It pleased us to read News staff writer Steve Schulwitz’s recent interview with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist in which Gilchrist assured Schulwitz and his readers that Northeast Michigan had Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s support.

“The area is very important to us,” the lieutenant governor told our reporter.

That’s great to hear, but we will expect to see action, not just words.

Whitmer has done some things that could benefit Northeast Michigan, such as in January establishing the Office of Rural Development aimed at helping communities such as ours with economic development, infrastructure, public health, and more. In the last budget she signed, the state sent $12.5 million to Lincoln for a housing project, $3.9 million to Alpena for an apartments project, and $6 million more to Alpena for work at the wastewater treatment plant.

If Gilchrist is true to his word, we’ll see more of that type of initiative happening in our area in future years.

When new lawmakers get sworn in in January, Democrats will control the governorship, the Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State’s Office, and both chambers of the Legislature for the first time in decades.

Democrats have slim majorities in both the state House and state Senate, and Gilchrist says that means Whitmer and her team will have to work across the aisle to get things done.

We’ll be watching for that, too, since both of Northeast Michigan’s incoming representatives — state Sen.-elect Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, and state Rep.-elect Cam Cavitt, R-Mullett Township — serve in the opposing party.

We will hold Hoitenga and Cavitt accountable for introducing bills that serve Northeast Michigan’s interests, and we hope the Democratic leaders in both chambers will give those bills a fair shake at passage and Whitmer will give those bills a fair shake at her signature.

Gilchrist is saying all the right things about our corner of the state. Now we need to make sure the rubber meets the road.

— Alpena News