Sold to the public 20 years ago as a way to attract "citizen lawmakers," term limits in Michigan are instead a launching pad for lobbyists, government officials and serial political candidates, a Free Press analysis by Lansing reporter Paul Egan shows.
Seventy percent of those elected to term-limited offices cling to the political system after they leave, remaining as politicians or bureaucrats in government or parlaying their Capitol experience into jobs as lobbyists or consultants.
"Lansing is like a big deck of cards," Scott Shackleton, a Sault Ste. Marie Republican who served six years in the House and now manages a golf course told Egan. "Everyone is still there, but it's all shuffled and people are in different positions."
Former lawmakers from both parties say officeholders get so focused on jockeying for their next move that they sometimes lose sight of why they are there.
