MACKINAC ISLAND — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson hopes a new partnership with Michigan businesses can strengthen faith in democracy and boost engagement in the upcoming election in which the battleground state could once again decide the presidency and find itself at the center of efforts to subvert the results.

Benson said her office’s new partnership with the Detroit Regional Chamber — one of the largest chambers of commerce in the country — will call on businesses to provide paid time off for their employees to vote, encourage their employees to to serve as poll workers and use their websites and mailings to provide accurate election information.

“We’re here today because a healthy economy requires a healthy democracy. The two go hand in hand,” Benson said during a press briefing on Mackinac Island where the Detroit Regional Chamber holds its annual policy conference this week.

“In today’s environment of polarization, tribalism, misinformation, it is business leaders that have a growing role to serve as the voice of reason and sources of fact,” said the chamber’s President Sandy Baruah. The chamber’s members include large companies and small start-ups throughout Southeast Michigan.

Benson hopes that other companies that employ Michigan workers could follow in the footsteps of the chamber’s members. She said her office is also working with national leaders to reach workers at national chains such as McDonald’s to ensure workers paid a minimum wage also have paid time off to participate in the election.

Since 2020, Benson has built a national profile speaking out against former President Trump’s disinformation campaign to overturn the election four years ago.

Heading into the 2022 election, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Political Action Committee backed some Republican candidates who cast doubt on the 2020 election and sought to delay the certification of the results. Asked about concerns she may have about those endorsements, Benson cited the chamber’s opposition to any GOP legislation that would make it harder to vote. She said the chamber’s stance “really speaks volumes for their position in supporting democracy in our state.”

Leading up to the last election, the chamber asked candidates about a GOP-led Michigan Senate investigation into the 2020 election that rejected Trump’s claims it was stolen from him, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Vice President for Government Relations Brad Williams. The answers to that questionnaire aren’t public, but all of the candidates endorsed by the chamber’s PAC stood by the Senate report, Williams said.

Whitmer: With ‘close race’ in Michigan, Biden can’t take a vote for granted

A recent Detroit Regional Chamber poll found about 68% of Michigan voters are dissatisfied with the condition of democracy in the U.S.

“It’s hard to believe that we’re in a place right now where we need to champion the cause of democracy, but here we are,” said Carla Walker-Miller, the CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services, LLC and a founding member of the new “Michigan Business United for Elections Coalition.”

She said democracy is good for business, “Because when everyone’s voices are heard, the interests of our residents, our team members, our customers and our businesses are represented in our government.”

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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If you are accused of driving with a suspended license, you probably shouldn’t show up to a virtual court hearing while driving.

That is exactly what happened during one hearing in Washtenaw County, Michigan earlier this month — and the judge couldn’t hide his shock.

When the defendant Corey Harris connected via Zoom, he could be seen behind a wheel. He even said that he was pulling up to his doctor’s office.

“Your Honor, we’re respectfully requesting an adjournment in this matter, possibly three to four weeks if the court will allow,” said an attorney during the hearing.

“OK, so maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license is suspended?” asked Judge Cedric Simpson.

“That is correct, your Honor,” the attorney responds.

Shortly after, Judge Simpson revokes Harris’ bond and orders him to surrender by 6 p.m.

“Oh my God,” gasps Harris before the hearing ends.

Court records show Harris was charged with driving with a suspended license back in October of last year.

During a Wednesday panel discussion that addressed the importance of racial equity in Michigan’s population growth at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, an African-American business leader said the issue is paramount to Michigan’s success. 

“If we are a state that wants to grow and develop, we have to take on the racial equity issue, and we have to take on a different lens in shoring up opportunity for Black businesses and small businesses, generally,” said Charity Dean, Michigan Black Business Alliance president and CEO. 

Joining Dean on the panel were Hilary Doe, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) chief growth officer and marketing officer, and Andre Perry, Brookings Institution, senior fellow. Yazeed Moore, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Michigan Programs director, moderated the panel discussion. 

Black business leaders applaud Detroit chamber’s focus on equity but say more needs to be done

Dean, a small owner and former city of Detroit Civil Rights Inclusion and Opportunity department director, said that strides have been made but “we have to be very honest about the disparities that exist.”  

“We are looking at small businesses as a driver of economic development for our state and we are intentionally calling out all of the ways that disparity has impacted Black business, specifically, and small businesses, as well,” said Dean about the Michigan Black Business Alliance. 

Doe said that this a “watershed moment” for Michigan but it has “momentum.”  

Michigan has 9.9 million residents; African Americans compose about 14% of the population. The state’s largest city, Detroit, is 77% Black. Michigan’s population is expected to experience slow growth over the next decade and then decline through mid-century, according to an April report. 

In June, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive creating the Growing Michigan Together Council, a bipartisan panel aimed at developing strategies to attract and retain talent, improve education, and update transportation and water infrastructure. Doe heads that effort. 

Since that time, MEDC has interacted with more than 11,000 people through 80 organizations that were essentially “listening sessions.” She said the goal of the growth strategy “needs to be owned by all of us.”

“It is so critical that it is owned by Michiganders, so critical that people see themselves in the strategy,” Doe said. She has said that efforts like Black Tech Saturday will help to retain and grow Michigan’s population. 

Perry said that “as conditions for Black small business go, it creates better conditions and the quality of life for the entire community.” 

After the panel discussion, a poll released by MEDC “underscore that Michigan’s leadership on climate action and other policies are population and economic growth drivers as well,” said Doe. “We want to build on our value proposition to appeal to the young talent in our state and across the country.” 

The poll surveyed 6,098 people from 15 cities across the United States that are popular among young talent, including Atlanta, New York City and Austin, Texas, among others.

The most mobile people are those between age 20 and 34. Understanding why these individuals choose to move is critical to reversing Michigan’s existing population trends, according to U.S. Census data. 

While Michigan is in-line with neighboring states when it comes to retention, attracting new residents has been challenging. Michigan is 49th in the nation in terms of residents who live here but weren’t born in-state. The population growth effort collaborated with Generation Lab to conduct this survey that targeted this age group to better understand their relocation trends.

Overall, more than 50% of survey respondents strongly agreed that access to reproductive healthcare, diversity and welcoming immigration policies, community safety, unionization and combating climate change were important factors in where they chose to live. Fifty-two percent of respondents aged 25 to 34 said they wish their community did more to combat climate change.

“When folks think about looking for a place to call home, we want them to think of Michigan,” Doe said. “The findings from this poll will be folded into the population effort’s work, and into our thinking as we partner with Michigan communities to launch pilots and programs that support regions in retaining current residents and welcoming new faces to our great state.”