The 2026 general election is shaping up to be a big one.

The federal election could flip the balance of power in Congress.

In Michigan, everything is set to change. Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General are all open.

Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters announced he would not seek reelection.

We’re still 16 months out from the primary, yet candidates are already seeing if they’re viable.

So far, one Democrat thinks they are.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s profile has been on the rise over the past few years. Two years ago, a Republican colleague called her a “groomer” and McMorrow’s speech rebuking the comment went viral.

Last August, using a gigantic copy of the Project 2025 manifesto as a prop, McMorrow spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In maybe the biggest tell of her national aspirations, she has a book out.

Over the weekend, McMorrow sat down with WDET to discuss her candidacy.

Listen: McMorrow talks US Senate bid, political priorities

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Russ McNamara, WDET News: So when I talked to you at the Democratic National Convention, you were unsure of what your next steps were going to be. When did you reach that clarity?

Sen. Mallory McMorrow: I think Senator Peters surprised a lot of people when he made his decision not to seek reelection. And as I thought about my next step, I was sure almost immediately, this was something I wanted to explore, but it’s a big decision to run statewide, so required a lot of conversations, a lot of reaching out to people all across the state, talking with my family, to make sure this was something we could do, and that we felt like we could be successful.

RM: Yeah, you’ve got a young kid at home. Are you sure you want to go through a full Senate campaign?

MM: She is four. She’s such a trooper. I’ve never seen a kid who loves a parade more than my daughter, and she’s excited. I got a great support system with my husband, who is the world’s best dad, and we’re ready for this.

RM: How comfortable are you in the spotlight?

MM: For me, a spotlight is only as good as what you choose to do with it, and I think it’s a strength of mine to be able to communicate to people’s rightful anger and fear and frustrations and also give voice to how we’re going to fight back and what we’re going to do with it. And that’s why I’m entering this race, to give people an avenue and a new path forward for Michiganders to get us out of all this chaos and out of the wilderness.

RM: What should Democrats be doing to push back against the Trump administration? You told Melissa Burke of the Detroit News that you are kind of unhappy with the leadership of Chuck Schumer. You think that some of the old guard Democrats need to make way for a younger generation.

“This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back…”

–State Sen. Mallory McMorrow

MM: So first of all, this is not a knock on any one person, but it’s a real acknowledgement of the time. This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back and accepts that it’s not enough to just stand behind a podium in front of the Capitol in Washington D.C. and say we’re fighting and we’re winning, and then turning around and asking for contributions or going in interviews and saying that, well, their polling is starting to come down, and they’ll just be more unpopular, and we’ll keep going and we’ll get them in the midterms. People are showing up in my town halls and coffee hours right now, raising their hands saying, ‘Put me in coach. I want to be a part of something. I want to fight back. And we need leaders who understand how to engage with people, not as just a number, not as a voter or a donor, but as part of the team.’

RM: So if part of that change in philosophy is getting younger. Why am I getting text messages from (80-year-old Clinton ally and Democratic strategist) James Carville?

MM: So James Carville and I have become pretty good friends over the last few years, and why I’m really proud of that friendship is there can be old guard leaders who recognize and see talent in new guard leaders and understand that we have to bring up new leadership.

RM: So what specifically separates you policy wise? Would you nuke the filibuster? Would you avoid the Senate parliamentarian like Republicans say they’re going to do — something the Biden administration refused to do — is that an area that you’re willing to explore?

MM: So right now, I think you have to look no further than what Cory Booker did this past week, standing on the (Senate) floor for 25 hours, acknowledging up front that Democrats in Washington may not have the power to move legislation or block bills right now, but that he acknowledged that his constituents wanted him to do more. So he stood there for longer than anybody in United States history, uplifting the voices of his constituents, their fears, their angers, letters from people who had lost their Medicaid and Medicare, and it felt like hope, in a weird way, to give voice to the voiceless and show people that even when Donald Trump wants us to believe we don’t have power, we actually do, and we’re going to do everything we can to use it.

RM: How would you characterize your version of politics. Would you consider yourself a centrist? Would you consider yourself more progressive on certain issues, maybe not so much on others? How would you describe yourself?

MM: I describe myself as pragmatic.

RM: (interrupting) If I hear a Democrat saying they’re being pragmatic, that immediately says they’re centrist, right? When I hear Republicans say they’re being pragmatic, there’s gonna be big cuts to some services. So, I really need you to spell that out for me.

MM: When you look at my policy priorities and how I approach things on certain issues where fundamental rights are at risk, I will be progressive and aggressive about fighting back. I introduced the first version of the Reproductive Health Act in 2019 as a primary bill sponsor, even though I was in a marginal district because protecting our fundamental reproductive rights was important to me. This was the legislation that would have codified Roe v. Wade on the state level, before we had Prop 3, and Republicans refused to take it up.

I’ve been aggressive on legislation for gun violence prevention. I’m somebody who lost the older brother of one of my best friends in the Virginia Tech shooting — it is deeply personal to me, and I will fight hard to make sure that nobody else has to go through what I went through, or what anybody who’s lost a family member to gun violence has to go through. But I’m also the chair of the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee.

I have been active on reforming our state’s approach to economic development, working across the aisle with my Republican colleagues on investing more in small businesses and entrepreneurs and downtowns and in a way that relies less on heavy corporate tax incentives to try to bring back minimum wage jobs, and more on building our economy from the ground up. So that’s what I mean when I say pragmatic is I look at the needs of my constituents, I look at what is going to be possible to push Michigan forward. And to me, that’s more important than where I fall in the political spectrum.

RM: One thing that’s on the mind to a lot of voters and a lot of people I talk to. I personally have trans friends and family. It seemed like the issue of protections for trans people — Democrats didn’t necessarily run away from it, but they did not necessarily address it in the last voting cycle. You’re protesting today (April 5) in Ferndale, the traditional heart of the LGBTQ community in Michigan, lay out your plan and your vision for LGBTQ people in the state of Michigan from here on out.

MM: So I wholly reject the idea and will never be the type of person who throws somebody under the bus because of polling. I think it’s callous, and I think it’s hurtful. What I know about my LGBTQ friends and neighbors is that just like the rest of us, they want to be left alone. They want to be left alone to live their lives as they wish. And that is why my speech in 2022 I think, resonated the way that it did was because, unlike a lot of other Democrats, I did not accept the fight that Republicans wanted me to have when I was smeared as a groomer, which, let’s be clear, is an attack usually levied on the LGBTQ community, I stood up and spoke about my own life; that I was raised Catholic, what Christian values mean to me, and said very clearly that people who are different are not the reason why your health care costs are too high or why the roads are in disrepair. And that’s what I hope to show through this campaign, is that we can protect our LGBTQ friends and neighbors by talking to the issues that 99% of Michiganders want to hear, which is their housing costs, their health care, their lifestyle, the quality of their schools and not letting anybody be a scapegoat.

RM: Are Democrats making a mistake by running away from some social issues?

MM: What I think Democrats are missing is letting Republicans paint Democrats as who Republicans want Democrats to be. The idea that Democrats spent too much time focused on social issues and culture war issues is not because that’s the Democratic policy platform. That’s because Republicans, namely Donald Trump and Elon Musk, spent millions upon millions of dollars on TV ads to try to define Democrats, and Democrats fell into the trap. So by going on offense instead of constantly being on defense, we can appeal to a majority of people to convince them, yeah, you may not be doing as well as you wanted. You may not be able to afford to buy a house, and it’s not somebody else’s fault. It’s because the system is broken, and we have to fix that system.

Several thousand protesters — unhappy with the Trump administration’s cuts to federal employees, mass deportations, and tariffs — marched down Woodward Avenue from the Detroit Institute of Arts to Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.  

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More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned across the country by more than 150 groups, with thousands gathering at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston and other major cities.

In Michigan, there were protests held across the state, including in Troy, Ferndale, Wyandotte, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Marquette and other communities.  

Protester Aisha Banks, who splits her time between homes in Detroit, Colombia and Panama, says the president’s policies have hurt America’s standing as a global leader. 

“This is the worst thing. It’s disastrous for the country as well as for the world,” she said. “It’s going to affect everyone, not just the United States, but everyone all over the world.”

The protest drew concerned citizens across generations. Patynn Johnson is a 10th grade student from Marygrove High School. She says now is not the time for her young people to be silent.

“My mama taught me, if somebody’s doing this to you, say something back. Speak out. You can’t just be quiet, because nothing’s gonna happen.”

When asked about the demonstrations, the White House said in a statement that Trump will always protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

–Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET. The Associated Press contributed.

More headlines for Monday, April 7, 2025:

• The Embassy of Bangladesh is hosting a two-day mobile consular service event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12-13, at the Al Ihsan Islamic Center in Warren, organized by the Bangladesh Society of Michigan. The event will offer services including issuance of the No Visa Required (NVR) seal, biometric enrollments for e-passports, and power of attorney services. No appointments required.
• The city of Detroit Construction and Demolition Department kicked off “Detroit Demo Week” on Monday, with events planned throughout the week aimed at fostering engagement and support for the city’s ongoing efforts to remove blight.
• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) awarded $8 million to 20 organizations to build Healthy Community Zones in several counties, including in the city of Detroit. The funding — from the Michigan Racial Disparities Task Force — is aimed to encourage community-led solutions for reducing racial disparities in chronic disease awareness and resources.
• The nonprofit Rising Voices is hosting a virtual community briefing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 15, to educate people about the “Alien Land Law” bills. The organization says the bills “are rooted in anti-Chinese, anti-Asian, and anti-immigrant sentiments,” which allegedly are being branded as “national security” concerns.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Stock markets worldwide are careening even lower Friday after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war.

Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.

Trump’s 25% tariff on imported vehicles — which the administration says will help foster domestic manufacturing — is likely to both drive up auto prices and force automakers that rely on global supply chains to rethink what and where vehicles are being made.

Stellantis has already laid off 900 workers at plants in Michigan and Indiana after pausing production at some of its assembly plants in Mexico and Canada.

Patrick Anderson, CEO of East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, told WDET that he thinks Trump’s tariffs will cause Michigan’s economy to tank. 

“For the lowest tariff cost vehicles we expect prices to go up somewhere between $2,500 and $5,000 per car,” Anderson said. “For a lot of mid-priced cars (it will go up) $5,000, $8,000, $10,000.”

Anderson said Michigan’s close ties to the auto industry are a good thing. However, it also makes us more vulnerable to recessions.

“Also, in this case, (more vulnerable to) a huge U-turn in terms of trade policy,” he added. “(Now) that’s being undertaken by the Trump administration, which has very negative effects on our ability to build cars and sell cars here in Michigan and in other states.”

As long as the tariffs are in place, he says it’s not likely to get better.

“I don’t see any upside to higher tariffs for states like Michigan any time in the next…year,” Anderson said. “You might get some production to move to some plants, but you’re already seeing — and this is just in days — reductions in employment.”

The cratering stock market — in addition to the tariffs — feeds into itself and makes things even worse.

“You’re seeing a huge toll on people’s retirement savings that affects whether or not they’re going to buy cars,” Anderson said.

And if higher prices lead to a drop in sales and manufacturing, the state and region will drop into an avoidable collapse, he said.

“Because you can’t take this much of a, really a baseball bat to auto sales, if that’s your leading industry, and not expect there to be employment losses.”

Auto companies are also navigating the reversal of fuel economy standards, dialed down greenhouse gas emission standards and a host of electric vehicle policy rollbacks.

Associated Press writers Stan Choe, Alexa St. John and Paul Wiseman contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is attacking unions at the federal level in a way not seen since the Reagan administration.

Claiming it was in the interest of national security, Trump banned collective bargaining for employees at 18 federal agencies in an executive order issued last week. The move comes as Trump has cut pro-worker members of the National Labor Relations Board and replaced them with pro-business, anti-union lobbyists.

So what does all this mean for workers in the state of Michigan?

Ron Bieber is the president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. He told WDET that he’s seen this anti-union playbook before.

“If you remember, after 2010 the Republicans took total control of state government. They went after seniors and instituted a pension tax. They went after kids and attacked public education. They went after the working poor and gutted the Earned Income Tax Credit; went after workers and unions and passed Right to Work; and they did all that so they could give business and corporations and their wealthy friends a huge tax cut,” he said. “Working folks organized. We had each other’s back. We stood together and fought back together. We clawed our way back together, and then finally, in the last legislative session, we restored those workers rights.”

However, all that took time. Michigan Democrats didn’t have full control over the state legislature until after the 2022 election. So fighting back can take a while.

On whether Democrats are doing enough to push back against the Trump agenda:

“They’re pushing back. I mean, they’re in the minority,” he said. “…There’s only so many tools you can use when you’re in the minority.”

On whether he agrees with the United Auto Workers that tariffs on the auto industry are a good thing:

“(UAW President Shawn Fain) is fighting to bring back manufacturing and auto manufacturing back into the U.S. And I think that he’s on a good path, and that he’s going to push this through the end, and wherever he goes, trust me, we will have his back, and we will follow his lead, and we’ll support the way he wants to support, auto manufacturing.”

Bieber says the AFL-CIO has been out to several anti-Trump protests already — including a recent one at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs medical center.

More protests are planned for this Saturday, April 5 and on May 1.

The relationship between Detroit and Windsor is a microcosm of what’s been happening in recent weeks between the U.S. and Canada. President Donald Trump’s constant threat of tariffs and annexation have brought heated rhetoric and international tension.

It’s affecting the lives — and vibes — of Windsorites.

“It is getting tense, and it is getting very stressful on this side of the border, and you can actually feel it,” said Rino Bortolin, a former Windsor City Councilor. He owns Petrella’s, a sandwich shop in the Ford City neighborhood.

Bortolin isn’t alone. WDET approached more than a dozen Windsorites to ask them how they were taking the recent stress in Canada-U.S. relations. People had thoughts — but were often hesitant to have them recorded. But off the record, they expressed a mixture of disbelief and disappointment.

Bortolin says the whole ordeal has been difficult.

“We’ve got season tickets to Detroit City FC soccer [and we are] over there, quite a bit with friends family,” Bortolin said. “So I’m trying to separate the people versus what’s happening at the government level. But it is very difficult.”

DCFC’s home opener was Saturday. But Bortolin says the bad vibes are keeping folks from crossing the border.

“I’ve got four tickets. Kids probably can’t come. It’s been hard to find three people to fill those seats,” Bortolin said. “So people that go regularly for concerts, cultural events, dining, other events where they even know people over in Detroit, even they’re putting a hard stop on on going over and crossing at all.”

And that’s not just anecdotal. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show crossings dropped last month by 470,000 when compared to February 2024.

The last time crossings were this low was 2020, during the early days of COVID.

That sounds about right to Sarah Dewar, the owner and sommelier at Maiden Lane, a Windsor wine and cocktail bar.  

“I feel after the pandemic, it’s finally been rebounding,” said Dewar. “We’re getting the American tourism again, and it’s really disappointing to think that these positive gains we’ve made will be reversed.”

Dewar knows it can be tough to get people to make the trip.

“I think as Windsorites, living on a border city, we pay attention to what’s going on in Detroit, whereas Detroit doesn’t necessarily pay attention to what’s going on over here,” Dewar said. “U.S., Canada, you could say the same thing.”

In response to American tariffs, some Canadians have focused on using goods made in their country, and calling for a boycott of ones made in the U.S. For a bar owner, that means an embargo on products like American whiskey.  

However, Dewar says it’s difficult given the close ties between countries, industries, and people.

“You know, I can’t get on board with a full-on boycott of all things American,” Dewar said.

She’s worried it might get worse.

“I hate the division that it has the potential to cause between just the average person. You know, we have friends. We’ve created relationships with people over there in the same industry, and we love going to visit them,” Dewar said.

“We love it when they come over here. And I hope, I hope that we can repair it. I don’t think it’s too far gone.”

Still, the situation is seen as disrespectful to an ally and neighbor who has dealt with a lot.  

Member of Parliament Brian Masse is with the New Democratic Party.  He’s represented the Windsor West riding for more than two decades and is running in next month’s federal elections.

“We were the ones going over to Detroit to support the businesses in Greektown and the sports culture and so forth, when people said it was not even safe to visit,” Masse said. “So right now, there’s a sense of fatigue from our citizens because of the insults going on with regards to Trump.”

Masse knows the importance of a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem and has been working on getting the Ojibway Prairie Complex—a stretch of Windsor along the river across from Zug Island—designated a National Urban Park.

“Those things are at risk, and so we’re going to need to see people step up and figure out that it just can’t be taken for granted, the [U.S. / Canada] relationship anymore, because the constant elements coming out of the White House and the confusion is going to cost real jobs, cost real friendships, and it’s going to take away from our quality of life,” Masse says.

Because of that, Masse doesn’t blame Canadians for expressing their frustration with the U.S. via their wallets.  

“The problem that we have here, though, is for people to actually think about getting in their car or going on a trip into the US and potentially face some of this stuff is exhausting, and they have other options.”

Those options are fully on display at Valente Travel next door to Masse’s office on Ouelette Avenue.

Travel agent Melanie Harding says many Canadians are rerouting their big trips.

“We have had some cancelations,” Harding says. “Some people feel strongly about it, where others are still willing to travel.”

But don’t count Harding among those who are discouraged from going to the U.S.

“I’m going to New Orleans,” Harding says. “It’s our anniversary, so I’m not putting that on hold for anyone.”

Windsorite Edward Semenski isn’t phased either. When asked by WDET if he wants Canada to become the 51st U.S. state: “Sure, why not?”

Semenski, who was reading a Bible when approached by WDET, says he appreciates Trump’s Christian values. Still, he doesn’t plan to cross the border anytime soon.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to go to the U.S.,” Semenski says. “I have a criminal record, even though I used to live in Detroit.”

However, Semenski says he’s holding out hope.

“I’m gonna get a try to get a pardon first before I try going over there.”

For as tight as the two countries have been historically, something feels off. Call it a vibe shift.

Bortolin says the honeymoon is definitely over.

“I think this will be something that causes generational harm and a shift from the relationship,” Bortolin says.

“It’s like your partner cheats on you the one time, and…it can’t go back after that. And it’s like, there’s always something in the back of your mind. And this is one of those things that will always be in the back of our minds.”

A recent pro-Canada demonstration drew hundreds to Detroit’s Hart Plaza and to the base of the giant Canadian flag along the Windsor riverfront. It was a show of support on both sides of the border – and a reminder that Americans and Canadians can still be good neighbors… even when the U.S government isn’t.

The two major political parties held their conventions last weekend. On the Democratic side, former state Senator Curtis Hertel will lead the Michigan Democratic Party. He ran unopposed.

The Republican side was a bit more contentious. Former Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock had gotten the coveted Donald Trump endorsement, but after a couple rounds of voting, it was current state Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) that got the nod for chair.

Runestad has been in the Michigan Legislature since 2015. Before that, the White Lake resident was on the Oakland County Commission.

He tells WDET there’s still some work to be done building bridges between the various factions of the GOP.

“This internal fighting is not helpful to the ultimate goal that we’re all here, and that is winning elections for Republicans,” Runestad says.

2024 started with Kristina Karamo the MIGOP chair, but her abrasive style saw donors bail. An insurrection within the party followed and former Congressman Peter Hoekstra took over. Last year’s elections saw Republicans win back the state House, pick up a Congressional seat and Donald Trump win Michigan.

For that, Hoesktra was rewarded with an Ambassadorship to Canada by Trump.

With 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods set to go into effect on Tuesday, relations between the two countries are at a low point. Trump has complained that Canada isn’t doing enough to stop Fentanyl from coming into the U.S.

Runestad believes the potential economic havoc on the state’s economy is worth it.

“What we’re asking [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau is simply stop bringing over Fentanyl, stop bringing over criminal cartels, stop bringing over people that should not be here to obey our laws,” Runestad says. “Why would you not do that?”

Last year, U.S. Customs agents seized 43 pounds of Fentanyl at the Canadian border. Most drugs are brought across the border by Americans at lawful ports of entry.

2026 is going to be a wide open election cycle — with Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and the state Legislature all up for grabs. That’s on top of a federal midterm election and an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.

Typically, the party in power in Washington D.C. loses control of the U.S. House during midterms.

In Michigan, Runestad is hoping to buck that trend by following a different pattern.

“It is almost completely consistent that after eight years of one party, they want a different party in the Governor’s Mansion,” Runestad says. “I mean, it almost every time goes eight years Democrat, eight years Republican.”

Like Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Runestad is term limited. Big wins for Republicans in 2026 means Runestad likely won’t have to worry about leading his side gig of leading the MIGOP.

Hear the full conversation with Sen. Runestad using the audio player above.

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Governor Gretchen Whitmer held her seventh State of the State Speech last night. The speech detailed the policies Whitmer hopes to pass and set the tone for her leadership style. 

In her second-to-last speech, the governor focused on funding the roads, spending on education and limiting cell phone use in schools. 

To discuss what Democrats and Republicans made of the speech, Russ McNamara, host of WDET’s All Things Considered, joined the show. 

Use the media player above to hear the conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

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About 190 families displaced by last week’s water main break in Southwest Detroit are still in hotels as repairs and cleanup continues.

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City officials say repairs to the most-damaged homes should be completed within the next six weeks.

Jose Poprawa, a Southwest Detroit resident who lives down the street from the break, says he’s been impressed by the city’s response so far.

“From what I seen and me having them being ground zero of it, it’s gone as planned. Said Monday, they would be here to clean up. Everything is clean. Now it’s just cleaning the outside, and now the next phase is for them to come in to replace the appliances,” he said.

Todd King, chief resiliency officer at the Great Lakes Water Authority, said they’re hoping to have the water main back in operation within the next two weeks, but noted that there’s no way to inspect all 300,000 miles of water mains in the city.

“I mean, there are tools that are available, but they’re…they’re on the innovative side of things,” he said. “There’s no standard practice for inspecting this type of pipe.”

For those looking to support those affected by the water main break, Detroit Deputy Mayor Melia Howard said residents could use some every day items.

“Hygiene kits, feminine products, diapers in all sizes going up to size seven, toilet paper, paper towel, new underwear, new socks,” she said.

Howard said Spanish-speaking volunteers would also be appreciated. The American Red Cross is set up at the corner of Lisbon and Green streets in Southwest.

Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET News

More headlines for Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025:

• The nonprofit Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is applauding the Trump administration’s decision to rescind a freeze on funding that pays for attorneys to represent unaccompanied migrant children.
• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan spoke to students at Central Michigan University on Monday, hoping to win over young voters who don’t like Republicans or Democrats. 
• Nominations for the Detroit Office of Neighborhoods 313 Community Day Awards close on Saturday, March 1. The city wants to acknowledge residents who exemplify the Spirit of Detroit through work in or with neighborhoods, nonprofits, schools, faith-based organizations, community groups or other work. 
• Detroit’s Parks and Recreation Department is looking for young golfers ages 11-14 to take part in Youth Golf in the D, a four-week course each Tuesday in March, teaching the fundamentals of the game.  The cost is $20. For more information visit dprdathletics.com. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

One year from now, Mike Duggan won’t be Detroit’s mayor and there is no shortage of folks vying for the job.

Whoever gets elected will see the city in its next phase of recovery post-bankruptcy. The city’s population is growing and home values are rising, but what’s next?

City Councilman Fred Durhal and current City Council President Mary Sheffield are in the running. Former City Council President — and longtime CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) — Saunteel Jenkins is also in the mix.

She sat down with WDET to discuss her vision for the city.

Listen: Saunteel Jenkins shares priorities for addressing poverty, promoting neighborhood growth

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Saunteel Jenkins: Our next mayor has to be someone who will invest in Detroiters from cradle to career and beyond. They need experience in nonprofit, for profit, government and executive experience. The mayor is the CEO of the city of Detroit. I’ve been a CEO for the last 10 years, I know how to deliver, and I’ve been delivering for Detroiters my entire adult life. I want to invest in Detroiters from cradle to career and beyond, and what that means is a Detroit where our children have high-quality early childhood education and daycare centers. We’re making sure that our neighborhoods are safe places and spaces for kids, for families, for seniors. We’re creating businesses and business opportunities and jobs for Detroiters throughout the city, not just downtown. I think we need to have a master plan for each of our seven districts. And the reason that’s important is because it gives Detroiters an opportunity to participate in what the future of their neighborhood should look like. So if the master plan says this district, one needs another movie theater or another grocery store, and you’re opening a grocery store, we’re providing you with incentives to do so, and it provides transparency.

Russ McNamara, WDET News: Where is the next main area for growth in the city?

SJ: I think the next main area of growth has to be in the neighborhoods, not a neighborhood. I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time. It doesn’t have to be that we pick winners and losers. And that’s part of why that master planning process is so important. Because we can do a little bit everywhere, and if we continue to do a little bit everywhere each year, we will start to see the progress spread throughout the city.

RM: The city was still in turmoil when you left city council for THAW. Do you regret that decision at all?

SJ: No, I do not. So I would say the city was still in the process of completing the bankruptcy. I would say the city was in turmoil when I started as city council and we were trying to figure out how not to go into bankruptcy. You know, we were working with the state on a consent agreement and trying to figure out how to actually pay city employees and not miss a payday or not lay off police officers. When I left city council, we were exiting the bankruptcy, the plan of adjustment, the 10 year plan of adjustment, by the way, was in place. So we were actually coming out of the turmoil and setting the stage for, you know, the growth that we’re now seeing.

RM: So why come back now?

SJ: Because the next mayor is going to determine the trajectory of this city for generations to come. And having been there, having done the hard work to set the stage for the successes that we’re all celebrating, I want to make sure that we don’t go back, and that’s why it’s so important that our next mayor is somebody who was here during the tough times, who knows how we got out of it, and understands how to make sure we don’t go back there.

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