After being forced out of the Michigan Senate because of term limits, Hertel became Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s chief lobbyist and the architect of Michigan’s $82 billion budget-busting budget. Among the political payoffs to Whitmer’s allies, Hertel secured $1.5 million for a politically-connected non-profit and then took a $108,000 contract from them the next day before announcing his run for Congress. |