Beyond the Bill: State Rep. John Wesley Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming)

Beyond the Bill is a segment that features a Michigan Legislator for Detroit Regional Chamber members to get to know on a more personal level and highlight their legislative priorities.

State Rep. John Wesley Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) is currently serving his second term representing Michigan’s 83rd District, encompassing the city of Wyoming and parts of Kent County. Before his tenure in the House, Fitzgerald served on the Wyoming City Council. Fitzgerald currently serves as the House Minority Floor Leader, as the Minority Vice Chair of the Government Operations Committee, and as a member of the Insurance Committee. 

For Fitzgerald, supporting Michigan’s long-term economic growth starts with making it more affordable for young people to build their lives and raise families in the state. 

“At the moment, curbing the rising cost of raising a family is top of my list,” Fitzgerald said. From healthcare and childcare to groceries and housing, he noted that rising costs are putting increased pressure on young families and influencing decisions about whether they can afford to have children at all. 

“Michigan should strive to be the best state in America to start and raise a family,” Fitzgerald said. “Supporting young families isn’t just good policy; it is essential to Michigan’s long-term success.” 

Fitzgerald believes addressing those pressures requires a comprehensive approach. While he pointed to programs such as RxKids as an important step, he said Michigan needs to continue expanding access to affordable childcare, lowering health care costs, improving housing affordability, and strengthening economic security for parents. 

That philosophy is reflected in Fitzgerald’s House Bill 4488, which would create a Working Parent Tax Credit to help families offset childcare expenses for children from birth through age six. 

“Supporting working parents is both family policy and economic policy,” Fitzgerald said, emphasizing that high childcare costs can force parents to choose between remaining in the workforce and stepping away from their careers to provide full-time care. 

Fitzgerald believes Michigan’s economic strategy should focus not only on creating jobs, but on whether those jobs allow workers to build financially secure lives. He calls that goal the “Pure Michigan Dream,” in which hard work enables families to afford a home, raise children, save for retirement, and enjoy life without constantly worrying about falling behind. 

“Ten years from now, the average Michigan worker should be able to look back and say they are meaningfully better off than they were a decade earlier,” he said. “That should be one of the primary measures of whether our economic policies are actually working.” 

Looking toward Michigan’s future workforce, Fitzgerald emphasized the need to create stronger connections among students, their education, and the careers available to them. 

“For a long time, a four-year college degree was viewed as the primary measure of success, but Michigan’s economy needs talented people pursuing many different pathways across all levels of education,” Fitzgerald said. 

He pointed to Career and Technical Education (CTE), apprenticeships, dual enrollment, and partnerships among educational institutions, unions, and employers as opportunities to expose students to careers in advanced manufacturing, skilled trades, health care, technology, engineering, and other growing industries. 

Fitzgerald also believes workforce preparation must evolve alongside artificial intelligence, automation, and other emerging technologies. While technological changes will reshape the technical skills employers demand, he noted that skills such as communication, problem-solving, and adaptability will remain critical. 

“Every student who graduates in Michigan should have a clear next step and the skills necessary to pursue it,” he said. 

That connection between innovation and workforce development is particularly important to Michigan’s automotive future. Fitzgerald believes Michigan’s existing network of automakers, suppliers, workers, universities, and research institutions provides the foundation necessary to lead the industry’s next generation. 

“Michigan should not just compete for the next automotive plant,” Fitzgerald said. “We should be the place where the next automotive technology is conceived, developed, and manufactured.” 

He sees stronger connections between research and development, commercialization, manufacturing, and workforce preparation as essential to ensuring innovations developed in Michigan ultimately translate into investment and good-paying jobs within the state. 

Outside of Lansing, Fitzgerald is quick to highlight the recreational opportunities available in Wyoming. While the city may sit alongside the better-known Grand Rapids, he believes its extensive park system is a hidden gem in West Michigan. 

“Most people don’t know there is a Wyoming, Michigan, let alone that nearly 80,000 people call this community home,” Fitzgerald said. 

With more than 20 parks offering walking trails, sports courts, splash pads, soccer fields, disc golf, dog parks, and other amenities, Fitzgerald said the system does more than provide recreational opportunities. “They bring neighbors together, give families places to spend time without having to spend money, and serve as a welcome mat for our entire community.”