U.S. Rep.-elect Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, is settling in at the nation’s capital as she prepares to serve as the first woman to represent West Michigan in Congress.
Last week, Scholten’s office announced Craig Kwiecinski as her inaugural chief of staff in Washington, D.C. and Annissa Eddie as district director in West Michigan. Eddie is the co-owner of Malamiah Juice Bar in downtown Grand Rapids, while Kwiecinski previously served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat representing the Pittsburgh, Pa. suburbs.
Scholten, an attorney who previously practiced at Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey PLC and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, defeated Republican challenger John Gibbs in the Nov. 8 election by nearly 13 points, or about 44,000 votes. She takes over for outgoing U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, who Scholten reportedly has been in close contact with during the transition.
MiBiz briefly caught up via phone with Scholten, who discussed her priorities on small businesses, transportation and infrastructure.
How is the process of settling in, hiring staff and setting up a congressional office?
We’re feeling really good. There’s obviously a lot of transition and I think that it can often have a feeling of this really frenetic, chaotic energy, but I’m feeling really calm and steady. We’re hiring a great team; the orientation process has been incredible. The House administration office is so organized and tells you everything you need to know, and we made some great announcements this week. We hired a fantastic chief of staff who was Congressman Conor Lamb’s chief of staff, so he knows a lot about running an office in a purple industrial city in the middle of the country. And we hired an amazing district director, a well-respected member of the community in Grand Rapids, Anissa Eddie.
What are your priorities upon taking office?
I am hoping to become a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Michigan’s 3rd Congressional district was redrawn around the community of interests that runs along the I-96 corridor, a major transportation corridor tying the city of Grand Rapids out to the lakeshore. It also runs parallel to the Grand River and connects to the beautiful watershed that is Lake Michigan. All of those issues are run through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and West Michigan has a great history of transportation and infrastructure initiatives. Vern Ehlers was a longtime member of the T and I Committee, so that’s a top choice and a top priority for me.
And then the Small Business Committee is another top priority for me. We’re looking to make an impact there. Small businesses are such a critical component of the economy in West Michigan.
When do you expect to hear about committee assignments?
It remains to be seen. I just had a meeting with Leader-elect (Hakeem) Jeffries today to talk about that, and I think there’s some negotiations happening on the ratios of the committee now, but hopefully soon after the new Congress is sworn in, we’ll know about the committees so we can get to work right away.
In wanting to focus on small businesses, what are you hearing as you meet with business owners in the district about their needs?
There still are a number of small businesses that are struggling from the impact of the pandemic. Not only just directly in terms of radical fluctuations in terms of demand, but supply chain issues are still wreaking havoc on companies and consumers across the board, but small businesses feel the impact there keenly.
I think we’re just looking to help support some of these critical components of the West Michigan economy and make sure they know they’re heard. I’m so grateful for my incoming district director and her firsthand knowledge of how small businesses have fared over the last several years.
We’re looking forward to working with the Grand Rapids Chamber, the Hispanic Chamber, and chambers throughout the district to make sure we’re meeting the needs of their stakeholders. This is a partnership. Throughout the campaign I made it clear that the small business committee was a top priority for me and was meeting with folks even on the campaign so we could be ready to address their issues when we won, and be set up for success on day one.
