Detroit Mayor Duggan talks Michigan's political and educational systems at Mackinac Policy Conference
For one of the last times as Detroit mayor, Mike Duggan took the stand at the Mackinac Policy Conference Wednesday afternoon.
In a speech that could be considered a test run for a campaign rally, Duggan told the crowd he knows how to recognize a bad system. It's why he said he is calling for a change in Michigan politics, and is proposing a $4.5 billion plan to overhaul the state's education system.
Duggan gave a stern message about what needs to change to drive the state forward. He says one of the main stumbling blocks is the state of politics in Michigan, which requires a significant turnaround.
"I'm not talking about a turnaround from the current governor, who has had a great deal of success with her leadership. I am talking about a turnaround from the political system in the state," Duggan said.
Last December, the longtime Democrat announced plans to run as an independent for governor in 2026. During his speech on Wednesday, Duggan used examples of how he and his team turned things around for the city of Detroit, from housing to development.
"I decided I am going to campaign by going into everyone's living room and just talk to them about why we have to give up the us vs them politics. We talked about the abandoned houses. We talked about the parks, but mostly what I said is, we have got to change the narrative."
The gubernatorial candidate also proposed a strict school accountability system to ensure students have the best opportunities for a prosperous future.
"We need to build an educator-driven plan," Duggan said. "We need to have a grading system."
"There's got to be consequences if we are going to put 4.5 billion into our schools. The people running the schools need to have some skin in the game," Duggan added. "So here's what I think. First year at your school, if you're failing, you give us an improvement plan. We will help you, too, if you are failing. As a principal, you're our last chance. I will give you more help, but in the third year, if you're still failing, the principal and the team, you're fired."
"I said when I stood here 10 years ago, Detroit's turnaround is not as far away as it appears ... I will say this to you, Michigan's turnaround is not as far away as it appears, but we've got to change the political system. "
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Admin Deports 2-Year-Old Girl Who Is American Citizen
A 2-year-old American girl has been left stateless after the Trump administration deported her alongside her family. Emanuelly Borges Santos, known to her family as Manu, was born in a Florida hospital in 2022. She has an American passport and a Social Security card. Nevertheless, Manu and her parents, who are both undocumented, were packed onto a plane with 94 others and shipped to Brazil in February, according to a report from The Washington Post. When they arrived, Brazilian officials were shocked to find the American toddler among the deportees. 'We'd never seen another case like this,' federal police officer Alexsandra Oliveira Medeiros Reis told the Post. Manu is currently living in Brazil on a tourist visa as the government tries to resolve the bureaucratic predicament of the girl's citizenship. In the meantime, she's living with no right to healthcare or schooling in Brazil. Her visa is set to expire within weeks. Manu doesn't qualify for the standard paths to citizenship in the country, so the country is trying to create a new one: 'temporary' citizenship that would expire when she turns 18. In the meantime, her parents are left to worry. 'What if we need to take her to the doctor?' Elioni Gonçalves, her mother, lamented to the Post. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Daily Beast that, in a situation like Manu's, parents are given a choice about what happens to their children. 'The media and Democrat politicians are force-feeding the public false information that U.S. citizen children are being deported,' said DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin. 'This is false and irresponsible. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will place the children with someone the parent designates.' However, Manu's parents say they were not given a choice. 'They simply deported us,' said her father, Edivan Borges dos Santos. It is not the first time that American kids have been caught up in President Donald Trump's second-term push to deport undocumented immigrants en masse. Last month, three U.S. citizens—ages 2,4, and 7—were sent to Honduras with their undocumented parents. One of the kids had cancer and was shipped away without medication. Trump's Justice Department is currently awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of his day-one executive order ending birthright citizenship. If the court rules in his favor, it would make it all the easier for the government to deport children like Manu. Manu's parents told the Post that they sought asylum in the United States in 2021 after fleeing violence and corruption in Brazil. While the courts in Florida considered their case, Borges took a construction job, and the family settled into a quiet American life. While a judge had stayed their deportation after Manu's birth in December 2022, the family was called into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. They were made to sign forms they did not understand and were swiftly deported. The family's lawyer was incensed after learning what had happened, telling the Post anonymously, 'The U.S. government is deporting their own citizen.' Manu lives a relatively isolated life in Poté, a rural town not far from Brazil's coast, spending most days with her mother and grandparents. 'She sees other kids very rarely,' her mother said.
Newsweek
26 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Rep. Tried To Give MTG Cheez-Its During Meeting: 'Maybe She's Hangry'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Democratic Representative tried to pass Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Cheez-Its during a meeting, she has claimed. Speaking toRaw Story, New Mexico Democrat Melanie Stansbury, who sat on the Georgia Republican's Delivering Government Efficiency Subcommittee, outlined her relationship with Taylor Greene and recalled a moment she tried to share cheese-baked snacks with her colleague. Newsweek contacted Taylor Greene's representatives by email to comment on this story. Why It Matters In November 2024, Taylor Greene was picked to lead a subcommittee of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. UNITED STATES - MAY 20: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., makes her way to a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May... UNITED STATES - MAY 20: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., makes her way to a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. More Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images The committee investigated so-called wasteful spending, examined ways to reorganize federal agencies to improve efficiency and identified solutions to eliminate bureaucratic red tape. It was linked to DOGE, run by Elon Musk, to streamline government spending. What To Know Stansbury said working with Taylor Greene had started off "fairly collegial" and that the Georgia Republican had displayed "very nice, very warm" behavior and "southern hospitality." However, she said that despite initially agreeing to work in a bipartisan manner, the subcommittee "devolved into madness very quickly." "We had a crazy hearing at the start of May where they were attacking trans athletes, and she was just so out of control. Later — that was the week she announced she wasn't running for Senate — I knew something was wrong with her that day, because she was acting so stressed out," she said. She continued: "Even halfway through that hearing, I tried to slip her some Cheez-Its because I was like, 'Maybe she's hangry?'" Stansbury said. I'm like, 'I don't know why she's acting this way.'" Stansbury also called Musk a "bull****ter" who had "no idea what he was doing." She called the Tesla boss "a fraud" and said DOGE plans were "sloppy, stupid, uncoordinated and ineffective." What People Are Saying Mark Shanahan, an American politics expert who teaches at the University of Surrey in the U.K, told Newsweek: "We're in a period of yo-yo polling, often among the same demographics, which pretty much reflects While Congressional adversaries like to keep up the image of avowed political enemies for the public, the reality is that they tend to be a little more collegiate when the spotlight's not on them. MTG is more performative than most, but I'm sure even she's not averse to the odd cheesy snack. Stansbury doubtless aimed to take the wind out of the Republican firebrand sails - but at least she managed to do so with a little humour." Melanie Stansbury, after being named ranking member on the subcommittee: "We know there are broadly-supported, bi-partisan solutions that will improve government efficiency and transparency and I am ready to work together to find meaningful solutions. I am honored to be named the lead Democrat on this committee and have the opportunity to tackle the significant issues we have ahead of us." What Happens Next The committee continues having hearings and meetings. Whether Taylor Greene will receive more snacks during these meetings remains to be seen.
Axios
26 minutes ago
- Axios
Energy Department scuttles $3.7B in clean-energy projects
The Energy Department said Friday it's canceling over $3.7 billion in awards for 24 projects through its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations created under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Why it matters: It's among the biggest and most specific cases yet of Trump 2.0 officials pulling the plug on the Biden administration's unprecedented subsidies for low-carbon energy. Axios Pro Energy reported last month that the department was aiming to close the clean-energy office and terminate nearly half its awarded funding. Driving the news: The terminated support was aimed mostly at carbon capture and various other "decarbonization initiatives," DOE said in a statement. "DOE found that these projects failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars," it said. DOE also alleged that Biden officials "failed to conduct a thorough financial review" and noted that 16 of the awards were "signed" between the election and President Trump's inauguration. Zoom in: The cancellations include: $500 million approved for Heidelberg Materials to capture CO2 from cement production nearly $332 million for Exxon's Baytown Olefins Plant Carbon Reduction Project in Texas; $500 million for the Lebec Net Zero Project to produce "carbon neutral" cement in California; $170 million for Kraft Heinz for clean-energy projects at 10 U.S. plants. The other side: "The abrupt termination of $3.7 billion in clean energy investment is shortsighted and malicious," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's energy panel. What we're watching: Other projects that could be on the chopping block.
