Andrew "Andy" Dillon is a Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician from the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. He was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, to be the state's treasurer. Before serving in Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

, Dillon was speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

 of the Michigan House of Representatives.

In the House, he represented a constituency in Wayne County

Wayne County, Michigan

-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

 that included Redford Township

Redford Township, Michigan

The U.S. Census Bureau also defined Redford Township as a census-designated place in the 2000 Census so that the community would appear on the list of places as well on the list of county subdivisions...

, the northern portion of Dearborn Heights

Dearborn Heights, Michigan

Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County, in the Detroit metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 57,774 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, and the eastern portion of Livonia

Livonia, Michigan

Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...

. He had served from 2007-2011.

Early life

Dillon graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School

Detroit Catholic Central High School

Detroit Catholic Central High School is a private, Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school in Novi, Michigan. Founded in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan by the Archdiocese of Detroit, the school is operated by the Congregation of St. Basil...

 in 1980, where he participated in the cross-country team. Dillon attended the Detroit College of Law and then transferred to, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 with degrees in accounting and law. Dillon ran a law practice in Wayne County before becoming president of DSC Ltd. in 1995. He also served as a District Court

District court

District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...

 magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 and an aide to former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley

William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....

 of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

.

Political career

Dillon was first elected to the House in 2004 in a special election. He was re-elected in 2006, and his Democratic colleagues chose him to be the 70th speaker of the House after securing majority from Republicans. He survived a recall election and was re-elected in 2008.

Gubernatorial race

On February 28, 2010, Dillon announced that he would run for governor of Michigan in 2010

Michigan gubernatorial election, 2010

The Michigan gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, was prohibited by the state's Constitution from seeking a third term. This resulted in a large pool of candidates which was whittled down, when the May 11 filing deadline passed, to two...

, a position being vacated by term-limited Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...

. He lost the Democratic nomination to Virgil Bernero

Virgil Bernero

Virgil "Virg" Bernero is the current mayor of Lansing, Michigan, elected on November 8, 2005 and re-elected on November 3, 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as mayor, Bernero served as a legislative aide, an Ingham County Commissioner and as a member of the Michigan...

.