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If Lansing's swamp creatures are this afraid of Proposal 1, Michigan voters should pay attention.
The opposition to calling a state constitutional convention has brought together an unholy alliance of Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative consultants, associations, lobbyists and institutional guardians of the status quo. Their argument is that a convention is too risky. What they really mean is that it is too risky for them.
That's because a state constitutional convention can't be fully scripted by Lansing. Voters would first decide whether to call one. If they say yes on Proposal 1, delegates from all 148 legislative districts would be elected in 2027, and any proposed revision would still have to return to voters for approval.
In other words, Proposal 1 is not a blank check.
The Michigan of 2026 is not the Michigan of the postwar years. The state that George Romney and others modernized during the last convention in 1961 and 1962 was growing, confident and still benefiting from the industrial order that made Michigan a national powerhouse.
That Michigan is gone.
Communities across the state, including here in the Northeast, are struggling to maintain schools, roads, emergency services and local governments designed for a different era.
Nobody can deny that the present state Constitution was a good document for its time. Romney cleaned up an outdated structure and gave Michigan a basic framework of government that made sense for the middle of the 20th century.
Since its adoption, Lansing has spent decades stuffing the state Constitution with policy fights that should have been resolved through ordinary legislating. Both parties have done it. So have interest groups that found it easier to buy petition signatures than persuade lawmakers and voters district by district.
The result is a state Constitution that is treated less like a charter of government and more like a storage closet for whatever Lansing could not, or would not, handle honestly.
Consider income and property taxes. Consider money in politics. Consider whether decisions about land use, planning and zoning should be made locally or dictated by Lansing.
These are not minor questions. Unfortunately, the Legislature under Democrats and Republicans has shown that it's incapable of resolving them.
That is why the unholy alliance of Lansing swamp creatures is so revealing. Their committee is, in practice, a protection racket for special interests.
Their opposition is not hard to understand. A state constitutional convention would put subjects on the table that Lansing insiders prefer to keep off the table.
They cannot control who would run for delegate. They cannot control what a convention would debate. Most importantly, they cannot control the final outcome because any proposal would still go back to Michigan voters. That is the part they fear most.
Voters should not be scared by warnings that a state constitutional convention would be messy. Democracy is messy. So is legislating. So is the current amendment process.
A yes vote gives ordinary Michiganders the chance to have a long-overdue conversation about how Michigan funds state and local government, taxes itself and adapts to address the future.
The current state Constitution has locked communities into outdated structures while special interests protect the status quo. A yes vote on Proposal 1 is the chance for voters to decide whether that arrangement still serves the people of Michigan.
Dennis Lennox is a political commentator and Republican public affairs consultant. Follow @dennislennox on X.