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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss announces run for US House
Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a 38-year-old former Southfield city councilman who also served in the state House, on May 8 announced his candidacy for the Oakland County-based congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who is running for Michigan's soon-to-be-open U.S. Senate seat. 'Hundreds of thousands of voters in the 11th Congressional District have trusted me to be their voice in the state Senate and now I'm ready to take that fight to Congress,' said Moss, whose current district runs through Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Pontiac and Auburn Hills, covering much of the 11th District represented by Stevens. 'With looming threats from Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Democrats can no longer be the party that shows up to this tough fight ahead with another pie chart." Southfield itself, where Moss lives, is not covered by the congressional seat. It is not a requirement that a member of Congress live in his or her district, though most do, and Moss − who at various times has represented as much as half of the 11th Congressional District − is expected to move this year into the 11th. Moss, who as president pro tempore of the state Senate is a key member of Democratic leadership in that chamber and who worked for state Rep. Rudy Hobbs and former U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, gives the party its first formal entry into the race to succeed Stevens, who has held the seat since 2019. After redistricting in 2021, the district lines were changed such that the 11th Congressional District is much more Democratic-leaning. No other candidates have announced, though media reports have said that Oakland County Commissioner Dave Woodward of Royal Oak is looking at it. The Detroit News has also said that former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, who lost a fractious primary to Stevens in 2022, said he was being urged to run. Moss, who is Jewish, is well known in political circles in Oakland County and was Southfield's youngest-ever councilman when elected at age 25. He is also the first openly gay person to serve as a state senator and has advocated for civil and voting rights. In terms of accomplishments in Lansing, he points to his efforts at helping to pass legislation to protect access to abortion, gun safety legislation and repeal taxes on seniors. He also points to $50 million he was able to secure for the redevelopment of downtown Pontiac. Moss said he can represent a district that a decade ago was supporting Republican officeholders like former Gov. Rick Snyder and former U.S. Rep. Dave Trott, R-Birmingham, and remains aligned with business interests and manufacturing, which has been a key area of interest for Stevens, who is running next year for the seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat. "I don't think these (business interests and progressive policies) are competing values in this district. You talk about the changes in Oakland County over the last decade and a half (during which time it has become much more Democratic-leaning). Donald Trump prompted that. These attacks on civil rights and voting rights and abortion rights and LBGTQ rights are high priorities now in this district because they're being driven by the Trump administration. I'm certainly a leader in all those fights." "He's also causing a lot of threats on economic stability in Oakland County and the rest of the state (with) these erratic tariffs," he said, referring to the Republican president's broad plans to use import taxes on goods to raise federal funds and bring back manufacturing though they have rattled the stock market, threaten high prices and have automakers concerned about lost sales. "That's a focus as well." Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler. . This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss announces run for US House
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill allowing participation in firearm surrender program
Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville (left) listens to Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 13, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Tuesday approved SB 40, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, and carried by Bedsole, which creates a firearm surrender program for people experiencing suicidal thoughts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would allow people experiencing suicidal thoughts to surrender a firearm to a licensed gun dealer. SB 40, sponsored by Rep. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, passed 93-1. Known as the Houston-Hunter Act, it would provide liability protection for federally-licensed firearms dealers who choose to participate in the Safer Together Program, where they may accept surrendered firearms from community members. 'They can place their weapon in there and they can walk away,' Bedsole, who carried the Senate bill in the House, said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said any federally licensed firearm dealer or gun store can choose to participate in the program. Bedsole sponsors the House version of the bill, which passed the House 98-2 in February. Alabama has some of the highest rates of firearm death in the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,278 Alabamians died by gunfire in 2022, a rate of 25.5 per 100,000 people, the fourth highest in the nation and a larger total than New York States, which has almost four times the population of Alabama. The CDC said 840 Alabamians died by suicide in 2022. That ranks Alabama 26th for suicides per capita. In the United States, 54% of suicides were done by gunfire. Rep. Travis Hendrix, D-Birmingham, a former policeman, shared a story of a co-worker that almost committed suicide. 'If this program was available two years ago, he probably would've been in a better situation,' Hendrix said. Bedsole said the idea for the bill came from a crisis intervention conference he went to in Indiana. He said he met some people from Alabama that told him about the nonprofit program. 'Here's the heart and passion: If we can save just one person's life and prevent them from using their own weapon as an act of suicide, then this program is worth it,' he said. The bill passed with a House Judiciary Committee substitute that mirrored the language of the House bill in the Senate bill. It goes to the Senate for concurrence or a conference committee. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee advances Juneteenth state holiday bill
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham (left) speaks with Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 30, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A House committee Wednesday approved a bill making Juneteenth an Alabama state holiday after the sponsor removed a provision that would have required state employees to choose between that holiday or a Confederate one. HB 165, sponsored by Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, originally put Juneteenth on the state holiday list but did not require offices to shut down. Instead, state employees would choose to take the holiday celebrating the end of slavery or Jefferson Davis' Birthday, a state holiday marked on the first Monday in June to honor the president of the Confederacy, a white supremacist government. Rehm revised the bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday for all employees, like Jefferson Davis' birthday. 'Last year we failed, and I didn't want to fail again, and I'm able to communicate to the Republican caucus why this is important,' said Rehm, who is white and is the only Republican in the Alabama House who represents a district that is more than 40% Black. Juneteenth has been a federal holiday since 2021. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, a member of the House Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee, was visibly upset and gave a tense speech before walking out of the room. Givan said that for as long as a bill making Juneteenth a holiday, it's never been carried and passed by a white man, and added, 'I got a problem with that.' 'I've been in this House 15 years. I don't think there has ever been a piece of legislation that has come before this committee that I have to wrestle with,' Givan said, adding that she wants to vote against the bill even if she supports it. Alabama Democrats have pushed over the years to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Givan has introduced a bill each year since 2023 and passed it out of the house in 2024, with the compromise that employees would have to pick between Davis's birthday or Juneteenth. During the 2023 session, Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, proposed a measure that added Juneteenth without affecting the other official holidays. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, introduced a bill to replace Davis' birthday with Juneteenth as an official holiday. 'My ancestors are crying,' Givan said as she walked out. Evangeline Reynolds-Gunn, a Black constituent in Rehm's district present at the committee meeting, said to Givan before she walked out that her words were 'bone-chilling,' and asked the committee to 'please find a place in your heart to pardon Rep. Givan.' 'It's just different emotions for different people. Please do not hold her actions against her or this bill. It's just a passionate subject, but I believe Alabama is strong enough and courageous enough to handle an individual speaking so passionately as Rep. Givan,' she said. Reynolds-Gunn added that she also holds that Alabamians are 'courageous enough to look at little referee from down south Rick Rehm take this by the helm and say, 'I'll be the guy that can reach both sides.'' Rehm said after the meeting that he was 'sympathetic to her,' but he is carrying the bill because he believes he can better articulate the bill to those in the Republican caucus worried about the expense. According to the fiscal note, adding Juneteenth would increase the state's obligations 'by a minimal, undetermined amount.' Rehm also said that state employees have had the holiday off for the past few years, showing that the state can afford it. 'We're paying for it anyway. The governor declares it a holiday, as she should,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan Democrats pounce on tariffs, say Trump move could hurt state badly
Michigan Democrats sharply criticized Republican President Donald Trump on Tuesday as he instituted 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico as stock markets fell precipitously and economists and experts warned of higher prices and supply chain pressures that could cripple the domestic auto industry. "Tariffs that are coming down today on Canada are wreaking havoc on our auto workers, our auto industry and frankly the stock market," U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, said in a speech on the floor of the U.S. House Tuesday, just hours before Trump is set to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress. Even as Democrats chastised Trump for the tariffs, which led officials in Canada, Mexico and China, which is facing a 20% tariff on imports into the U.S., to promise retaliation, Michigan members of the president's own party in Congress were publicly silent on the subject as of midday. The offices of Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, Jack Bergman of Watersmeet, Bill Huizenga of Holland Township, John James of Shelby Township, Lisa McClain of Bruce Township and John Moolenaar of Caledonia didn't immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the tariffs going into effect and hadn't posted anything on social media on the topic as of 1 p.m. U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, who is the longest-serving member of Michigan's delegation also didn't respond on tariffs but posted on X, saying, "I look forward to hearing from @realDonaldTrump tonight about his vision for our country. Brighter days are ahead as we usher in the New Golden Age of America!" On news of the tariffs, all of the major stock market indices were down as of midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq having given up most if not all of the gains they had made in the four months since Election Day. The indices were gaining some ground back in the afternoon but remained down. Trump has insisted that tariffs are needed to force Canada and Mexico to do more to curb illegal drugs coming into the U.S. across the nation's northern and southern borders and that by raising the cost of imports, he will generate more manufacturing in the U.S. and create fairer conditions for U.S. goods to compete worldwide. But economists argue that tariffs will raise already inflated prices in the U.S. and could lead to an economic slowdown. 'It is outrageous that during an affordable housing crisis, when families are already struggling to afford groceries, the president would voluntarily raise the cost of new homes, fruits and vegetables, car parts and other goods through reckless tariffs," U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said. "(Trump adviser) Elon Musk and other billionaires don't have to choose between paying their rent or fixing their car, but countless families have to make these difficult decisions every day. These reckless tariffs will be an additional burden on our families just trying to make it to the next paycheck.' U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, posted on X that Trump "ran on the claim that his focus was to lower costs. The tariffs he's enacting today do anything BUT that — in fact, they do the exact OPPOSITE," adding that some studies have indicated that could raise prices on the average family by as much as $1,200 a year. "These tariffs will make everyday goods more expensive, hurt businesses and are shaking investor confidence," Scholten added in a statement to the Free Press. "This isn't tough on trade — it's just bad economics. Americans deserve stability, not chaos." Michigan's auto industry had been flashing warning signs regarding the potential damage tariffs could do for weeks, with one recent report from Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing saying the price of electric vehicles could jump $12,000 and other vehicles with significant content from Canada and Mexico could increase as much as $9,000 or more. But with Michigan's economy so tied to the health of its auto companies, the effect of the tariffs was expected to go further. "The tariffs' harmful effects will extend beyond trade relationships and will cause businesses to purchase and produce fewer products, hire fewer employees and increase prices to the detriment of consumers," said Glenn Stevens Jr., executive director of, MichAuto, an association that works to promote and expand the industry, and vice president of automotive and mobility initiatives for the Detroit Regional Chamber. Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters went onto X on Tuesday afternoon and posted a statement saying, "President Trump's tariffs on Canada are already hurting Americans. They make absolutely no sense." Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, also posted on X, saying Trump, "has dragged Michiganders into a trade war that will only hurt our people and our businesses." "This is not 'America First,' Thanedar wrote. "Tariffs are bad for business." Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democrats pounce on tariffs, say Trump move could hurt Michigan badly
