A Michigan dock company is claiming that Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s husband dropped her name when he asked to have his boat placed in the water off their lakefront home but was refused since it went against her own advice to remain at home over the holiday weekend.
Tad Dowker, the owner of NorthShore Dock LLC, posted a comment on Facebook on Thursday claiming that Marc Mallory, Whitmer’s husband, had put in a request to have his boat placed in the lake near the family’s home in Elk Rapids.
‘This morning I was out working when the office called me, there was a gentleman on hold who wanted his boat in the water before the weekend,’ the post read.
‘Being memorial weekend and the fact that we started working 3 weeks late means there is no change this is going to happen.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (left) is being criticized by Republicans after it was claimed that her husband, Marc Mallory (right), asked a dock company to tow their boat into the water near their lakefront property in the northern part of the state before Memorial Day even though she urged people to avoid nonessential travel to the area
Tad Dowker, the owner of NorthShore Dock LLC, posted a comment on Facebook on Thursday claiming that Mallory had put in a request to have his boat placed in the lake near the family’s home in Elk Rapids. ‘I am the husband to the Governor, will this make a difference,’ Mallory is said to have told the company
‘Well our office personal had explained this to the man and he replied “I am the husband to the Governor, will this make a difference”.’
The post included two emojis, one of them expressing laughter and the other appearing to show curiosity.
‘As you can imagine it does make a difference, that would put you to the back of the line!!!
‘Needless to say, our Governor and her husband will not be getting their boat for memorial day.
‘To good not to share, I love it when karma comes around, even if just in small doses.’
The Facebook post generated more than 180 reactions, 50 comments and a dozen shares.
That post has since been deleted, though screenshots of it are circulating online.
Whitmer and Mallory own a lakefront home in Elk Rapids. It is said to be worth at least $500,000
The home is located on the shore of Birch Lake, a popular destination for in-state vacationers
Tiffany Brown, a spokesperson for Whitmer, did not confirm or deny the claims made by Dowker.
Brown told The Detroit News that Whitmer refused to address ‘every rumor that is spread online.’
‘Our practice is not to discuss the governor’s or her family’s personal calendar/schedules,’ Brown said.
‘And we’re not going to make it a practice of addressing every rumor that is spread online.
‘There’s been a lot of wild misinformation spreading online attacking the governor and her family, and the threats of violence against her personally are downright dangerous.’
Dowker posted the message on Facebook three days after Whitmer announced that she would ease some business and travel restrictions on the Northern Lower Michigan and Upper Peninsula regions.
Those areas, which are home to vacationers who own lakefront cottages, have reported fewer COVID-19 cases than other parts of the state.
Whitmer, a Democrat, has come under fierce criticism from her political opponents who accuse her of overstepping her authority by imposing sweeping lockdowns due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Dowker (seen above) deleted the post after it circulated online
She first announced statewide stay-at-home orders on March 23.
While Whitmer lives in the governor’s mansion with her husband in the state capital of Lansing, the couple owns a property in the Elk Rapids area.
The property is estimated to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of half-a-million dollars.
After Dowker deleted his post, his company posted a statement saying that its employees were being inundated with requests for comment from the news media and that they had no time to deal with the issue.
‘After a long day of keeping crews running, adhering to the additional safety regulations that need to be in place to operate our small business and fielding calls from customers frustrated with our lagging installation schedule I was told the governor’s husband called asking for install availability,’ the company posted.
‘Up until this point we, as a company, had no idea we installed their dock or boat.’
The company said that Mallory was respectful and understanding when he was told that his request to have the boat ready on the lake early could not be accommodated.
Whitmer’s opponents in Michigan seized on her husband’s request to criticize her for making plans in her vacation home even while she advises other Michiganders to think twice before taking nonessential trips in the state.
‘If you don’t live in these regions … think long and hard before you take a trip into them,’ Whitmer said during a news conference last Monday.
‘A small spike could put the hospital system in dire straits pretty quickly.
‘That’s precisely why we’re asking everyone to continue doing their part.
‘Don’t descend on Traverse City from all regions of the state.’
Traverse City, a popular destination site in Michigan, is just a 25-minute drive away from Elk Rapids.
Tom Barrett, a Republican state lawmaker, posted a message on Facebook criticizing Mallory for the reported request to have his boat ready.
The post went viral, as it was shared some 500 times.
But Barrett deleted the post after the governor’s office reached out to the staff of Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, also a Republican.
Mallory, a dentist, is Whitmer’s second husband. Whitmer has two daughters from her previous marriage. Mallory has three sons from his first marriage.
Whitmer aides told Shirkey’s office that the post was false and asked that it be removed.
Barrett said he looked into the situation and believes that his initial post was correct. He criticized the governor for telling residents not to ‘descend’ on Traverse City.
‘Yet, what did her family try and do?’ Barrett said.
‘In the Army, we have a tradition that the leaders get in line for chow last behind everyone else in the unit.
‘Here is the leader of our state. … Her family is trying to cut people in line.’
Whitmer’s spokesperson said the governor’s staff asked Shirkey’s office to ‘stop the personal attacks against the governor’s family’ after another Republican state senator mentioned Whitmer’s daughters during a speech on the Senate floor.
The governor married Mallory in 2011. She has two children from her first marriage to Gary Shrewsbury.
Mallory, a dentist, has three children from a previous marriage.
As of Monday, Michigan health officials said that there are at least 54,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 5,200 people have died of the disease.
Whitmer’s stay-home order runs through June 12, although the governor has been slowly unleashing the economy.
Retail stores that weren’t deemed essential can reopen Tuesday with a limit on the number of customers inside at one time.
Theaters, gyms, barber shops, salons and other places of public accommodation remain closed.