Want a seat at the State of the State address? Maybe cut your senator's hair

LANSING – It's one of Michigan's biggest political events of the year, live television coverage of policy for the wonks, protests for the politicos and pageantry for the history buffs.  

It's the governor's annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature. Term-limited Gov. Rick Snyder, who leaves office at the end of the year, will deliver his final address at 7 p.m. tonight. 

In the audience, sitting in the House chamber alongside representatives and senators, will be everyday Michiganders. A teacher, a farmer, a county sheriff, a mental health professional and others invited by lawmakers to watch the speech in the statehouse. 

Related: "Gov. Rick Snyder expected to tout talent plans at State of the State address" 

While the governor's State of the State guests are often there to emphasize a part of his speech, lawmakers' invites tend to be a more casual affair. Last year, state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, invited his barber. State Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, invited his father.  

Jones said he typically just tries to find a way to invite folks who ask to come. This year, he's bringing Republican activist and Secretary of State employee Linda Lee Tarver. 

"I, honestly, didn't think it was a big deal to most people, and I was very pleasantly surprised when my barber asked if he could go," Jones said. "I think it's nice to take ordinary, hardworking, blue collar people so they can experience it." 

"I thought it was really cool," Mark Hughes, the owner of Charlotte's Jerry's Barber Shop, said of watching the speech last year. He has cut Jones' hair for years. "All I can say it was a really good experience, a really fun experience, and I enjoyed it." 

Check out the video below for a brief look at the history of the State of the State in Michigan. Story continues below.

State Rep. Tom Cochran, D-Mason, said he, too, tries to bring those who ask. In the past, Cochran has taken a firefighter and a small business owner. This year, he's taking his wife, Kathy, who is a technical education teacher, and Mason City Councilman Marlon Brown.  

"There is limited seating, and there are tons of people who want to know what's going on and want to be a part of it," Cochran said. 

Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt Township, invited Lapeer County Sheriff Scott McKenna, whom Leonard has known since McKenna was a detective and Leonard was an assistant prosecutor in Flint.  

Leonard tries to use his invites to "highlight people who have made a significant contribution to their community and the state," spokesman Gideon D'Assandro said in an email to the State Journal. "Opportunities like this allow all of the representatives to (bring) people with diverse experiences and an impressive track records of success to share their expertise with their fellow legislators and the governor." 

Some invites by Lansing-area lawmakers are meant to make a point about politics.  

This year, Barrett invited Steve Tennes, the owner of Charlotte's Country Mill Farms. Last year, Tennes sued the City of East Lansing after officials booted him from a farmer's market because he decided he would not host same-sex marriages on his farm.  

From the archives: "City from East Lansing market to return Sunday"

"I really wanted to highlight their circumstance and show them I support them," Barrett said. "They've been thrust into the public spotlight kind of against their will. They wanted to stand up for the right thing and I really respect that about them." 

Tennes said he welcomes Barrett's support and is happy to sit with and support his state rep tonight. 

Plus, "I think it's an awesome opportunity for any citizen," he said last week, "just to see we still live in a democracy where every person has the right to participate in government." 

Story continues below photo.

State Rep. Cara Clemente, D-Lincoln Park, announced Thursday she'd invited Cindy Garcia, the wife of Jorge Garcia, a 39-year-old immigrant who's lived in the U.S. since he was a child but was deported this month amid President Donald Trump's crackdown. 

Related: "After 30 years in U.S., Michigan dad deported to Mexico"

State Rep. Julie Calley, R-Portland, said she'll host Robert Lathers, CEO of the Ionia County community mental health authority, The Right Door. 

"I applaud Robert Lathers for his emphasis on accessibility, recovery, evidence-based practices, and reduction of stigma," Calley said in an email to the State Journal. "I hope the entire state can pursue these key issues, as we strive to improve life for all Michiganders." 

Since Ronald Reagan, U.S. presidents and first ladies have often used their invites to the State of the Union address to make a point or highlight a particular issue, according the University of California-Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project. In his 1986 address, for example, one of Reagan's guests was Richard Cavoli, who had designed a science experiment lost when the Challenger space shuttle exploded earlier that year. 

In Michigan, there's no reliable record of lawmakers' guests to the governor's annual speech, but it's unlikely they were very common until about the same time Reagan started calling out his invites, said Valerie Marvin, Capitol historian. 

Michigan governors have been giving yearly speeches to lawmakers since before we were a state. But, prior to Gov. Jim Blanchard's 1983 speech, what we know today as the State of the State was a more businesslike affair meant primarily for the Legislature and not the general public, Marvin said. 

Blanchard was the first to speak in the evening, Marvin said. And, according to a Lansing State Journal story in 1984, Blanchard press secretary Rick Cole worked hard to have TV stations statewide broadcast the event live. Until then, it's unlikely many Michiganders were crowding for a ticket, Marvin said. 

Marvin said she loves the State of the State because it gets the Capitol, which was restored in the 1990s to its historical grandeur, closest to what it was like when it opened in 1879. Before state government spread out into office buildings along the Capitol complex, everything was in the statehouse, including the governor, Legislature and Michigan Supreme Court.  

Nowadays, the governor's annual speech is the only time all three branches of state government sit under one roof, and "to me, it's a bit of a touchstone to our history," Marvin said.  

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.