76 Facts About Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm was born on February 5,1959 and is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician.

Jennifer Granholm then clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, became an assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991 and in 1995 she was appointed to the Wayne County Corporation Counsel.

Jennifer Granholm ran for governor in 2002 to succeed Republican John Engler.

Jennifer Granholm was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama before he assumed office in January 2009.

Jennifer Granholm became host of The War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV.

Jennifer Granholm was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Shirley Alfreda and Victor Ivar Jennifer Granholm, both bank tellers.

Jennifer Granholm came with the ship SS Bergensfjord from Oslo to Halifax, and from there she took the railway to Penny, British Columbia, where her uncles and several others had established a small logging village.

Jennifer Granholm's family immigrated to California when she was four years old.

Jennifer Granholm grew up in Anaheim, San Jose, and San Carlos.

Jennifer Granholm attended Ida Price Junior High and Del Mar High School before graduating from San Carlos High School in 1977 and won the Miss San Carlos beauty pageant.

Jennifer Granholm then enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, the first person in her family to attend college.

Jennifer Granholm then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard University, with honors, in 1987.

At Harvard Law School, Jennifer Granholm served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, the leading progressive law journal in the United States.

Jennifer Granholm worked for the Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign.

Jennifer Granholm helped to prosecute drug dealers, gang members and child pornographers, sued the state and fought against credit card fraud.

Jennifer Granholm defended the county against lawsuits, sued the state over road taxes, and fought to uphold environmental laws.

Thirty-seven-year Democratic Attorney General Frank J Kelley chose not to run for a 10th term in 1998 and Granholm entered the race to succeed him.

Jennifer Granholm tried to link Granholm to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Geoffrey Fieger's crime plan, which called for greater emphasis on rehabilitation for non-violent criminals and shortening their prison terms.

Jennifer Granholm was sworn into office on January 1,1999, becoming the first female attorney general of Michigan.

Jennifer Granholm served a single term, from 1999 to 2003.

Development company President Richard Postma refused to pay the $425,000 of state fines, saying he had made moves to stop the erosion and accused Jennifer Granholm of trying to make him "a poster child for her campaign of the future".

Jennifer Granholm responded that his "perception of the political landscape in Michigan is as poor as his ability to construct a golf landscape".

Jennifer Granholm imposed a regulation on gasoline dealers to keep them from raising prices dramatically, something which occurred sporadically across Michigan immediately following the attacks.

In February 2002, Jennifer Granholm announced that her office was joining with the AARP Michigan State Office to help consumers fight calls from telemarketers.

Meanwhile, Granholm faced a competitive primary against former US Ambassador to Canada and governor James Blanchard and US Representative and former House Minority Whip David E Bonior.

Jennifer Granholm, seen by many as a "fresh face" after the 12-year Engler administration, raised more money than Blanchard and Bonior and consistently led them in polls by large margins.

Jennifer Granholm's campaign led to increased turnout among women and she comfortably won the Democratic primary with 499,129 votes to Bonior's 292,958 and Blanchard's 254,586.

Jennifer Granholm was the heavy favorite in the general election, boasting strong support from working women, African-Americans and voters under 30 years of age.

Jennifer Granholm campaigned on her record on crime and was seen as more charismatic than Posthumus.

Jennifer Granholm was sworn in as the 47th governor of the state of Michigan on January 1,2003.

Jennifer Granholm emphasized Michigan's need to attract young people and businesses via the Cool Cities Initiative.

Jennifer Granholm is a former chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.

Jennifer Granholm lived in the official Michigan Governor's Residence, located near the Capitol Building.

Jennifer Granholm was upset by proposals to cut state funding to social welfare programs, such as homeless shelters and mental health agencies.

Jennifer Granholm has been a proponent of education reform since the first year of her term.

Jennifer Granholm emphasized post-secondary education for Michiganders following the decline in Michigan manufacturing jobs, many of which did not require a college degree.

At an awards ceremony on October 28,2004, Jennifer Granholm was inducted into the "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame".

Jennifer Granholm has been the recipient of the Michigan Jaycees 1999 "Outstanding Young Michiganders" and the YWCA "Woman of the Year" awards.

Jennifer Granholm cited the economy as the main concern for Michiganders, not the Iraq War or the War on Terror, which meant that with "the deficit larger; the Dow dropping; unemployment claims up, hitting an all-time high; General Motors profits below expectations, with health claims crippling profits; flu vaccine in short supply; oil prices rising" her state was badly hit.

In February 2005, Michigan's Republican-dominated legislature refused to vote on Jennifer Granholm's proposed state budget, citing concerns over cuts to state funding for higher education.

In January 2005, Jennifer Granholm presented an early budget proposal, demanded immediate response from the Legislature, and held a press conference outlining the highlights of the proposed budget.

Jennifer Granholm supported diversification of Michigan's economy away from its historical reliance on automotive manufacturing.

Jennifer Granholm pushed through a $2billion 21st Century Jobs Fund to attract jobs to Michigan in the life sciences, alternative energy, advanced manufacturing, and homeland security sectors.

Jennifer Granholm ran for a second term in the 2006 election.

Additionally, the crisis contributed to sinking approval ratings for Jennifer Granholm, which went from 43 percent in August 2007 to a low of 32 percent in December 2007.

Jennifer Granholm had one of the lowest approval ratings for any governor in the United States.

In 2007 Jennifer Granholm proposed and signed into law the No Worker Left Behind Act to provide two years of free training or community college for unemployed and displaced workers.

Jennifer Granholm delivered her sixth State of the State address on January 29,2008.

Jennifer Granholm called in the speech for an incentive package to offer tax breaks to filmmakers who shoot in Michigan and use local crews in production.

Jennifer Granholm has been named by some as a possible candidate for United States attorney general.

Jennifer Granholm was the policy chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

Jennifer Granholm finally made the journey in November 2008 and signed a water technology partnership agreement with the Israeli government.

In September 2008, Governor Jennifer Granholm undertook the role of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in a series of practice debates with Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

In 2010, Jennifer Granholm was barred from seeking re-election due to Michigan's term limits law.

Jennifer Granholm's governorship ended on January 1,2011, when Republican Rick Snyder, who won the 2010 election, was sworn in.

Jennifer Granholm is a distinguished adjunct professor of law and public policy at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and UC Berkeley School of Law.

Jennifer Granholm is a senior research fellow at the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute.

Jennifer Granholm is a regular contributor to NBC's political talk show Meet the Press, has written on US energy policy and has co-authored a book with her husband, A Governor's Story: The Fight For Jobs and America's Economic Future, which was released in September 2011 and was about the lessons Michigan's experience can offer to America.

Jennifer Granholm served on the board of directors of the Dow Chemical Company from March to October 2011.

Jennifer Granholm continued to serve on the Talmer board until the company was acquired by the Chemical Financial Corporation at the end of August 2016.

In March 2017, Jennifer Granholm joined the board of Proterra, a manufacturer of electric buses and charging stations.

Jennifer Granholm has previously said Hillary Clinton "is the strongest candidate out there should she decide to raise her hand" in regard to the upcoming 2016 presidential election.

Jennifer Granholm previously supported Clinton over Barack Obama in the 2008 election campaign.

Jennifer Granholm considered running for the United States Senate in 2014 to replace retiring Democrat Carl Levin, but decided against doing so.

Jennifer Granholm was twice mentioned as a possible US Secretary of Energy, first in December 2008 when President-elect Obama was assembling his first-term Cabinet and again in December 2010, when it was rumoured that Secretary Steven Chu might resign.

Jennifer Granholm was twice considered by President Obama to be a potential Supreme Court candidate.

In March 2011, with Tim Kaine poised to resign as chairman of the Democratic National Committee to run for the US Senate from Virginia in 2012, Jennifer Granholm was mentioned as a potential successor.

However, she made clear early on that she was not interested, which was reported to have "stunned" senior Democrats, who were "surprised and disappointed" that Jennifer Granholm had taken herself out of the running.

Jennifer Granholm herself dampened such speculation, citing her sharp criticism of Republicans during the 2012 election and her time presenting on Current TV.

Jennifer Granholm was mentioned as a candidate to succeed him, but she announced shortly after that she would not run.

Jennifer Granholm endorsed US Representative Gary Peters, who defeated Republican nominee Terri Lynn Land in the general election.

In September 2014, when USAttorney General Eric Holder announced his intention to step down, there was speculation that Jennifer Granholm might be a potential candidate to succeed him.

Jennifer Granholm was seen as one of Biden's least controversial nominees, winning support from unions, environmental groups, and some Republicans.

Jennifer Granholm is the first secretary of energy born outside the United States.

Jennifer Granholm had a call with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud.

Jennifer Granholm signed a detailed ethics agreement for the top energy government job and has since then, violated certain provisions of the STOCK Act.