Usual Suspect?

There are 174,092 businesses in Michigan, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yet, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer picked one voice to represent business viewpoints at her May 13 press conference on her plans to lift the COVID-19 lockdown, she chose Rachel Lutz.

Lutz is the owner of The Peacock Room gallery in Detroit, and has been a go-to pick for delivering supportive quotes at Whitmer’s other press conferences. In October of 2019, Lutz praised Whitmer during a press conference on expanding eligibility for overtime to more workers.

A Rachel Lutz is listed in state campaign finance contribution records at several metro area addresses. The records show donations ranging from $10 to $900 to Democratic candidates and liberal causes since 2004, including former gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer and U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

In a May 4 Facebook post, Lutz wrote about the stay-at-home order, "Are you being literally confined? Shackled? Beaten? Raped? Bred like an animal? Starved? Forced into hiding? Swimming through cold, powerful rivers under the cover of night while leaving your family and worldly possessions behind? Then I think we're done here with the stay-at-home orders = slavery/Holocaust comparisons."