Citizens in Charge

Agitation for initiative and referendum in Michigan started with the formation of the state’s Direct Legislation Club in 1895 by George F. Sherman and David Inglis, both Detroit physicians. Inglis was 45 years old, a distinguished professor at the Detroit Medical College. Sherman and Inglis led I&R efforts in Michigan for over a decade without success,
despite support from the noted reformer, Detroit mayor, and later Michigan governor Hazen S. Pingree. In 1900 S. D. Williams of Battle Creek cited the legislature’s Republican majority as the major obstacle.

The reformers won passage of an I&R amendment at the state constitutional convention of 1907. The voters ratified it in 1908, but the victory turned out to be hollow. The amendment proved so restrictive that citizens were unable to place a single initiative on the ballot…(Read More)