Kathy Angerer

Biography

Angerer grew up in Carleton, Michigan, and is a lifelong Monroe County resident. She graduated from St. Mary's Academy in Monroe; attended Monroe County Community College. and is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. She has five adult children. Prior to serving as State Representative, Angerer was the Communications Director for the Dundee Community Schools, where she successfully worked with a coalition of parents, teachers, and administrators to pass a millage expanding the size of Dundee High School.

As a legislator, Representative Angerer was noted to author legislation brought to her by residents of her district. Two such examples include her legislation to fix problems with railroad crossing inspections and to expand the Michigan Promise Grant program. She also authored legislation creating a statewide Patient Safety Organization to which all state hospitals must report adverse effects for the purpose of learning from mistakes and improving patient safety. One of her biggest priorities as a State Representative was legislation requiring insurance companies to cover treatment for children with autism, which while unsuccessful while she was in office, she continued to be a strong leading advocate towards final passage in 2012.

For the 95th Session of the Legislature in 2009, Angerer was elected by her colleagues to be the Majority Floor Leader. She had served as the Assistant Floor leader during the previous sessions.

Early in her service, Angerer was named Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Pharmacists' Association, the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan, the Michigan Agri-Business Association. She was named as a Public Policy Health Champion in 2008 by the Michigan Department of Community Health. The Southwest Lake Erie Chapter of Waterfowl U.S.A. named her as Outstanding Sportsperson of the Year for 2009. In 2010, she was named Legislator of the Year by both the Michigan Association of Chiropractors and the Michigan Distributors and Vendors Association.

2004 election

Angerer was elected to the State House in 2004, beating incumbent Republican Matt Milosch. The race was one of the most expensive in Michigan in 2004, with over $500,000 spent between the two candidates and parties. Pundits credited Angerer's win with a strong door-to-door campaign which began in March of that year. Milosch was criticized for making statements against the minimum wage.

2006 election

Angerer was the lone Democrat running for State Representative in the district. She once again faced Republican Matt Milosh in the general election, and she was reelected. Again, Angerer's win was attributed to aggressive campaigning. She had also developed a strong reputation for delivering good service to her constituents as she visited more than 11,000 resident's homes during the campaign "off-season" to become aware of their concerns and help them with any state government-related issues. Angerer bested Milosch in the general election, outspending him nearly three-to-one.

2008 election

Again, Angerer was unchallenged in the Democratic primary. She beat Republican challenger Frank Moynihan in the November election. Moynihan was the surprise winner of the Republican primary, who ran a rather unconventional campaign. He refused to speak directly to the media and maintained a spartan website. As such, this race was seen by pundits to be heavily one-sided and led to Angerer improving on her vote-totals for the third straight election.