By Carol Stiffler
Former Detroit mayor and current gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan visited Newberry on Thursday, April 30, as part of a four-day, 12-county U.P. tour to meet with community leaders. That’s his campaign style, he said, and how he got elected mayor of Detroit – by having conversations in hundreds of Detroit homes.
Duggan was elected mayor as a Democrat, serving from 2014 through January 1, 2026, but is running as an independent for the Governor’s seat. He switched to an independent status so he could avoid partisan gridlock and be ready to work with elected officials on both sides of the aisle.
Duggan quoted a Gallup poll published in January that showed 27% of Americans call themselves Republican, 27% call themselves Democrat, and 45% claimed to be independent.
“I thought, I’m going to try this. I’m going to run as an independent and not get involved in any of these state representatives that have races,” Duggan said. “If there’s a Republican senate, I’ll work with them. If there’s a Democratic house, I’ll work with them. There are people of good will on both sides.”
Current Governor Gretchen Whitmer is leaving office due to term limits – she has already served the maximum of two four-year terms.
In Newberry, Duggan heard from Luce County Economic Development Coordinator Tammy Henry, who described the area’s unique challenges in attracting and retaining professionals, supporting a rural school district, and developing more housing. Helen Newberry Joy Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Cindy Donajkowski told Duggan how housing and staffing are impacting the rural hospital, and asked how Duggan would help support the rural workforce. Newberry Motors owner Kevin Vanatta discussed how he’d run things if it were up to him.
“The first thing I would do is cut regulation in everything, period,” Vanatta said. “And if we’re going to pass any law, then we better take 10 off the books that are already there… Regulations are killing us.”
Duggan agreed. “I absolutely believe the regulations are killing us,” he said. “Nobody is saying be reckless. But when you look back on it, somebody had a good idea in 1982. Somebody had a good idea in 1995. You stack them together, and they make no sense, right? I’m going to go at it hard.”
Everywhere he goes, Duggan said Michigan residents tell him the same thing: We feel overlooked by Lansing.
“Nobody understands more about being left behind and not supported than the city of Detroit,” Duggan said. “And we figured out how to deal with it. But I view the world through the eyes of a mayor in a local community.”
Duggan encourages communities to band together, avoid fighting, and make a plan for success.
“What I’m saying here to every community is, you’ve got to come forward with your own vision for your community,” Duggan said. “It’s not Lansing’s job to tell you what your economic development strategy is. But if you’ve got one and your local officials are united, I’ll back it.”
Duggan was born in Detroit, completed law school at the University of Michigan, and went back to Detroit to work in his hometown. While there, he oversaw the construction of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and worked to tear down blighted buildings and replace them with functioning businesses.
He worked with Detroit hospitals to streamline the emergency department experience and get patients seen in an average of 29 minutes or less. Those are the kind of experiences he is hoping to bring to the state.
“The truth is, the Republicans and Democrats in Lansing are so consumed with fighting with each other, everybody feels ignored. So I’m running a different kind of campaign,” he said. “I’m sitting in small groups in every county in the state, just having a conversation.”
