

“We lost to Trump a week ago [a]nd we are now back in House session tomorrow and the majority of the agenda is -*checks notes* [e]conomic development bills,” she wrote. She didn’t stop there.

“As a Dem lawmaker my priority is NOT rushing to take care of the largest corporations in MI,” she wrote on Nov. 25.

In December, unhappy with then-Speaker Joe Tate’s priorities, Coffia released screenshots of private texts she had exchanged with him — an apparent attempt to prompt action on bills she cared about. Later that month she was back on X.

“Don’t back Dems who block or slow walk Dem priorities to protect their corp donors,” Coffia wrote.

The Mackinac Center keeps a running tally of state lawmakers’ votes on taxpayer-funded business subsidies. In the 2023-24 session, the Michigan Legislature approved $4.7 billion in incentives. The last time the state spent that much on business subsidies was the 2007-08 session during Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s second term.

Given Coffia’s loud and repeated criticisms of corporations, you would expect to see her opposition reflected in her voting record. Well, you would be wrong.

For the 2023-24 session, Coffia had a 100% voting record in favor of corporate subsidies, voting to approve nearly $4 billion in just two years.

Compare that to fellow House member Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, whose first term coincided with Coffia’s. Wegela, an outspoken critic of business subsidy programs, has voted for only 6% of the subsidies that have come before him.

Every Republican who served last session in the state House or Senate had a better voting record on corporate handouts than Coffia. Over his legislative career, House Speaker Matt Hall approved 46% of subsidy dollars, while Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt has voted to approve less than 1% of the subsidy amounts up for a vote.

To her credit, during lame duck Coffia opposed giving $250 million in state funds to GM for redeveloping the Renaissance Center, an idea that never got a vote. She also voted against a targeted tax break for data centers. Nevertheless, every other incentive that came up for a vote got a “yes” from Coffia. Coffia’s frustration with her legislative leaders is understandable, but given her frustration, her voting record is not. (Her office did not respond to my request for comment.)

Coffia, of course, is not the first policymaker whose record does not match the rhetoric. In 2011, former Gov. Rick Snyder said that incentives are “a heroin drip for government,” but he went on to support several incentive programs. While Republicans lawmakers are currently opposed to new business incentives, as recently as 2022 some bragged about working with Whitmer to send $1.5 billion to companies.

Coffia had a message for her fellow Democrats: “Pick a side,” she wrote on Nov. 24.

Good advice. But when lawmakers say one thing and vote another way, it’s up to voters to check which side they are on.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.