On Saturday in Pittsfield, the three then Democratic candidates for governor of the state of Michigan answered questions about the issues for almost two hours. First they told the almost 100 Democrats gathered a little bit about themselves.

First, though, Debbie Dingell, wife of long-time Congressman John Dingell told the crowd that contrary to what all the pundits have been telling us, “this will be a great year for Democrats.” On Saturday the Michigan Democratic Party executive board decided to hold an endorsement convention on April 17. The endorsement convention will let the candidates judge where their support lies and will help those that get the endorsement of the party faithful to raise money and recruit volunteers.

After Dingell fired up the crowd the gathering got down to business. Stu Dowty, chair of the Washtenaw County Democrats acted as moderator as the audience submitted written questions.

Virg Bernero, Mayor of Lansing, explained how he has been able to govern Lansing through tough economic times and maintain an AAA bond rating and decrease the city’s budget through attrition, rather than laying off employees. When talking about the economy in Michigan, Bernero stated, “We can’t win today’s battles with yesterday’s weapons. We need to worry as much about our cities as we do Citibank.” Bernero also talked about how he organized a new group called the Organization of Automotive Cities that lobbied Washington for loans for small businesses.

Dan Kildee went next and gave his background as the Treasurer of Genesee County. Kildee urged the audience that when Democrats choose a candidate to carry the banner into the fall election, Democrats choose someone who adheres to the core beliefs of the Democratic party, seeming to be referring to Andy Dillon, who entered the field of candidates on Sunday and the fact that Dillon has been seen as not believing in core Democratic beliefs, such as a woman’s right to choose and others. Kildee quipped that he admired the work of Mayor Bernero and State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith and said the he hoped that Bernero served as Mayor of Lansing for a long time to come. Kildee said, “The people of Michigan believe we should invest in the skills of our people. We should have strong universities that are centers of ideas, ideas that grow our economy.” Kildee also talked about his program in Flint of establishing a land bank that takes vacant properties and recycles them into useful properties again, a program that gained national attention and was recognized by Harvard University.

State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith, who represents the 54^th District, spoke next. Wheeler Smith spoke about how growing up her family discussed strategy around the dinner table. One of the beliefs that came forth from those family discussions, she said, is that “The color of your skin and the place where you live and the depth of your wallet should never influence your opportunity for a great quality of life.” Wheeler Smith spoke of her time spent on the school board and learning the art of negotiation and mediation as a mother. As a school board member she spoke about how in tough economic times we have to choose between keeping buses rolling and the core duty of schools to educate our children. She also spoke of her time as a county commissioner and the relationship between county government and state government and her time working in the Michigan Senate and House and her work on a polluter pay law and ending corporal punishment in our schools.

After the candidates gave their opening remarks, the questions started. The questions started out asking how each candidate would bring new business to Michigan. Another question focused on how each candidate felt about stem cell research being conducted in Michigan. Kildee mentioned how personal this issue is to him and his family. He shared the fact that his wife has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and his daughter has diabetes and uses an insulin pump. All three said they support the expansion of stem cell research and they all denounce efforts being made by the Republicans in the state legislature to limit the use of stem cells to cure deadly and chronic diseases.

The forum went on for another hour and The Rochester Citizen recorded the entire event. To see the rest of the forum please watch the videos provided below.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13