| "Who's next?" |
He failed to tell the world his story, a breach of the children's trust.
Travis became his own, self anointed arbiter of justice by setting precedent in this deontological usurpation of a civil society by and through stealin' the children, the land and the votes.
Who is next?
Mackinac Policy Conference Update: Manufacturing Has a Perception Problem
Day Two: Auto industry expert David Cole and BorgWarner Chairman Tim Manganello
By Kurt Brauer, PartnerAutomotive industry expert David Cole noted that many Americans simply aren't aware of the import role manufacturing plays in our economy. How do you accelerate the creativity and innovation in the auto industry and find ways to integrate it into other products and services?
Collaboration is a key element to getting intellectual property from the automotive sector into other sectors. Cole noted there are more than 350 R&D automotive facilities in Michigan. We need to significantly increase the "aura" of manufacturing in this state to make it an aspiration, rather than a job of last resort.
Cole said that we need to focus on the choke-points in manufacturing, such as maintaining key suppliers and a developing a properly trained workforce. He encouraged the crowd to reach out to young women in our society to get them involved in R&D and manufacturing in the automotive sector.
BorgWarner Chairman and CEO Tim Manganello noted that the automotive, aerospace, electronics and chemical industries account for 60 percent of the R&D spending in the United States -- and 60 percent of the R&D spend on automotive is in Michigan. Clearly, he said, this gives Michigan a competitive advantage.
But we need to focus on education so that we have a well-trained, competent workforce. Manufacturing has a perception problem with potential employees. Instead of choosing manufacturing as a career, people have focused on "chasing the money" and taking jobs in the service economy. This has meant a loss of interest in science and math.
Manganello noted that this is changing, however. If we focus on advanced manufacturing, research and development, we will be globally competitive over the long haul, he said, pointing out that BorgWarner invents technology here and exports it worldwide.
Other 2012 Mackinac Policy Conference Updates:
Ex-Snyder legal counsel Travis Weber remembered for intellect, passion for Detroit
During former Gov. Rick Snyder's second term, then-Lt. Gov. Brian Calley knew he could call chief legal counsel Travis Weber for a detailed briefing on the issue of the day that they were navigating.
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| Travis Weber |
"It didn't matter how obscure it was," Calley said Wednesday. "It didn't matter what the issue was. He was always on top of it. He knew about it and he knew how to lay it out to me."
Snyder's close-knit team was grief-stricken Wednesday in the wake of the Weber's abrupt death, less than a month after the 33-year-old attorney joined Warner Norcross + Judd as senior counsel in the Grand Rapids-based law firm's Southfield office.
The Saginaw native, who moved to Detroit two years ago, spent four years in the governor's office and two years as an attorney and senior policy adviser in the Michigan House of Representatives, working under former Speakers Jase Bolger and Kevin Cotter.
"He loved public service and took bettering the state seriously," said Valerie Brader, a former attorney in Snyder's office and co-owner of Rivenoak Law Group PC in Troy. "He loved the city of Detroit and was very excited to get his own place there and live there the last two years."
Weber earned his juris doctorate degree from Valparaiso University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2011, according to the obituary.
During his time in the House, Weber played a key role in crafting the legislation that helped Detroit emerge from bankruptcy in late 2014, Bolger said.
Weber is credited with drafting the "grand bargain" legislation that became the Michigan Financial Review Commission Act, a state law that put in place long-term state oversight of Detroit's finances after it emerged from its historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
"His contributions on the Detroit bankruptcy settlement were immeasurable," Bolger said Wednesday.
"His apparent pain is a gut-wrenching reminder that none of us know what it's like in another person's shoes."
"His apparent pain is a gut-wrenching reminder that none of us know what it's like in another person's shoes."
The Saginaw native, who moved to Detroit two years ago, spent four years in the governor's office and two years as an attorney and senior policy adviser in the Michigan House of Representatives, working under former Speakers Jase Bolger and Kevin Cotter.
"He loved public service and took bettering the state seriously," said Valerie Brader, a former attorney in Snyder's office and co-owner of Rivenoak Law Group PC in Troy. "He loved the city of Detroit and was very excited to get his own place there and live there the last two years."
Weber earned his juris doctorate degree from Valparaiso University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2011, according to the obituary.
During his time in the House, Weber played a key role in crafting the legislation that helped Detroit emerge from bankruptcy in late 2014, Bolger said.
Weber is credited with drafting the "grand bargain" legislation that became the Michigan Financial Review Commission Act, a state law that put in place long-term state oversight of Detroit's finances after it emerged from its historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
"His contributions on the Detroit bankruptcy settlement were immeasurable," Bolger said Wednesday.
"His apparent pain is a gut-wrenching reminder that none of us know what it's like in another person's shoes."
"His apparent pain is a gut-wrenching reminder that none of us know what it's like in another person's shoes."
Weber joined Snyder's office as a deputy legal counsel in April 2015, working under then-Chief Legal Counsel Beth Clement until Snyder appointed her to the Michigan Supreme Court. Clement mentored Weber and the two remained close friends since, former governor's office aides said.
Clement, Brader and Weber were the front-line attorneys for Snyder during the fallout from the Flint water crisis in 2016, when the state was getting hit by a crush of civil lawsuits and document requests from legislators, Congress, the U.S. Justice Department, the attorney general's office and news media.
"Travis and I pulled an all-nighter together during the heart of the Flint matter," Brader said Wednesday. "He split his dinner leftovers with me when we were too late to order more food in — and was as cheerful and dedicated at 4:30 in the morning as he was at 4:30 in the afternoon."
For Snyder's final 14 months in office, Weber was the governor's chief legal counsel, navigating a labyrinth of end-of-term legal issues ranging from commutation requests and judicial appointments to reviewing hundreds of bills that crossed Snyder's desk in his final weeks.
"That's a big job for somebody his age — but we knew he could do it," Calley said. "And he did it really well."
In October, Snyder appointed Weber to the Northern Michigan University board of trustees for a term that began Jan. 1 and was to expire at the end of 2026. He also was a member of the board of trustees for the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation, according to the his NMU biography.
"Travis was an outstanding individual and attorney who made Michigan a better place," Snyder wrote Wednesday in a LinkedIn message to Crain's. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. He will be remembered as a person who made each one of us better. We will miss him."
Weber is survived by his mother Colleen Weber; brother, Jeffrey Weber; grandparents Bernard and Ruby Cooper; close cousins and a special friend, Amanda Elias. He was preceded in death by his father, William Weber.
A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Monday at Hopevale Church in Saginaw.
Memorial donations may be made to Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation.
On Wednesday, Weber's former colleagues in state government were trying to make sense of his passing.
"I had planned to spend decades laughing with Travis and celebrating what I was sure would be his many triumphs," Brader told Crain's. "Having those years of future friendship and laughter suddenly disappear is bewildering and horrible."
The origins of the Flint Water Crisis and the role of the Genessee County Land Bank.
Michigan Economic Developme... by on Scribd
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