Voters on Grosse Ile will decide whether to let the local government buy one of the two bridges connecting the island to other communities Downriver.

The gateways to Downriver

Nestled in the Detroit River between the United States and Canada, Grosse Ile is home to about 10,000 people. It has a grocery store, three golf courses, and an airport that was once a U.S. Naval Air Station. For those who don’t own a boat, a plane, or a helicopter, the only way on or off the island is by crossing the bridges over the Trenton Channel.

Most islanders use the Parkway Bridge — or the “free bridge” as they call it — near the south end of Grosse Ile. Wayne County, which owns and operates this span, estimates about 16,0000 vehicles cross it every day. It’s the older of the two bridges. Island historian Tony Krukowski says it predates the automobile.

“The free bridge was part of a rail line that was built in 1873 to carry cargo to and from Canada,” Krukowksi said. “It was built by the Canadian Southern Railroad. The Railroad stopped running in 1924 and the county converted the railroad trestle to a vehicle bridge in 1931.”

Competition arises

But the free bridge was not the first to allow automobiles to cross. In 1912, a man named Edward Voigt started building his own bridge. Krukowski says the German immigrant owned a farm at the north end of the island.

“He raised Percheron horses on his farm, and he also owned a brewery in Detroit,” Krukowski said. “So, he used the bridge to transport his Percheron horses over to Detroit to pull his beer wagons.”

Horses gave way to automobiles, and Voigt opened his bridge to vehicle traffic in 1913. He charged car owners a fee to cross. Today, the toll is $3.50.

The Voigt family still owns the toll bridge, but not for long. Edward Voigt’s great-grandson, Paul Smoke, is putting it up for sale, and giving the island’s government first dibs.

How would local leaders pay for it?

Grosse Ile Township trustees voted unanimously to put that question to the voters in the form of a new property tax. Township Supervisor Jim Budny says the 1.67 mill levy would raise $59 million to buy the bridge and upgrade it.

“The first step would be passing the proposal in November,” Budny said, “and then we can get into all the other stuff that we have to do, selling the bonds, getting the designs, getting the work scheduled.”

That work includes increasing the toll bridge’s weight limit of 7.5 tons per vehicle, which only allows commuters to cross. Heavier vehicles use the Parkway Bridge to deliver goods and services such as fuel and groceries. But the free bridge is in bad shape. Wayne County plans to close it twice in 2025 to repair damaged piers and pressure plates. Those closures could last weeks or months. Budny says that could put Grosse Ile in a bind.

“We couldn’t get any food to the island,” Budny said. “We couldn’t get any gas to the island, we couldn’t get any big trucks onto the island, we couldn’t get our waste OFF the island. We could get our emergency vehicles off the island. We couldn’t get emergency vehicles onto the island.”

Budny says the toll bridge needs work, too. But because it’s privately owned, he can’t force the current owners — or another buyer — to improve it. He says if the township owned the bridge, it could decide what kind of vehicles can cross and how much they pay.

Island residents consider their options

That appeals to island resident Fay Givens, who expressed her support at a public meeting in September.

“We’d be able to control the tolls coming off and on that bridge,” Givens said. “We would have, in cases of an emergency, we would be able to act quickly. We would not have to go through an owner that doesn’t live on the island.”

Givens says she’ll vote yes on the millage. Another resident, Brian Kostielny, isn’t sold yet. At the same meeting, he said he’d likely vote no unless he gets more information.

“I’m just looking to go ahead and get a breakdown of how much revenue the bridge makes, you know, what the cost of repair is with the sale of the bridge,” Kostielny said. “I don’t even know how they valued the bridge. I mean it’s not like you can Zillow the value of a bridge.”

That information is subject to a non-disclosure agreement between the township and the toll bridge’s owners, who declined comment for this report. If voters reject the millage, Budny says they probably won’t get another chance.

“If it doesn’t pass, then the seller will go to the open market and sell it to some other private individual,” he said. “There aren’t any municipalities that want it that I’m aware of around here. So, it’ll go to another private individual who would probably keep it the way it is.”

Voting ends Nov. 5

With absentee voting already underway, Grosse Ile residents will decide whether the millage is a bridge to the future or a bridge too far.

For more information about the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge Projects, visit waynecounty.com.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Outlier Media. Sign up for their free weekly newsletters at outliermedia.org/newsletters.

When 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King made headlines recently for having a teen on a field trip handcuffed for sleeping in his courtroom, it was a reminder to pay close attention to the people we elect to wear those black robes. 

Judges don’t just decide how many years someone will spend in prison; they also rule on important matters like traffic violations and who gets custody of children in a divorce.

“Judges have a significant influence over the cases that directly affect Detroiters’ everyday life,” said Ceclia Zavala, co-executive director for Nation Outside, a Michigan advocacy organization led by people affected by the criminal legal system. “Voting for judges can help ensure that Detroiters have a say in who holds this crucial power.”

Even though voting for local judges is important, it can be harder to find information about judicial candidates than other races. Some candidates’ survey responses are posted on websites like Vote 411 or Ballotpedia. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association also rates candidates.

Tracy Cooley, executive director of the Detroit Bar Association, recommends voters check out candidates’ websites, look them up on LinkedIn, search for their written work, and check the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission site for complaints and disciplinary action rulings.

For the 2024 general election, Detroiters will see several judicial races on the ballot, including for state Supreme Court. Only three local judicial contests are competitive. We’ve included details about each one below.

Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court candidates

The 3rd Circuit Court, the largest circuit court in the state, handles felony criminal cases and civil lawsuits with claims over $25,000. Its family division deals with matters such as divorce, child abuse and juvenile offenses.

Two non-incumbents are running for one open seat:

Attorney John Larkin has more than 30 years of legal experience in Wayne County, handling cases in personal injury, criminal defense, landlord-tenant cases, bankruptcy and more. He advocates for tracking judges’ arrival and departure times and their average time to resolve a case. He also supports making Zoom available in every courtroom. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated him “well qualified.” Read more about Larkin here.

Adrienne G. Scruggs has been an attorney for nearly 20 years, working in criminal, civil, family, and probate law. She works as a family law referee for the Friend of the Court at the 22nd Circuit Court in Washtenaw County and has previously worked for the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court – Friend of the Court. She believes judicial temperament matters, and said she tries to follow a former mentor’s advice to “always be calm.” The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated her “well qualified.” Read more about Scruggs here.

Wayne County Probate Court candidates

The Probate Court handles wills, trusts, estates, involuntary mental health treatment matters and more. 

Four non-incumbents are competing for two open seats.

Attorney Todd E. Briggs has practiced law for more than 35 years. He is passionate about public policy involving estate planning and inheritance, and says he advocates for guardianship and conservatorship. He wants to create a supportive courtroom environment for families. He did not participate in the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association ratings process.

Macie Gaines has been a lawyer for a decade. She works in private practice for clients navigating Wayne County Probate Court. She says she would treat everyone who enters her courtroom with dignity. She is chair of the Probate Litigation Section of the Detroit Bar Association. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated her “outstanding.” 

Ron L. Haywood has been a lawyer for 25 years and is an administrative hearing officer for Detroit’s Department of Appeals and Hearings, also known as blight court. He has also worked as a Wayne County assistant prosecutor. He says he was inspired by Black judges while watching the Detroit Recorder’s Court as a teen. He did not participate in the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association ratings process.

Daniel L. Mercier is a member in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan but had his license suspended in 2013 for misconduct. The hearing panel found that he had “engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or violation of the criminal law, where such conduct reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer.” Mercier’s license was reinstated in 2018. He did not participate in the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association ratings process.

36th District Court candidates

District court is sometimes called “the people’s court” because it’s the court most members of the public interact with. In Detroit, the 36th District Court handles criminal and civil cases, traffic violations and probation. The criminal division handles misdemeanor cases and certain aspects of felony cases. The civil division handles claims up to $25,000.

Three non-incumbents running for two open seats:

Andrea Bradley-Baskin is general counsel for the 36th District Court. She says she previously worked as an administrative law judge for the State of Michigan and a hearing officer for the City of Detroit. She says she’s committed to due process for everyone and unbiased decision-making that is based on the law. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated her “outstanding.”

William Burton, Jr. has worked as a 36th District Court magistrate since 2023. Magistrates are lawyers appointed by district judges who may hear small claims cases and perform other duties. He also served as a Wayne County assistant prosecutor for nearly two decades. Burton says he sought truth rather than convictions as an assistant prosecutor. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated him “qualified.”

Malaika Ramsey-Heath has been a 36th District Court magistrate since 2020. She previously worked as an appellate defender and as a private practice attorney. Ramsey-Heath acknowledges that judicial decisions can be difficult and unpopular but said she is committed to doing what’s right. The Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association rated her “well qualified.”

Laura Herberg is a civic life reporter for Outlier Media. Sarah Hulett is the enterprise editor for Outlier Media.

The economy. Immigration. Reproductive rights.

These are just a few of the issues presidential candidates regularly raise while campaigning in the battleground state of Michigan.

But how are they playing with the state’s electorate?

Voters in the metro Detroit region mirror some of those same concerns. Yet some have other policies they’d like to see addressed — and a wide range of views on which a potential new occupant of the White House might be the best one to take those issues on.

The economy 

For Keith Rowe, housing is the name of his game. He works in the mortgage industry and finds his sales hinge on having what he calls a “healthy” economy.

“It’s been absolutely brutal compared to five or six years ago, putting mortgage loans out for people, homes being absolutely unaffordable,” Rowe said.

He blames government regulation.

“It tends to choke the life out of business with fees and unnecessary oversight and rules that really get in the way of the people that it was meant to protect,” Rowe said.

Voter Ricardo Copeland claims it’s not just the government regulations, it’s the political party in charge of making them.

“As soon as the Democrats got in office, that’s when everything shot up,” he said.

Selling items at a recent Trump rally in Warren, Copeland praised the Republican presidential nominees’ plan to cut corporate taxes.

“You don’t tax the rich, you give the rich tax breaks. That’s when everything comes down. You don’t tax the bakers, you don’t tax the farmers, you don’t tax General Motors. Because McDonald’s is not going to take the hit. They’re going to put it on their Happy Meal, they’re going to put that on the consumer. Give them tax breaks. They hire people.”

Detroit senior Ayanna Johnson is not worried about being hired. She says she lives off of Social Security. And she’s worried about losing it under a new Republican administration.

“Trump gets in office and he’s talking about taking it away. What are people going to do? Where they’re going to go? I’m a lot leery,” she said.

Johnson adds that, in her opinion, the former president should not even be in the current election conversation.

“I think those ‘powers that be’ have gotten scared of Trump. He should be in jail. He got convicted. He incited that riot on Jan. 6. That’s unheard of,” she said. “We have protests, we have issues. But nobody as long as I can remember has ever done something like that in the nation’s capitol.”

Back at the Trump rally in Warren, William Going recites the GOP candidate’s pledge to “Drill baby drill” for fossil fuels in the U.S.

Going attributes the high price of groceries in gas to the Biden administration’s push for more clean energy sources.

“I would love to see where we’re actually exporting oil instead of importing oil. That’s why gas was so cheap when Trump was president,” Going said. “And then shipping costs, that’s the gas price again. If gas goes up, shipping goes up. If shipping goes up, the cost of items goes up. If the cost of items goes up, the cost of labor goes up. It’s not rocket science.”

Small business

“It seems like the more I make, the less I’m getting,” said Delano Shorter, who owns a small cleaning business.

He says he’s not just dealing with high prices at the grocery store, he’s fighting to keep his company from going under.

“Inflation is out of control. Even after they say that it’s going down, it’s not. These prices for cleaning supplies go up more and more, every year. With it being more expensive, I have to charge my clients more because of the inflation of my products that I’ll have to use,” Shorter said.

But beautician Christina Brothern sees a silver lining for her salon business in the policies Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris promises to pursue.

“She’s about small businesses. She’s about people and not just organizations. She’s about your health. My daughter is pre-diabetic. Kamala’s about insulin, about helping the people that can’t afford it because it’s so expensive. She’s about helping the people, the minorities that don’t make that much money, actually live,” she said.

Immigration and war

Clarkston resident Anna Johnson originally came to Michigan from Mexico.

She says she applauds Trump’s vow to launch a massive deportation effort if he regains the White House.

“I came to this country legally. I follow the steps. I pay money to become a legal citizen,” Johnson said. “And when I see on the TV, literally, an open border, that just breaks my heart. It’s almost like a slap on the face to me. I have to follow the procedures, I have to fill out the forms, go through clearance to make sure that I was a good person, a safe person to be living in this country.”

Housing specialist Alex Alexander also has her eyes on what’s happening outside the U.S.

She says for her, it’s the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon swaying her vote.

And Alexander says she’s not happy with either the response by the U.S. to the situation or the pledges made along the presidential campaign trail.

“I was hoping to have some candidates that were a little bit more pro-Palestinian,” Alexander said. “In my opinion, Kamala Harris had a shining perfect storm opportunity to be in opposition to the war, or at least opposition to sending resources to Israel, right as she got the nomination. And she didn’t, which means that her interests lie elsewhere. I’m not a huge fan of that.”

At a gas station in Roseville, a man who gives his name only as Billy Bee says he’s equally unhappy.

But he’s concerned about protests over the Biden administration’s support for Israel, even though he says he has relatives that have been displaced because of the ongoing warfare.

“All these people protesting amounts to nothing at the end of the day,” he said. “I tell my own people from Lebanon that if you don’t like it, then leave (the U.S.) Bring me a Palestinian that can point out which life one of the protesters saved. There’s nothing.”

Detroiter Savannah Robbins disagrees.

She says her top issues are the conflict in Gaza and whether Donald Trump becomes the future architect of U.S. policy in the region.

“I fear Donald Trump being president again and what that would do to our democracy,” Robbins said. “Women’s right to choose abortion access, trans people’s right to health care, I’m worried about all of it. I feel like Donald Trump is intent on destroying democracy one step at a time, whether it’s him or it’s the masterminds behind Project 2025.”

The road to uncertainty

Along Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, Uber driver Dennis Custovic guides his car over several potholes.

He says his conversations with passengers convinced him there’s an especially rough road for one particular segment of the U.S. populace.

“My major issue right now is we have more poor people than ever. I talk to people all the time and we need to help the poor in any type of way, affordable housing, getting better pay, secure jobs. It’s kind of like a hit or miss,” he said.

Custovic’s hands tightened on his steering wheel just a bit as he considered which of the major party contenders for the White House might best address poverty.

“You’ve got a vice president mentioning the middle class, that she is from the middle class. So many promises, but nothing is happening under Biden. And she’s in the chair, she’s the vice president. She should be more aware of what can be done,” he said.

Custovic frowned as he navigated both the traffic and his choices for president.

“And then on the other side, you have Trump. He is a businessman but he’s a silly fellow. At the same time, I’m kind of scared of him. Why? Because he say things that don’t make no sense. In many occasions he’s attacking certain groups of people. So I don’t really know. You know, it’s tough. It’s tough.”

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