Tonya Schuitmaker (born March 10, 1968) is an American politician. She is a member of the Republican party who represented the 26th district of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

from 2011 to 2018. She was the

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Senate for the duration of her term in office. Prior to her election to the Senate, she served three terms in the Michigan State House of Representatives. She was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

in November 2004, 2006, and 2008. In that time she represented Michigan's 80th House District, which included Van Buren County, the city of Otsego, and the townships of Otsego and Watson in

Allegan County Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. Alle ...

. She was a candidate for Attorney General of Michigan in the 2018 election.

Education

Schuitmaker graduated in 1986 from

Mattawan High School Mattawan High School is a public high school in Mattawan, Michigan. It is the only high school in the Mattawan Consolidated School District and serves grades 9-12. Athletics Mattawan High School's Wildcats compete in the Southwestern Michigan ...

. She earned a

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

. in business from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1990 and a J.D. from the Detroit College of Law in 1993.

Professional career

Schuitmaker was a partner in her family's law firm of Schuitmaker, Cooper and Schuitmaker. At her family's firm, Schuitmaker focused on estate, family, business and governmental law. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan, Florida, and Illinois. Prior to her election to the

, Schuitmaker unsuccessfully ran for an open Van Buren County Circuit Judge seat in 1996.

Community involvement

Schuitmaker has served on the State of Michigan Board of Medicine, the Van Buren Community Mental Health Board, and the Intercare Community Health Network. She is also a member of the Van Buren County Community Corrections Advisory Board. Schuitmaker is involved with the Paw Paw Rotary, the Paw Paw Optimist Club,

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, and the Farm Bureau. She has also served as president of the Van Buren County Republican Women and as Vice-Chair for Van Buren County Republicans. Schuitmaker was named a 2014

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

Rodel Fellow.

Personal life

Schuitmaker, her husband Steve, and their two children, Jordan and Savina, live in

Lawton, Michigan Lawton is a village in southeastern Van Buren County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,900 at the 2010 census. History Lawton was named for Nathaniel Lawton, an early settler. Geography According to the United States Census Bure ...

References

External links