MPC 2024: Duggan, Stabenow and Peters talk goals for the conference; plans for the future
Stephen Henderson was joined by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, to hear their goals for the week and plans for Michigan’s future.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan joined Stephen Henderson for a conversation at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.
The Mackinac Policy Conference is the one time each year that politicians and business leaders, philanthropists and media all head up north to talk about Michigan — its challenges and opportunities — and maybe come up with some solutions for a more prosperous state.
Everyone who attends the conference has their own specific agenda they’d like to accomplish. On Wednesday’s special MPC episode of Created Equal, host Stephen Henderson was joined by Democratic U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, as well as Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, to hear their goals for this week and plans for the future.
Stabenow, whose political career in Michigan has spanned five decades — announced last year her plans to retire after her current term ends. While she won’t be seeking reelection, she still has big goals for the future of Michigan which she shares with Henderson on the show.
Peters discussed the important of bipartisanship and how the Mackinac Policy Conference is an ideal place to build bridges between political parties.
Duggan previewed a session he is leading later in the day with Detroit Police Chief James White, and spoke about the many ways in which the city has grown in recent years, from lower crime rates to the first population growth recorded in the city since 1957.
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Guests:
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) was the first woman to be elected to a U.S. Senate seat from Michigan in 2000. While she won’t be seeking reelection this year, she says she won’t be leaving her home state any time soon.
“I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to serve Michigan in so many capacities from county commissioner, the state legislator to U.S. House, U.S. Senate. What I have loved on top of just getting things done is getting to know every part of Michigan,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He says productivity in Congress to actually get bi-partisan supported bills passed has been extremely low, making it more important than ever to build political bridges at the Mackinac Policy Conference.
“It’s something that I think is a huge problem,” Peters said. “We have to come together, we have to solve tough problems. And we can only do that together — that’s what this conference is about is how do we build those kinds of bridges…”
Mike Dugganis the 75th mayor of the city of Detroit. He has been in office since January 2014 and currently is serving his third four-year term. He says the reduced crime rate in the city has been a concerted effort.
“You saw the numbers last year we had the fewest homicides since 1966. We’re almost halfway through the year this year, and we’re down another 20% on homicides. We’re down more than 50% on carjackings this year. And so it’s been a lot of things.”
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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