WDET is starting a new series of Crossing the Lines reports Monday centering Highland Park.  The small city of about 8,500 residents has made a good deal of U.S. history through the decades.  It’s also seen hard financial times in recent years.  

WDET journalists have been out in the community for weeks—and will be out there for several more—talking to residents about what they want the rest of metro Detroit to know about their city.

WDET news director Jerome Vaughn is leading Crossing The Lines – Highland Park.  He says he decided to examine the city more deeply because of its central location.

“It’s a place a lot of people in metro Detroit travel through each and every day, but the majority don’t stop in Highland Park to shop or to get a bite to eat.”

Vaughn started researching the city, looking at census records, Highland Park history, and businesses, before heading out to tour the city over a number of weeks.

WDET will air stories on Highland Park through mid-May.  If there’s something about the city you think we should know, drop us a line at news@wdet.org.

In this episode

• Recap of the 2026 Michigan Republican State Endorsement Convention
• Who is running for Secretary of State and Attorney General for the Michigan Democratic Party?

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Michigan Democratic Party is holding their endorsement convention this weekend to determine the party’s supported candidates for critical positions. As part of WDET’s weekly series…MichMash…Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discusses what those positions are and which candidates have the best chances of winning. Party chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, Curtis Hertel, Jr. describes the convention will go and the status of the Michigan Democratic Party.

“We are prepared for a long day and shorter lines.” said Hertel. The party chair said this might be the largest convention in the history of the Michigan Democratic convention. The voting process is made easier with what Hertel calls a simple text and email based voting system. The voting is proportional voting.

Secretary of State and Attorney General are the biggest positions being voted on during the convention. “Everybody has a chance to run. What’s important is that we run a fair process. It’s going to be an organizing effort. Who can get their people and their votes to the convention floor” said Hertel.

The midterm elections will be held on November 3rd 2026

• More from WDET:
• MichMash: Michigan Republicans hold 2026 state endorsement convention
• US steps into war between Israel and Iran, strikes 3 Iranian nuclear sites

We’re in a moment of polarization. We’re struggling to see each other, to hear one another and to understand different perspectives. 

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 80 percent of adults believe we are greatly divided in our most important values. A more recent New York Times poll found that most voters don’t believe these divisions can be overcome. 

There are fewer and fewer people who have faith in one another. Many believe that our democracy will crumble because we are simply incapable of solving problems across the aisle. 

The folks working in interfaith dialogue think differently. 

Sam Corey spoke with a few of them to understand the promise and limitations of that work.

House Republicans want to eliminate Michigan’s clean energy law requiring 100% renewable power by 2040.

A second bill would also limit distributed energy sources, such as rooftop solar, to just 1% of a utility’s total energy sales. Democrats say that amounts to a ban on community solar programs like Ann Arbor’s Solarize, where neighbors group together to buy solar panels at bulk discounts.

Ann Arbor solar installations jumped from 17 per year to 180 after the Solarize program launched. The 1% cap could hurt that growth.

Republican Rep. Pauline Wendzel says her bill puts “reliability and affordability first.” 

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips points to utilities and their frequent rate increases as the problem behind high energy bills.

Reporter Kyle Davidson from Michigan Advance joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the battle over energy costs.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

It’s a big election year in Michigan, with statewide races for Governor, Secretary of State and U.S. Senate. While consequential and highly publicized, those races are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Local elections and ballot measures, like one on zoning for data centers in Augusta, MI, or a measure that codifies a citizenship requirement for voting in the state constitution, make up over 95% of elected offices in the United States, according to Josh Altic from Ballotpedia.

“There are over 500,000 local offices that get very little attention, and don’t get the information that voters need.”

One step people can take is to look up their sample ballot, and continue their research from there. Oftentimes, it’s hard to know each candidate, and to see their track record or what they stand for.

One place to go for that information is Ballotpedia, a non-partisan organization that calls itself the “digital encyclopedia of American politics.” It compiles comprehensive election information for 32 states, and for 100 major U.S. cities. Curating that information requires savvy digital investigation, says Altic.

“We do a lot of looking in the deep, dark crannies of the internet for anything the candidate has said about their campaign priorities and what their issues are.”

So how does Ballotpedia do it, and what have they learned that can make you a more informed voter this election?

Josh Altic  is the Director of Content at Ballotpedia. He joined The Metro to discuss how Ballotpedia finds information on local elections, and what trends are emerging this election cycle.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Michigan elects a new governor this year and WDET is talking to the candidates vying to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

One of those in the crowded Republican field for governor is former Michigan Speaker of the House Tom Leonard. He wants to lower taxes and reduce government spending.

But Leonard says he’s also running to protect the future for Michigan’s children, including his own kids.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Tom Leonard: There’s three very simple reasons why I’m doing this. And those are Hannah, Thomas, and Danny. That’s our nine-year-old, our six-year-old, and our now 20-month-old.

When you look at the state of our state right now, the unemployment, the lack of income growth, a quarter of our population right now suffers from some type of mental health issue. Half of them are not getting treatment. The list goes on.

We are doing this because the last thing that we want is for one of our kids to come to us in the next 15-20 years and say, “Dad, we’d love to stay in the greatest state in the country. But unfortunately we have to leave because there’s no opportunity for us here in Michigan.” That’s why we’re doing this.

Education serves as a foundation

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: If you were elected governor, how would you try to address some of that?

TL: There are so many things that we have got to get done to turn this state around. One of the biggest issues that I’m focused on right now is education. Fourth graders right now in this state cannot read at a proficient level. Quinn, that is our foundation, that is our base. And I can tell you as a former prosecutor, if somebody has to drop out of school because they’re illiterate, you have created a pipeline to a welfare check or a prison cell.

I believe we need to make Michigan a right-to-work state again. Growth states in this country are right-to-work states. I believe we need to phase out the income tax.

I hear many of these candidates out there gaslighting people across the state, saying that they’re going to eliminate the state income tax on day one. That’s despite the fact that the legislature isn’t even sworn in until nearly two weeks after the governor comes into office.

I would say look at my past track record and my history. That’s what we did when I was speaker. And when I’m the state’s next governor that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to get these big-ticket items across the finish line.

Mental health crisis

QK: You mentioned education. What other issues do you think are vitally important at the moment to Michigan?

TL: I seem to be the one candidate out there right now that’s talking about this mental health crisis. As I said, a quarter of our population suffers from some type of mental health issue. Half of them are not getting treatment.

I believe it starts with ending the stigma that comes attached when somebody is diagnosed with a mental health issue. Think about this for a moment. If you or somebody is diagnosed with something physically, what do they typically do? They go to their friends, they go to their family, they go to their place of worship, they ask for prayer, they start treatment.

Sadly, when people are diagnosed with a mental health issue, they are scared. They don’t know what to do. We’ve got to end the stigma that comes attached.

Energy policy reform

TL: Energy costs. This is a big one right now as I travel the state. I’m hearing more and more of people that can no longer afford their electricity bills. Frankly, we’ve got a broken system. We’ve got a Michigan Public Service Commission that no longer works for the people of this state. They work for two monopoly utilities. They sign off on every single rate increase that they ask for.

Enough is enough. We are the one campaign that has put forth a plan to not only bring choice and competition to the state and the utility monopolies, but also shake up the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Right now those regulators, who dictate our rates, are three unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor. That is way too much power given to the governor. The governor should never control those appointments. Our plan calls for increasing the Michigan Public Service Commission from three to five members, only giving the governor two appointments.

The other appointments would be made by the attorney general, the speaker of the Michigan house and the senate majority leader. These are the types of bold solutions we are putting on the table to address the problems that the people of this state are facing.

Data centers feed into energy problems

QK: There’s been concerns raised by some people about the possibility of rate increases and energy or water problems from the advent of data centers across the state. From some of your past statements, it sounds like you’re not exactly a fan of data centers.

TL: The one being proposed right now that’s being built in Saline Township is 1.4 gigawatts. That is equivalent to the energy used by a million homes. There’s now one being proposed in Van Buren that’s nearly double that, with energy use equal to 2 million homes. Quinn, there are only 4.5 million homes in this entire state. Two industrial-sized data centers alone that they’re proposing would equal the energy for 3 million homes.

I don’t want these things driving-up our energy rates. We need to end the tax subsidies that come attached with these things.

The legislature a couple years ago passed legislation to give tens of millions of dollars to these big tech data centers. They should not be taking money out of our pockets and putting it in the hands of big tech to go out and buy up our farmland. So, end the subsidies.

We need to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements. You’ve got these local governments that are signing these NDA’s. The local citizens have no idea who’s going to be built in their area. They have no idea who’s going to be running these data centers.

These data centers do not create long-term jobs. Yet there is the risk that they are going to drive up our energy rates. And every time I push back on this energy issue, people say, “Well, they’re going to be regulated.” And then I ask the question, “Who’s going to regulate them?” “The Michigan Public Service Commission.” And I say, “So the same three regulators that have given us some of the highest electricity rates in the country, the same three regulators that refuse to tell DTE Energy and Consumers Energy ‘No,’ we are now going to allow to regulate these data centers?” I don’t think so.

I fear that they’re going to drive up our rates. We’ve already got the highest rates in the Midwest and some of the highest in the country. We cannot afford to pay more on our electricity bills.

What to do about political division

QK: It’s no secret how politically divided not only lawmakers but the country and the state as a whole are nowadays. Do you think it’s possible that anyone who would be governor will be able to bring people together at this point in time? Or is it just simply a matter of, “We’ve got to go forward with our policies and hope the other side comes along at some point?”

TL: I believe Democrats gave Republicans a playbook two years ago for what happens when you wake up every day and you have no vision and your only focus is hatred of one person. You lose. And I believe, as a Republican, if Republicans wake up every day and their only focus is hatred of Democrats, they will lose.

They’ve got to put forth a vision. That’s why every single day I’m focused on tackling problems, not people. I’m going to stay bold in my convictions, I’m a strong conservative. I don’t shy away from that. But there is nothing wrong with working across the aisle when it comes to accomplishing things for our state. We’ve actually labeled it the “Dan Campbell” approach.

You may recall when Coach Campbell became the coach of the Lions and he stood on that stage at the first press conference. He didn’t focus on six decades of failure. He didn’t cast blame. He didn’t point the finger. He just simply said, “We’ve got a problem here. And with a lot of grit, a lot of determination, working together with a positive vision every single day, we’re going to turn this program around.”

If Coach Campbell was able to turn the absolute worst sports franchise in the history of all mankind around with that type of vision, we can do the same thing for this state.

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield recently appointed Ali Abazeed as the city’s new Chief Public Health Officer, saying he would be a part of creating a “health in all policies” approach to government.

“We’re really excited to get up and going and also to continue the good work that the department has done over the years, but also to upgrade the software of what public health can look like in the city of Detroit,” he shares. 

Abazeed previously created and led the city of Dearborn’s health department. He also worked as a public health advisor at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Past policies shape today’s health issues

He says health is impacted by housing quality and environment. He hopes to work with the department’s staff of 280 people to create better health outcomes for Detroiters.

“The challenges that Detroit faces from a health perspective, those aren’t inevitable…  they’re created by decades, if not centuries of decisions made by man, policies that have been excluding people from opportunities,” he says.

Abazeed says the city focuses on a harm reduction approach by working with all city departments to connect the dots for people who live in the city. He says part of that will include having more health department officials out in the city.

“90% of your life expectancy happens in the communities where you live, learn, work, worship, play…  then it requires us to take that 90% collaborative approach across everything that we do at the city,” he says. 

Abazeed says Detroiters face health burdens like asthma, which he says require a multifaceted response. 

He says everyone is entitled to good health. 

“Understanding who has been disqualified, who has been sort of pushed to the side, and whether that’s… in Washington or Dearborn and now in Detroit, I think the work is relatively the same, even if it does take on a little bit of a different scale,” he says. 

The Michigan Democratic Senate Primary is heating up a bit. Polls largely show the trio of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and State Senator Mallory McMorrow all within the margin of error of each other.

Stevens and McMorrow have been trading off the lead.

The race has simmered with the candidates not really taking shots at each other. That’s now changed.

Yesterday, El-Sayed rallied at the University of Michigan and Michigan State with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker.

Piker’s livestreams – and political commentary – have drawn over three million followers on Twitch.

In 2024, Piker was invited to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but was kicked out over his criticism of Democrats and candidate Kamala Harris – for their failure to stop or criticize Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The 34-year-old Piker has made some controversial statements and his inclusion by the progressive El-Sayed has drawn sharp criticism by centrist Democrats.

When the campaign stops were announced, McMorrow was quick to compare Piker to Nick Fuentes—a far-right white supremacist holocaust denier. Stevens and current Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin also criticized the move.

Detroit-based reporter Tom Perkins looked at the controversy for The Guardian.

He tells WDET’s Russ McNamara that this fight is indicative of an internal struggle within the Democratic Party.

A party divided

Tom Perkins: I think this is really part of the ongoing civil war between the sort of Hillary Clinton wing of the party and the more progressive Bernie Sanders / AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) / Zohran Mamdani wing of the party.

You have El-Sayed and Piker, who are very progressive, and Piker has campaigned or interviewed AOC, Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, etc. And while McMorrow is a little bit younger and more progressive than somebody like Hillary Clinton, a lot of her surrogates, her aides, etc., come from that camp. And so that’s sort of the broader dynamic here and worth keeping in mind.

Accusations of anti-semitism

TP: Piker has been highly critical of Israel. He’s criticized it over its genocide, its rampaging through the Middle East, its war crimes, its atrocities, and he speaks about it in very strong terms. So that’s that alone has drawn some criticism, but he’s also said some pretty controversial things.

[Piker] said Hamas is lesser of the two evils with the Israeli government. Hamas is 1000 times better than the Israeli government. And he said this in the context of looking at who causes more death in the Middle East. And while it’s a controversial statement, people have said, “Oh, well, that’s antisemitic.” But he’s defended himself and said, “No, that’s a criticism of the Israeli government. That’s not a criticism of all Jewish people.”

[Piker] called a sect of Orthodox Jews in Israel who are ethno-supremacists, “inbred.” And that ignited a huge controversy, and that’s been used against him. People have said, “Oh, well, he called all Jews inbred.” He’s, defended that, and said, “No, I use that term to describe Nazis. I use that term to describe ethno-supremacists and racial supremacists of all kinds.”

When I talked with him about it, he said, “Look, there’s a super cut out there of an hour long of me calling different groups inbred, and it has nothing to do with with Jewish people or Jews. It’s just a term that I use to describe supremacists.”

Arab American views

Russ McNamara: What do Arab American leaders say here in Michigan?

TP: For my story, I spoke with seven local and national Arab American and Lebanese American leaders. They all said some variation of the same thing, which is that these attacks on El-Sayed and Piker show that the establishment Democrats are making the same moral and strategic blunders that they made in 2024 that led to Dems electoral demise in Michigan and nationally.

They say this is an attempt to censor criticism of Israel, and they say that it shows the anti-Arab bias that imbues the political establishment. McMorrow in her criticism of El-Sayed and Piker said, “Well, you know, Piker shouldn’t be here, because this happened in the wake of the Temple Israel Synagogue attacks,” which she said that Jewish people are suffering from that. Which is true that Jewish people are suffering from that, and that should be acknowledged, but she doesn’t acknowledge the suffering of the 120,000 Lebanese American people in Michigan.

Their families are from southern Lebanon. Israel has invaded Lebanon, virtually every one of these 120,000 people, either have a family member, a loved one, a friend who has been killed by Israel, or displaced by Israel. A million people are displaced right now in southern Lebanon. Many, many people from Michigan have family members who are suffering. That suffering is reverberating across Southeast Michigan, and that is not being acknowledged by McMorrow or centrist Democrats or establishment Democrats.

RM: How much impact will this actually have on the Democratic Primary?

TP: One of the one of the folks I spoke with for the story was Abed Ayoub, who’s the spokesperson for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), an Arab American civil rights group in Dearborn.

He said to me: “Look, Republicans are making inroads here. If there’s somebody like McMorrow, if there’s a Democratic candidate who’s not considering us, who’s not thinking about our suffering, who’s telling us to be quiet about Israel, then the same things that happened in 2024 are going to happen again. People are going to vote for a Republican. They’re going to stay home, they’re going to vote third party. So yes, if you want to win in Michigan, you might want to acknowledge this suffering. You might want to acknowledge that this is happening.”

I should stress that everybody I spoke with said some variation the same thing, which is the suffering of both people can be acknowledged at the same time. We don’t have to exclude one or the other.

President Donald Trump and Republicans want to transform the election process.

Recently, the president signed an executive order that seeks to change how mail-in voting works, placing it under the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump and Republicans are also trying to pass the SAVE Act, which would ensure voters provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration and a photo ID at the time of voting.

All of this is happening as the president has called to “nationalize the elections,” and as MAGA influencer Steve Bannon has asked ICE officials to patrol polling locations in November. 

What should we make of all these efforts? How secure are voting systems? 

Republican Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about this and more.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

When President Donald Trump took office, he promised to crack down on immigration. He’s done that. 

Since January of 2025, at least 2,400 immigrants were arrested in Michigan alone. But President Trump and immigration officials are not following an orderly process. Officials are often skirting the law, or violating it. 

This was visible months ago in Minneapolis, when masked ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti and thousands took to the streets. Here in Michigan, the work of ICE is harder to spot. But due to action in the courts, we’ve been learning more. 

Federal judges recently ruled that hundreds of people in Michigan were unconstitutionally detained as they never had a chance of being released on bond. 

For its part, the administration says it’s detaining the “worst of the worst.” But in many cases, non-citizens without a criminal record have been detained. 

So, what do ICE arrests and detentions look like in metro Detroit? What are the stories of those who’ve been detained? How are local police involved in the work? And, who’s fighting back? 

Violet Ikonomova is an investigative reporter for the Detroit Free Press. She spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

The State of Michigan and the City of Romulus have sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to stop them from converting a warehouse into an ICE detention center.

This week on MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben talks with Attorney General Dana Nessel to discuss her concerns about the department’s actions and much more.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode

• Why did the State of Michigan and the City of Romulus sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security?
• Attorney General Nessel’s take on Pres. Trump attending Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship.
• Data centers in Michigan
• What Attorney Nessel plans to do after leaving office this term. 

Nessel felt that the legality of the Romulus warehouse purchase was in question, and even pointed out the irony of the DHS operation.

“They are taking people who mostly have no criminal records of any kinds and [saying] that these people didn’t come into the state properly so we are going to detain you or deport. Well, DHS didn’t come in to Romulus properly. They are not abiding by the laws. So I think it’s a bit of hypocrisy by the federal government.” 

Nessel said they filed a preliminary injunction so that DHS could not proceed with the project while the legal battle evolves. 

More from WDET:

• Detroit Evening Report: Michigan and city of Romulus file lawsuit to halt ICE detention center

• The Metro: Data centers, coming to a community near you

In late 2024, Michigan lawmakers voted to provide tax breaks for large data centers. Since then, local officials across Michigan have seen an influx of proposals. 

Last year, there were more than 15 proposals for data centers across the state. Several are still waiting for the green light, including one in Allen Park. The city’s planning commission has delayed a vote twice this year, requesting further information from Solstice Data.

These proposals come with the promise of jobs, but taxpayers are skeptical. They want to know if the electric grid handle the energy demand data centers create, and how much air, water, and noise pollution they will produce.

Steven Gonzalez Monserrate is a post-doctoral researcher at Goethe University in Frankfort and studies data centers and how they affect the people and the environment.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Detroit is often broken into two camps: Downtown and the neighborhoods. 

At last night’s state of the city address, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield declared she was investing in the latter. 

Between cash assistance for pregnant moms, potential pay increases for city employees, new initiatives to help young people, and plans for more affordable housing, Sheffield signaled she doesn’t want to have two separate, unequal classes living in Detroit. She wants everyone to thrive in the city. 

But Detroit has big problems, including homes that need repairs, poor public transit and generational poverty. With federal funds drying up, Sheffield’s administration will need to find a way to pay for all of its services. 

How does she plan to do that? And, what kind of coalition is she building to help her?

Donna Givens Davidson is the president of the Eastside Community Network and of the co-host of the Authentically Detroit podcast. She also was part of Mayor Sheffield’s transition team. Givens Davidson spoke with The Metro‘s Cary Junior II.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Michigan’s 13th Congressional District covers most of the City of Detroit. Since 2021, Shri Thanedar has represented the area. There has been criticism that the largest majority-Black city in the U.S. is not represented by an African American in Congress.

For his part, Thanedar has shrugged off the criticism and brought millions of federal dollars back to the district.

It has not stopped attempts to primary him.

State Representative Donavan McKinney lives in the 13th. He’s a progressive Democrat who—despite some similarities in their stance on issues—says he is to the left of Thanedar.

McKinney recently sat down with WDET’s Russ McNamara and discussed topics that are coming into play for the primary.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Healthcare

Russ McNamara: What’s your plan to fix healthcare?

State Rep. Donavan McKinney: We need Medicare for All. At the end of the day, people can’t afford life’s necessities, including healthcare.

I’m gonna be honest, it’s a damn shame that Republicans are attacking the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and and the wins on that to cover pre-existing conditions.

I have a story I love to talk about my mom in particular. She has a pre-existing condition, brain tumors, fortunately benign, not cancerous. However, she had to undergo emergency brain surgeries, and it wasn’t for the ACA, she would not be covered.

Wealth gap

RM: How do you plan to address the wealth gap? Because healthcare is tied up all in that too.

DM: The wealth gap is huge, and it’s climbing. Right now, I represent currently the poorest House District in Michigan. $14,000 is the median income. And you know, with folks that’s top of mind is the quality of life issues, right?

It’s unaffordable to live a life right now and I’m running to represent, I believe, the top five poorest [congressional] districts in the country. My constituents, the residents that I currently represent and looking forward to represent in the halls of D.C., they’re struggling with everyday bills. Whether it’s health care, auto insurance, whether it’s child care, housing, you know, you name it, gas, groceries, everything. 

And so for me, it’s all about getting the corporate influence out of our politics, and that’s why we’re running on a campaign that’s not taking any corporate PAC money. Sad to say, my opponent is.

Campaign finance

RM: Why make the choice to not take corporate PAC money? You could easily take the corporate PAC money and use that to campaign, but still vote a different way.

DM: I agree with that premise to some degree, but they also have a lot of influence, right? And so for me, the biggest influence that I want as an elected official should be the people that I represent, and so that’s why we’re taking a hard stance.

I introduced legislation in the state legislature last term and earlier this term that takes all corporate monopoly money out of our politics. It’s called Taking Back Our Power.

We’re targeting insurance companies and the big utility companies, because they have a lot of influence in Lansing, but once I get to DC, what we’re looking to do is overturn Citizens United, and we can do that through congressional action and ensuring that the people’s voices are heard.

Billionaires influencing politics

RM: The amount of money that billionaires are funneling into politics right now has gone up exponentially since Citizens United. Fundamentally and ethically, should billionaires exist?

DM: No. Bottom line? Hell no. I’ll talk about my grandfather in particular, who him and his parents, my great grandparents moved fled from the Jim Crow South to Detroit, Michigan. And one of the most interesting things about my grandfather was he worked at Ford Motor Company for 42 years. And guess what? He never missed a day of work. And I was at his retirement party a few years back, and you know, I asked him, I said, ‘granddad, like, how you never missed a day?’ Like, how was that? Because, you know, my generation, other folks, they’ll miss a day at work within 42 years. He said, “I took pride in what I was doing, and I knew that Ford had my back. I knew that the union had my back, but I knew that Ford Motor Company had my best interest at heart.”

If you fast forward to the year 2026, these companies don’t have the best interest of the workers at heart. What’s happening is they care about the bottom line more so than investing in the human capital, and so they’re figuring out ways to either automate folks out of a job. I mean, what’s happening recently with Stellantis, which, to me, will always be known as Chrysler. And to be honest, I’m a Detroiter, and [I see] how they’re funneling opportunities and increasing bonuses for salaried workers, but for not the workers on the line.

That corporate influence has to end. It has to stop. We have to do what’s right on behalf of the working class people. And right now, they don’t feel like their elected officials are doing the best they can for them.

Data centers and AI

RM: How do you feel about data centers?

DM: This is about understanding what’s possible and then also protecting the environmental harms that are happening from data centers across the country. In Michigan, the Democrats under the democratic trifecta, we led something called the Clean Energy and Jobs Act, and so we were able to ensure that protections for rate payers on water as well as for electricity and energy use are protected.

But in other states, and I’m seeing horror stories coming out of Memphis and Georgia. They have weak laws on the state level, but on a federal level, what’s happening is the AI groups, the folks, the mega sites that are trying to come to our communities, they’re influencing our legislators right now in Congress trying to pull back as many environmental protections from the people. And so for me, I cannot in good conscience support data centers if they’re going to continue to do environmental harm on our communities.

Now, if we can get that together alongside community solar and things of that nature, like we already have in place here in our state, then I can get on board. But in reality, this is all about the oligarchs, the corporate class, taking advantage of the people who live in our communities.

RM: So what’s your reaction when you hear that there’s room for a data center out near City Airport on Detroit’s east side?

DM: Just to paint the picture, in Michigan and other places of the country, we’ve already have data centers running. The question is mega sites. These are new to the equation, and so with the mega sites coming in I don’t necessarily support it until they don’t have an environmental justice plan that they follow. Until that all of those needs are met, and the community says no, then I got to rock with my community, with my constituents.

U.S. funding of Israel

RM: In 2024, the Biden Administration and the Kamala Harris campaign refused to change their stance toward funding Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. I just want your thoughts on that conflict, because it’s still relevant here now two years on.

DM: Because I’m at the state level, you don’t really deal with foreign policy, but now that I’m running for a Congressional seat, I’m learning more and more about it. Some people might disagree with me when I say this, right now, from the experts, groups that are on the ground every single day, to the United Nations. What’s happening over there is a genocide.

Now, does that excuse what happened on October 7? No, I condemn any type of violence, any type of war, no matter who it is, because a human life is a human life. But I can’t in good conscience at the federal level support sending billions—and sometimes trillions over decades—for bombs and weapons to kill families and children. When literally in my own neighborhood I have to witness and see my neighbors struggling day to day, and we can’t find any type of money for them to have health care, for them to have good parks of recreation, for them to have real mass transit in our communities, access to clean and affordable water.

Every time we talk about progressivism and the things that the community honestly want and American people need, we say we can’t fund it. We say we don’t have the money, but right now, in Iran and different parts of the world, we’re spending over billions of dollars a day, and people are fed up with their entire politics. That’s why they don’t engage. That’s why they’re not involved. So for me, this is deeper than politics. This is deeper than “Oh, you’re pro Jew, you’re pro Palestinian.” I’m pro human life. I’m pro bringing resources back home to my district.

Where should the Democratic Party go next?

RM: Do you think there’s a leadership problem within the Democratic Party?

DM: I think there’s a leadership problem top down. I think if you look at the polling for our current administration, our current president, the numbers are like terrible, but the numbers on the Democratic Party is even lower than Trump’s.

Right now, [the people] don’t see the Democratic Party as the party of the people. I view the party as the party of the people. But right now, what’s happening is Democrats and Republicans are viewed the same when it comes to certain things, and that is literally pleading and doing everything they can for the corporate oligarchs in the corporate class. And right now for working people that are in my district struggling, they’re working two three jobs just to try to scrape by to make ends meet, let alone figuring out ways to thrive and have an disposable income, having health care and a retirement to look forward to. They have nothing, and so right now, they need a party that’s going to step up for them.

That’s why I’m a big believer that the party is going to have to make a choice. You either going to continue to serve the corporate class or you’re going to serve the working people. And that’s why we’re not taking corporate money, and that’s why my opponent is in trouble, because he continues to take corporate PAC money, AIPAC and everything under the sun.

RM: The right for transgender people to exist is under attack from the Trump Administration. What do you plan to do to protect some of the most marginalized people in this country?

DM: At the end of the day, human life is human life. I don’t I don’t care how you see yourself, define yourself at the end of the day, if you are a human being in this country, I will fight for you. So for me, making sure that at the end of the day, trans, Black folks, poor people, formerly incarcerated, our veterans, all of these groups are the most vulnerable populations of our communities, our seniors, our elders and our children— they need somebody that’s going to fight for them.

And so I have nothing better to do but to fight for human rights, no matter how you slice it, no matter where you live, no matter who you love, no no matter your race, your creed, your color, it doesn’t matter. And so yeah, to answer your question: I’m going to fight for every single person, not only in my district, but across the country.

RM: That sounds like some All Lives Matter kind of talk though…

DM: You could call it, All Lives Matter. But in reality, this is just common sense. Like, I’mma be honest Russ—the politics of the day, I have to partake in it, because I’m an elected official. But I like to see myself as a public servant first, and that’s what not only the Democratic party, the Republican Party, everybody in this system has forgotten.

It’s the service to the humans. We’re all humans. We might be different. We might like come from different backgrounds. But the reason why I’m sitting in office right now as a state rep in the district where nobody told me a Black kid can win in Macomb County, the reason why I won every single precinct is because we talked about the real issues, and they understood. They looked at me eye to eye at those doors, and they say, “You know what, I believe in this guy, I know he’s going to fight for me.”

It doesn’t matter what your politics is, I believe in you, and I’m going to fight for you no matter what, and that and that’s all I can do. I will fight for folks all across the congressional district of the mighty 13th.

Calls to abolish ICE

RM: There’s been an increase in the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is attempting to turn a warehouse into a detention center. There’s been a growing movement from the left wing of the Democratic Party to ‘abolish ICE’. Where do you stand on that?

DM: We must abolish ICE as it is right now, because at the end of the day, what’s happening in Romulus is not only in our congressional district, and it impacts people—it impacts folks all across our state.

One of the biggest issues with ICE in particular is that they’re not only targeting what Trump is calling the worst of the worst. No, they’re actually targeting American citizens, and they are known in recent history to not only kill American citizens, but deport American citizens. And I’m born and raised in this country. If you deport me, where the hell are you going to send me? That is my biggest question, and so I can’t in good conscience support this department.

My opponent, sad to say, was one of the one of the few Democrats last summer to thank the department, voted with the Republicans to do so. [He also] voted at least a couple times to increase the department’s budget. [NOTE: The vote thanking ICE also was tied to a measure condemning antisemitism] Because the community has risen up, and I’ve been hitting him hard on it, he decides, because it’s politically favorable to switch his tune and tries to introduce legislation to abolish ICE with no community input.

I introduced legislation last fall, long before we knew ICE was going to be here in Michigan, making sure that everybody has access to due process no matter your immigration status, making sure that ICE agents are unmasked when they conduct business here in our communities, and ensuring that at the end of the day, everybody has access to resources, no matter who you are.

We are a border city. We’re an international crossing. ICE has been terrorizing our communities, especially in southwest Detroit and the surrounding areas, for years now, over a decade.

And so where was he at? Where was my opponent at? We were there every step of the way, fighting back with our community, and we’re going to continue to fight back.

And so I’m proud of—I got to give a shout out to our Attorney General, Dana Nessel. I got to give a shout out to the Mayor Bob McCray and the whole entire Romulus city council, because they came together collectively as one, and they’re fighting against right now. They got a lawsuit right now to slow down a process of ice opening up that detention facility in Romulus.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak to the nation at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, with the White House saying he will deliver an update on the war in Iran.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the war with Iran could end in two to three weeks, while dismissing concerns over global oil supply disruptions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. objectives have largely been achieved, even as uncertainty remains about next steps.

Watch live at 9 p.m.

Many of the systems designed to keep us safe sometimes harm the most vulnerable among us. That’s often true of people who face financial hardship.

Detroit’s 36th District Court is trying to stop that from continuing. Chief Judge William McConico is running a court-wide amnesty program through April 2, waiving all late fees, penalties, and warrant costs for adjudicated cases when the original fine is paid.

McConico spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about this, bail reform and controversy surrounding one of his judges.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

Tens of thousands of metro Detroiters took to the streets to take part in another “No Kings” protest, where they opposed President Donald Trump, recent policies on immigration, war with Iran and more. 

No Kings marches took place in cities across the country. WDET’s Russ McNamara was on the ground talking with folks in metro Detroit about what motivated them to speak up and get out. He spoke with The Metro‘s Cary Junior II about what he found.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro