John D. Cherry Information & John D. Cherry Links at HealthHaven.com

**John D. Cherry**
	John D. Cherry
	;
60th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 1, 2003
Governor	Jennifer Granholm
Preceded by	Dick Posthumus
Chairman, Lt. Governor's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth
Former Chairman and Ex-Officio, The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA)
Former Political Director , America's Union Movement
Born	May 5, 1951 (age 58); Sulphur Springs, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Pamela M. Faris
Children	Meghan, John Daniel
Residence	Clio, Michigan
Alma mater	University of Michigan–Flint (M.P.A); University of Michigan (B.A.)
Profession	Politician
Website	Lt. Governor John Cherry

John D. Cherry (born May 5, 1951) is the current Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. Cherry also serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and was the immediate past chair of the international Great Lakes Commission (of which he is still a member).^{[citation needed]}

Cherry has officially announced that he is running for Governor of Michigan in 2010. He is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, but loses to his potential Republican challengers in most major polling.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Biography

Cherry grew up in Montrose, Michigan and graduated from Hill-McCloy High School in Montrose in 1969. Cherry obtained a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1973 and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan–Flint in Flint in 1984.

A former staff member to Michigan State Senator Gary Corbin, Cherry served as the state political director for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, until 1982.^{[citation needed]} He was then elected to the Michigan Legislature as a State Representative (1983-1986), State Senator (1987-2002) and Senate Minority Leader.

Cherry was elected in 2002 as the running mate of Democrat Jennifer Granholm, passing on his state senate seat to his sister Deborah Cherry. As the lieutenant governor, John Cherry presides over the State Senate, casting votes there in the event of a tie.

As lieutenant governor, John Cherry was elected chairman of the National Lieutenant Governor's Association (NLGA) in July 2006. John Cherry also chaired the Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education & Economic Growth, with the commission making recommendations on higher education and the need to expand Michigan's job base. The Cherry Commission report led to the Michigan Promise scholarship, the No Worker Left Behind program, and Michigan replacing the high school MEAP exam with the ACT.^{[citation needed]} Michigan also increased standards in the K-12 curriculum and graduation requirements consistent with the Commission's recommendations.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Michigan 2010 election

Cherry has officially and publicly announced to run for Governor of Michigan in 2010. The Michigan gubernatorial election, 2010 will be held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent governor Jennifer Granholm is legally barred from seeking a third term which created a large pool of potential candidates of at least seven Democrats and nine Republicans who are considering running for governor. He is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and trails his potential Republican challengers by significant margins in major polling.^[3]^[4]

[edit] Honors

Cherry has been awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Saginaw Valley State University and an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Central Michigan University.^{[citation needed]} He has earned several awards including being recognized as "one of Michigan’s Most Effective Legislators" by The Detroit News and the 2005 Conservationist of the Year by the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal Life

Cherry is married to Pamela M. Faris. They have two adult children, Meghan and John Daniel, and one grandchild.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by Dick Posthumus	Lieutenant Governor of Michigan 2003 – Present	Succeeded by Incumbent

[0] ttp://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/michigan/election_2010_michigan_governor

[1] ttp://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/11/30/mi-gov-poll-gops-cox-leads/

[2] ttp://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/michigan/election_2010_michigan_governor

[3] ttp://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/11/30/mi-gov-poll-gops-cox-leads/

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