During the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference, “Live From Mackinac Brought to You by DTE Energy” showcased live, on-air discussions featuring Michigan legislators and Cabinet members from both parties about current political and economic issues. Sponsored by DTE Energy, this new, three-day programming was hosted throughout the Conference in the Parlor at Grand Hotel, with the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Brad Williams as emcee.
Catch up with May 28’s conversations below.
Opening the second day of “Live From Mackinac,” Richard Czuba of Glengariff Group sat with Bridge Michigan’s Jordyn Hermani and offered blunt advice to Democrats and Republicans on who their key voting demographics should be for the 2026 primary and general elections.
“Focus on the middle. Understand centrists and independents, speak their language, speak to their concerns,” Czuba said. “Democrats will get Democrats; Republicans will get Republicans. The fight is over the middle.”
Reps. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) and Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) used their time with Hermani on the “Live From Mackinac” desk to discuss what has been “really well,” like passing through the much-needed Earned Sick Time Act adjustments, and what continues to be top-of-mind for state Republicans, like finalizing the FY26 state budget.
“Michigan House Republicans were very clear about our [budget] priorities: it’s public education, it’s public infrastructure, and it’s public safety,” Schuette said. “These are the things that are core government responsibilities.”
“Too often – especially in a divided government – the budget comes down to a situation where our kids, our military veterans, and our public safety are used as pawns at the negotiating table,” Posthumus said, “And we took those off the negotiating table with our shutdown prevention plan. I’m really proud of the things we’ve accomplished.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel gave Hermani insight into the state of Michigan’s Organized Retail Crime Unit, a now-national model that combats the larger criminal syndicates that have caused some $2 billion in losses for many Michigan brick-and-mortar businesses. The force team that is the Attorney General’s office, Michigan State Police, the FBI, and other private partnerships has completed 54 investigations and charged 71 defendants since its inception over two years ago.
“We were a high-propensity state, but those numbers are coming down dramatically, and I think you’ll see that, statistically, the criminals are aware of this,” Nessel said. “We’re seeing a dramatic decrease in the amount of organized retail crime. But I think if you speak to the retailers, they’ll tell you that their losses are decreasing.”
Sen. Joe Bellino (R-Monroe) and Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills) discussed their joint efforts to increase nuclear energy and carbon capture in Michigan, telling Hermani that it is a “renaissance of technology” that helps keep heavy industry, like steel, cement, and automotive, in the state. The legislators explained that Michigan is one of the first states to create a “bipartisan nuclear caucus” since passing HBs 4124-4129, which will help build R&D, workforce development, and protection against rolling blackouts.
“We have nuclear technology in submarines all over the world that is safe as heck,” Bellino said. “Ten years from now, if we don’t have a lot more renewables and a lot more battery storage, we’re going to have rolling blackouts. So, we need carbon capture for businesses; we need nuclear technology, we need clean gas to keep Michigan running.”
“There’s an inherent trauma that we’ll always have, but these are not the same technology that we saw [in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl],” Steckloff said. “It’s unbelievable what [advanced nuclear technology] can do, and there’s absolutely no way we can get to this 2040 goal of 100% carbon free without nuclear [and] carbon capture.”
Sen. Veronica Kleinfelt (D-Eastpointe) and Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare) discussed their respective parties’ plans on Michigan road funding with All Things Considered’s Russ McNamara. From GPS tracking to tax swaps, the legislators laid out the bigger ideas on the “Live From Mackinac” desk while revealing more commonality than expected about the matter.
“Most of what we’re talking about is state roads; where we agree is local roads, which is where any new funding needs to go; it needs to go heavy to local roads in both areas,” Kleinfelt said. “I’m not opposed to the gas tax swap. It’s just working out the details and every time we backfill something, [take] a look at what we’re taking away from when we backfill.”
“We’re trying to do the driveway to the freeway – let’s get some of our local roads. And that’s where we’re putting the bulk of the money, that’s where we’re trying to target this funding,” Kunse said. “We agree there’s an issue, we agree on the number, we agree on the timing [but] the bonding funds expire in 2025, so we want to get this done so the road funding can continue into ‘26 and ’27.”
Immediately following the road funding conversation, Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) sat down with McNamara to talk about investing in a comprehensive long-term strategy for regional and statewide transit in Michigan. Using his own Michigan Mobility Investment Act, which he introduced a couple of weeks ago, Morgan explained that around $300 million annually should be used to upgrade high-speed rail through Michigan, as well as the local bus operating fund, to stabilize and invest in buses and dial-a-ride type transit connections.
“One of the challenges seen in the past is somebody has to put forward a vision and a plan and an idea,” Morgan said. “I’m putting forward a bold plan that will bring us into the 21st century in the state of Michigan, and I’m hopeful folks will get on board and support it … it’s a couple hundred million dollars, and you can make massive progress with public transit in our state.”
Reps. Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) and Nancy Jenkins-Arno (R-Clayton) discussed issues related to Michigan’s housing crisis, such as zoning reform and building codes. The legislators also discussed with McNamara how, given the state’s vastly different areas, these plans should be flexible enough to cater to each specific area and its residents.
“When it comes to housing, rural areas and urban areas are seeing the same issues,” Grant said. “We haven’t been producing housing across the country and across the state at the same pace that we were 20, 30 years ago. So that’s really slowed down as we have more families, more people being attracted to the state, which slowed down the housing options, but this work is absolutely bipartisan, and that’s not new either.”
“I think it’s real important that when we’re looking at the housing issue, we allow the areas of the state to craft that in a way that is good for their area,” Jenkins-Arno said. “Something that might be good for Grand Rapids doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for Adrian. So we need to allow the market basically to dictate what kind of housing we need in each area.”
Closing the second day of “Live From Mackinac,” House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri and Rep. Stephanie Young (D-Detroit) discussed with McNamara about House Democrats’ agenda into Summer 2025 and reflected on how it has been going since Democrats lost their majority control from last term.
“The priority has to be making the lives of everyday Michiganders better,” Peri said. “I think if there are ways to continue to lower costs, make housing more affordable, make child care more accessible, lower the cost of prescription drugs … those are things that are, I think, common sense [that] shouldn’t get caught up in the partisan divide.”
“In my third term, [Democrats] started in the minority and we were able to get things done under the previous Speaker [of the House] during that time,” Young said. “I’m thinking there’s no reason why we can’t now. So that causes me to have optimism.”
