Brian Calley

Early life and political career

Brian Calley, the third of six children, was born in Dearborn. In 1982, his family relocated from Dearborn Heights to Fort Riley, Kansas, for his father's U.S. Army posting. Two years later, they returned to Michigan, and Calley graduated from Ionia High School in 1994. While still in high school, he took classes at Montcalm Community College.

He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration from Michigan State University in 1998 and an MBA from Grand Valley State University in 2000. For the decade before entering the Michigan legislature, Calley worked in banking, mostly handling commercial loans. During that period, he also served two terms on the Ionia County Board of Commissioners, holding the role of Vice Chairperson both times. He won a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2006 and was reelected in 2008, serving both terms as part of the minority party.

In the House, he built a reputation as a tax policy specialist and was the minority vice chair of the House Tax Policy Committee. In 2008, the state's Small Business Association named him "Legislator of the Year," making him the first freshman to receive that honor. In 2010, just days after winning the Republican nomination for state Senate, Calley was chosen as Rick Snyder's running mate for lieutenant governor. At the state Republican Convention in Michigan State University's Breslin Center, Tea Party supporters from west Michigan briefly challenged his nomination, backing Bill Cooper, a Norton Shores businessman and former congressional candidate.

Cooper eventually withdrew and endorsed Calley. With Calley vacating his Senate nomination, former state Representative Judy Emmons took that spot. The Snyder-Calley ticket went on to win the general election against Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero and Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, taking 58% of the vote to their opponents' 39%.

Lieutenant Governor (2011–2019)

When Brian Calley became lieutenant governor, he was the youngest person in the country to hold that office at the time, and the youngest Michigan had seen since John Swainson in 1959. He was deeply involved in Governor Rick Snyder's administration. In early 2011, with the state Senate tied 19-19, Calley cast the deciding vote for a major tax overhaul. That plan scrapped the Michigan Business Tax in favor of a flat 6% corporate income tax, cut the personal income tax rate from 4.35% to 4.25% starting in 2013, and did away with most state exemptions and deductions.

Over two years, Calley took weekly classes at Harvard's Kennedy School, earning a Master of Public Administration in spring 2015. In May 2017, he pushed for making the Michigan legislature a part-time body. Calley ran for governor in 2018 to replace Snyder but lost the Republican primary on August 7, taking 25% of the vote and finishing second behind Attorney General Bill Schuette, who later lost the general election to Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

Autism advocacy

Brian Calley is a prominent advocate for autism awareness, driven by his daughter Reagan’s diagnosis. While serving as a state lawmaker on the Health Policy Committee, he backed autism insurance reform without knowing his own child had the condition. He first realized Reagan might be autistic during a committee hearing, after hearing parents describe experiences similar to his family’s. As lieutenant governor, Calley is widely recognized for spearheading a successful effort to mandate insurance coverage for autism treatments. He signed those bills into law while acting as governor during Rick Snyder’s undisclosed trip to Afghanistan. In 2011, Autism Speaks named him its “Executive Champion” for this work.