Republican Sen. Kathy Bernier, a former Chippewa County clerk and chair of the Senate elections committee, is retiring after 12 years in the Legislature. She took intense criticism for defending local clerks’ elections performance and questioning Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ decision to hire former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to investigate the election. Gableman called on her to resign. “It just seemed to me something had to be said and something had to be done,” she said. “After getting the slings and arrows from people in my own caucus . . . they came to realize there was nothing...