Credit gophouse.org
Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield is out as the CEO of a Kalamazoo-area economic development organization. He quit amid controversy over his opposition to adding LGBTQ protections to the state civil rights law as the House Republican leader.
Chatfield shared the news of his resignation via a lengthy post on Twitter:
He said “many of my political opinions have caused an uproar. That much was obvious. Also: “…as a board of directors, you deserve someone with a blank political slate that won’t bring about the division that I’ve unfortunately caused.”
Southwest Michigan First is made up of businesses, education and not-for-profit groups. Some members threatened to leave the organization based largely on Chatfield’s record against expanding the state’s civil rights law.