Great Lakes Wire

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan addressed supporters at Michigan Central Station, emphasizing the importance of independent voters in next year’s swing House and Senate races. Duggan, who is running for governor as an independent, said, “In December, when I announced I was running for governor, the experts said ‘Ah, an independent. That’s not going to go anywhere.’ How’s the independent candidacy feeling tonight?”

The event drew both Democrats and Republicans who have publicly endorsed Duggan ahead of the 2026 elections. Attendees included Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor, Romulus School District President Porsche Laster, Hudsonville Mayor Mark Northrup, Farmington Mayor Joe LaRussa, and Mo Baydoun, chair of the Dearborn Heights City Council.

Duggan criticized both major parties for their response to his campaign. “The Republicans, Democrats…do you see how angry they are attacking me? They act as if they own your vote, and I’m offended,” he told the crowd. “Nobody owns your vote but you, and the candidate ought to come out each year and earn it, and all I want is the chance to do that.”

He referenced $75 million allocated in last year’s budget for a public safety and violence prevention fund that remains unspent due to lack of legislative action. Duggan also noted a proposal from last term that would dedicate 1.5 percent of sales tax revenue not earmarked for schools to violent crime prevention in municipalities.

Addressing gun violence in several Michigan cities including Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint and Pontiac, Duggan said: “Do you realize today, $100 million in appropriated money to fight gun violence in cities is locked in a bank account in Lansing because of partisan politics?” He explained that while House Republicans have proposed distributing these funds through legislation, Senate Democrats have not acted on it.

Duggan also discussed delays in finalizing a PreK-12 budget deal by state lawmakers. The deadline set during Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s first term has passed without agreement on new fiscal year budgets. With about six weeks until the new fiscal year begins, Duggan stated that if elected governor his first move would be to call for suspending salaries of legislators as well as those of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor if deadlines are missed.

“The principals who want to put in a reading program don’t know how much money they have. They don’t know if they can hire extra teachers or extra tutors. They don’t even know if they have enough money for hot lunches for the children,” Duggan said. “It is time to … to tell the folks in Lansing that politics as usual is over.”

Among those endorsing Duggan are Michigan State University Trustee Rebecca Bahar-Cook; Board of Governor Bryan Barnhill; University of Michigan Regent Mark Bernstein; Republican Denise Illitch from University of Michigan; and Wayne County Governor Dr. Anil Kumar.

Curtis Hertel Jr., chair of the Michigan Democratic Party responded with: “I look forward to their independent campaigns,” referring to Democrats attending Duggan’s event.

Article courtesy MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter

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