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Richard Helppie
Hello. Welcome to The Common Bridge. I'm your host, Rich Helppie. This is our continuing series with candidates for governor of the great state of Michigan. Now I know my audience is not only Michigan, it's national and international, but Michigan needs to be watched. This is a bellwether state. It is very important to the international community, sitting on an international border, involved with international trade. It is the heartbeat of organized labor, the home of the United Auto Workers, where organized labor began. It is an environmentally important and sensitive area, as we sit in the heart of the Great Lakes with the largest fresh water supplies in the world. As Michigan goes, we think the nation, and perhaps internationally, influence is going to be affected. We have with us today, from Genesee County, Michigan, the sheriff of Genesee County, Mr. Chris Swanson. Mr. Swanson has announced his candidacy for the governorship of the state of Michigan on the Democratic ticket. You may have seen him last year speaking at the Democratic National Committee. You may have seen him in other very public roles. Welcome to The Common Bridge, Sheriff Swanson, it's an honor to have you with us.
Chris Swanson
I made it! I made it to The Common Bridge!
Richard Helppie
Well, we're very grateful that you're here. Michigan has got a lot of great assets, and there's a lot to be done here. For our listeners, our readers, our viewers, why do you want to be the governor of the state of Michigan? Why are you the best choice? How does the state of Michigan make use of those assets, and what are the top two, three or four things that the next governor must concentrate on?
Chris Swanson
Well, there are four questions there. To those questions; number one, the reason I'm running for governor is because I have a pathway to win. There is a common connection between being a sheriff of a big county and the governor. The sheriff is there to enforce laws, maintain order, very trusted elected professional position, the executive branch of the county. The governor,exact same position; executive branch of the state, enforce laws, maintain order, and honestly, people are looking for executive leaders now. How to get there; we have an open seat in 2026. We have an opportunity to go and to try to carry on what's worked and to fix what needs to be fixing. When you look at the transition and the timing of where I'm at, the timing is right on the positioning for me to do the job with many of things you mentioned in your introduction. But all the other things that I have in the background, the fact that I built relationships, that's the key in politics. It's building very authentic relationships. You mentioned the UAW, I've been with the UAW for 30 years building relationships from the international to the actives, retirees. We're in Flint, Michigan. I can literally tell you, two miles from where I'm at is where the sit down strike happened in 1946 and 1947. Ultimately, to get there, my top priorities across the state and what I've done as a sheriff; protect what means the most to people to serve as a servant leader and to unify. Some of the things that I think we're going to get into show that I have receipts on all of those goods, that this is a job that is well suited for me.
Richard Helppie
I'm really happy you talk about unification, because the polarization doesn't seem to be helping anybody, whether you're Right, Left, Republican, Democrat or something else. But let's look at the future. It's all about the future. Children born in 2026 - the year of the gubernatorial election - will graduate high school in 2044. What type of future should they expect? And what should our priorities be today to ensure that future?
Chris Swanson
Out of full transparency, I've been on faculty at the University of Michigan Flint for 27 years, and so as a teacher with that student relationship, I've changed the model of how I teach from when I started in 1997. We look at how things evolve, education being one of them, that same model has to happen in K - 12. But I'm going to add another grade to that, and that is jail. You've seen... you've probably done research on Ignite. You've seen that people have made bad decisions, people have been caught up in addictions. My plan, what I'm about to tell you, is K through jail, because we cannot forget about that population. There are moms and dads and sons and daughters that are listening right now who have been begging and praying for a new direction for somebody who just makes bad decisions. So when I talk about education, that is a foundation. When you look at the graduate that's happening from those kids born in 2026, we need to move the CTE training - career training education - all the way back to middle school. That we don't stigmatize kids coming out of high school if they don't go to college that they haven't made it. They can go, if we model it well, from high school right into the job force if you introduce these training skills like iron working and electrical and coding and software development. We have these opportunities in fifth and sixth and seventh, eighth grade, where kids are fresh with where they are the best used for their passion. And then we use high school as a way to model. There are a lot of ways that we see kids transitioning from high school going into sophomore year of college right now. Imagine putting kids out in the workforce at 17, 18 years old. They've got two years of apprentice training, they've got two years of some type of technical school, they're going right into the job, and they're making 35, 40, 50 bucks an hour. We do it for the military, we can do it for those in the professional world, and open up a brand new style and a supply of great talent.
Richard Helppie
That really appeals to me. Growing up in the industrial area of Wayne, Michigan, in middle school we had shop. I had wood shop, I had metal shop, we learned to weld. I was terrible at all of those things, and that pretty much confirms what you just said - I shouldn't be doing that type of work. Certainly nobody would want to pay me for doing that type of work. But fortunately, in a vocationally oriented school, they taught us how to program computers, and I was much better at that. It's really interesting, the part about jail, because people do make bad decisions, and they tend to get it out of their system in their late 20s. They've got to go someplace, and hopefully they can put that activity behind them and get to work doing something productive.
Chris Swanson
Well, that's why we introduced Ignite in 2020. I hope that you and your listeners and your readers Google Ignite Genesee County. It's our education model in jails, where we've been doing the same thing since 1836 and seeing generational incarceration and poverty and addiction. But in 2020, September 8th, we launched a new philosophy, a new culture, where, I'm telling you Rich, we're putting people out now that have not only welding experience certificates, barber schools, they're learning how to get their GED diplomas. They're graduating. They're going from jail to college right now. We've done that for now five years. We're in 23% of the states in America. We're in 26 sheriff's offices. Here's an example of education, [it] cannot be the same in 2044 as it is right now. It has to evolve.
Richard Helppie
Amen. Many candidates have said that Michigan's declining population is in their top priorities. What should the priorities for our next governor be to make our state grow again? We're looking at birth rates, out migration, particularly the college educated retirees now heading to Florida or elsewhere in the Sun Belt. Then we have immigrant populations. When you look at that population, how important is the population level? What are your thoughts about what to do about that?
Chris Swanson
Well, to your first point, you're right. It's a complex answer to keep people in Michigan. Number one, we have to keep our students being educated in Michigan. In Michigan, there are a lot of universities, and I speak from experience, they're coming here to Michigan to get educated and taking their talent elsewhere. Number two is, we're competing with 49 other competitors. Michigan has to be a place where we become a business innovator, a business capital partnership. We need to take ideas from people into implementation. One of the economic - not only offerings I'm going to do as governor - is to create a pipeline. If somebody in Michigan has an idea that they want to put into action, that that 517 number becomes a partner to help them along the way. If we can do that, imagine this: one thousand companies in a year and one hundred of them are growing and ten of them become Fortune 500 companies. They're going to stay in Michigan, just like behind the scenes, Michelle has stayed, and she grew up in Davidson. When you have those roots that are deep here, people seem to stay. It's got to start with where the talent is. But to your other point, there is a great void in other industries coming into Michigan, so we need to attract those industries. You mentioned the Great Lakes; data centers, AI, that is the future. AI is going to be - in the future, as much as when people say I use the internet - that kind of a trade. When we have these cooling centers that need to be utilized, we have a great environment to do that. But you need a business minded leader to drive that industry. It can't be just automotive, and it can't just all be data. It's got to be all of it. When you do that and you add in we have a business, how are we going to support the families in those industries? Housing, there are 140,000 houses needed in Michigan. 20,000 lose houses every year. 60% of the housing in Michigan, Rich, was built before 1981. If you look back in history, when GM was growing and building, they partnered with local communities because they were building plants, and they were building subdivisions, good, safe housing. It's a partnership. That's how you keep people in Michigan; you keep our students, you make it attractive for business, you give thriving opportunity - just like Sean Fein says - not just a wage, a living wage, where they have no reason to leave. Go vacation in Florida, but live in Michigan.
Richard Helppie
I appreciate those thoughts because, again, I could live any place, and I choose to live here. Part of it's because of that depth, and part of it is because I've seen what this state can do. People here can own a home, versus have to be in a apartment or rental housing. But look, we're in a political landscape right now, and of course, Governor Whitmer will be term limited out, and that's leading to this opening in 2026. How do you think her legacy or her performance will play in next year's race?
Chris Swanson
Well, I'm friends with Governor Whitmer, and I can tell you, any leader can look back and think I would have, could have, should have, done something different. I could have messaged different. That's why experience and why education and all these things are happening. She's done a phenomenal job going through what she's gone through, and the fact that she's made huge, huge progress on roads, what she did with Selfridge. That was a very difficult thing to partner,with an administration who they've sparred back and forth with, but it was the right thing to do. Selfridge, a 3000 acre base, the largest Air National Guard in the country, with two new squadrons coming in, that's a defense investment that Michigan will have for generations. The current Stratotankers, I've been in one. I did a boss lift. They were built in the 1950s; once they deliver - in 2028, 2030 - those squadrons, they're going to be here for generations. That's the kind of leadership that you need. Whatever is going to work for the good of Michigan, you support, like our friends in the north and Canada. Whatever goes against, you stand against, like tariffs. That's where leadership is. It's not easy, and it's not partisan, just like your platform here, you're nonpartisan, but you do things right. I think she's going to be remembered as a governor who made things happen in difficult times, starting with COVID, all the way up to where we are today.
Richard Helppie
I'm old enough to remember a day when a governor wouldn't be criticized for a meeting with the president of the United States. I'm also old enough to remember Lyndon Johnson pulling the rug out from under George Romney during the 1967 civil unrest. We've seen it all. It's a difficult job. What kind of headwinds might a person from the Democrats run into based on the legacy of Governor Whitmer?
Chris Swanson
The first is, people like to bring up the history. Michigan, since Engler, has flipped back and forth. 2024 changed everything, Rich. We all learned a great lesson. What you saw with President Trump losing in 2020 and then coming back in 2024, we've never seen that. We are in uncharted territories politically. I don't subscribe to [the idea that] this is what the natural progression is. I think people, like you said earlier, are desperate for unity. They're desperate for common sense leadership. They're desperate for inspiration, optimism, even in the face of danger. I think there are some people on both sides, if it doesn't come from that party, it doesn't matter if it's the cure to cancer - I don't want to listen. But the majority of the people are looking for somebody to get things done, to move forward. We're tired of the uncertainty. We're tired of the conflict. You mentioned unity earlier. I always say publicly that unity is not to be misunderstood with uniformity. We're all different. We all come from diverse backgrounds, we can agree to disagree, have civil discourse, but move forward, and that's where leadership comes in. That's what I bring, and that's what I'm hopeful for. I've been looking for a guy like me.
Richard Helppie
That's great. You did mention President Trump. He's brought change in many policy areas. Where do his successes and his policy headwinds and his approval ratings fit into this race that's coming up in 2026?
Chris Swanson
Clearly, whoever wins the Republican primary is most likely - and I can only predict the future - going to have somebody behind them, being the President. When that candidate goes up, the Democratic victor - which the pathway, as I said I wouldn't do it if I didn't have a pathway to win - will go up against that. But 2026 has a lot of races across the country, including Arizona, including what we have right here with Gary Peters US Senate seat. There's a lot that's going to steal the oxygen. I don't think any party is able to focus just on one race, because there's a lot state level and nationally that we need to focus on. I think people are looking for less polarizing individuals and people that can lead. People in this country want leaders that can win.
Richard Helppie
You mentioned Senator Peters retirement and that's going to be a factor in the race, and I concur. Polarization, the Republicans and the Democrats have seemed to go to opposite corners versus meeting in the middle. And now there's - I don't know if it's a tide - but we know that, for example, Senator Sanders, a strong Independent... we saw people like Joe Manchin leaving the Democratic Party, and now here in our own state, Mike Duggan, very successful mayor of the city of Detroit, has announced that he is going to run as an Independent. Are people looking at that run by Independents as a way out of this party polarization? How might you convince them that we can leave the polarization and still vote for a party?
Chris Swanson
Mayor Duggan is a friend of mine. I want to show that what he's doing is truly something that is out of the ordinary. I'm sure his team has thought about it; if he was standing right next to me, I would say the same thing. It's a huge uphill battle. I think he knows that it's a big lift. Michigan is still a two party system. The best candidate is somebody who has the Independent appeal with a base. That's the reason why the Democratic appeal that I have, with a base at the general election, a 30% crossover vote here in Genesee County. When Donald Trump almost flipped Genesee County red, I was able to get a 30% crossover appeal. Those are the kinds of things that I think are indicators. To your point, people are looking for something, but they're mainly looking for the person more than they are the party.
Richard Helppie
Yeah, I hope that that is true, and it's letting people see the candidates. When you turn the clock back to 2022, the governor's race was largely obscured from the public. The debates were not held in our largest population centers or broadcast on those networks. They were late in the cycle, some after the early voting had started. How would you like to see the 2026 race be made available to the public?
Chris Swanson
There's a lot going on on both sides with all the primaries, all the things that are going to be there. I think the first [question] you need to ask is, what are the viewers looking for? Do they want a debate between the parties or do they want to debate between those that are going to be on the general ballot in November? That's the question, because you've got one shot to capture people's attention. And of course, as I said, there's a lot of moving parts between the senate and a lot of house races. What's happening at the house and the senate at the state level, there are a lot of things that can happen. I think the best thing is, what do the viewers and voters want, to get them the best education to pick a candidate. Is that pre-primary or is that post-primary to the general? Time will tell.
Richard Helppie
Let's dive into some policy areas, because no matter who becomes our next governor, they're going to have to implement policies, or at least recommend policies. You mentioned housing and education. Is there anything else you wanted to add to those before we go into some other topics?
Chris Swanson
Housing, right out of the gate, we already know there's a need right here in Genesee County. We were given the incredible opportunity for the Mega site, which is 10,000 jobs. Rich, a minimum salary of 98,000 and above. When you look at that three to five to six year plan, and the fact that those folks that are coming here have extended families that are going to help support small businesses and restaurants and gas stations and school districts, that investment in mid-Michigan is going to list the entire state. The first thing is, you have to make sure that when it comes to investment coming into the counties, coming into the state of Michigan, that we see that housing has to be a part of that. They have to have a place to go, reduce regulations, expedite building, work with local municipalities so they can help push those building inspections and those building permits along. Find a way to partner with international and national building companies that can come in and do mass building because we need them. The supply is less and the demand is great. There has to be a place for them to go, and you have to do that in advance, as I always say, prepare in peace to perform in chaos. Chaos is when the job is there, they have workers coming in, or the opportunities are there, and the investor says, well, where are my people going to live and you haven't prepared for that. The second thing, when it comes to education - and I go back to what we talked about there - we have a system that has gaps. We don't have a broken system; that would be unfair to every teacher, every administrator, every superintendent, every parent and every school board out there. Of course, we have disparities. But the one thing that I take full attention on is - because I see it in the jail - jails have become a mental health hospital in Michigan. When you look at the mental health crisis, not only adult age but also what's happening in kids and the special needs they are requiring, we need to incentivize teachers to get into these fields that are difficult to get into by incentivizing their education and getting an agreement that the state may supplant your education costs. But why don't you serve three, four, five years to the people of Michigan, and you use that in areas, like there's a need in Marquette, there's a need in Muskegon. There's a need in Ann Arbor. You've got to make sure that every student in Michigan is covered with those services. You can do that with a lot of technology, you can do that with talent, but you've got to build the baseline first. You don't start running the bases on third base. You've got to start with a hit and then go around. That's where education, housing comes in; two policies, putting the experts at the table, and there's the direction we're going. Let's get there.
Richard Helppie
Look, you can lose a big lead too. Michigan was a leader in education. Our education system was the envy of the nation. (Chris Swanson: That's right.) Now I've gotten recent data that says that Michigan ranks 39th for pre-K-12th and 47th for higher education. We know that we have people graduating from our universities without good skills. We know we have people being passed through in high school with functional illiteracy. You can't compete in a world economy with those kinds of outcomes. How does the next governor get inside those policies and say enough? We need to make sure that there is a educable person that has a way they can contribute to society when they exit high school, and especially when they exit college.
Chris Swanson
You're talking to somebody who tested literacy and I use this example. In the jail, in 2020 when we started Ignite, I tested the levels of math and reading and it was between 5th and 6th grade. The entire population, half of them can't read a menu. How do you expect them to go out and not re-offend? The same thing in public schools. As a governor, you find out where we are and where we need to be, what works and what doesn't work. What literacy philosophy have we been using that doesn't make sense - which is the reason why we're in the 30s. Let's find out where other best practices are. They doing it in Mississippi. They're breaking literacy records in the state of Mississippi. What are they doing that we can duplicate here? What can we do that's adding to what we have? I agree with you. It doesn't matter what your skill set is, if you can't do math and reading, especially when you're getting out of high school, then you are always chasing and never leading. And that's where a governor comes in to work with the experts that are already there. Take best practices, identify where the shorts are, but most importantly, measures. You've got to hit your measurements. You've got to know, are we succeeding. When we launched ignite, Rich, within the first six months, we saw reading and math go up almost two grades because we kept our empirical data all the way through, and we were able to track it. It's a great political platform to say schooling is going to be important to me, but leadership shows this is where we were, and this is where we are, and this is how we got there. That's how you handle that.
Richard Helppie
That'd be a great way to evaluate a future governor. When I look at some of the other issues around - let's call them kitchen table issues - affordability, health insurance, taxation, what are some of your thoughts around those economic issues or economic policies in general?
Chris Swanson
Everybody's impacted with healthcare from the time you are a young kid to the time that you may be seeing the golden years of your life. And let's face it, there is an uncertainty in Washington when it comes to Medicare, Medicaid and healthcare. There's an uncertainty with the Big Bill that's in the Senate right now. There are a lot of unknowns. I don't think anybody should stand in front of you and say, I've got the answer, but one thing Michigan has to have is a backup plan. A backup plan for people that are retiring out of their healthcare and a backup plan for people who do not have healthcare. I can't speak for the country, but I can say in the state of Michigan, we need to make sure that our Medicaid and Medicare are funded. If there's federal money that's taken away how do we supplant that? There may be some movement of line items, but without a doubt, yours and mine and all your listeners, healthcare is priority number one. When it comes to healthcare, I believe in preventative, I believe the best medicine is not getting sick. How do we create healthy foods in schools? How do we create healthy awareness? How do we create a lifestyle? When you go to places - I know that you talk about Ann Arbor, you go down to Florida, you go to these communities where there's a lot of activity - you can show that in these zones, there are less cardiovascular problems, there's less asthma, there are less medical issues. I've been a paramedic since I was 20 years old, I'm still a licensed paramedic. When I look at the healthcare of an individual, we're making decisions now that have medical consequences ten years down the road. How do we encourage colonoscopies and blood screenings and skin screenings? How do we prevent long term cancer by stopping it in the beginning? How do we incentivize everybody who has a Michigan driver's license to be CPR certified, AEDs at every public building. How do we make sure there's Narcan in every corner of every part of the state of Michigan? It's all healthcare. Healthcare is not just in crisis, healthcare is an algorithm, a holistic ecosystem to keep people safe and healthy. Again, as a paramedic, as a health professional, I check a lot of boxes on a lot of these policies that we're talking about.
Richard Helppie
How about taxation? I know that other candidates have floated the idea that we should eliminate the income tax, viewing it as a tax on work. It's an intriguing notion, I wonder what are your thoughts about that?
Chris Swanson
I'm watching what Florida's doing, and let me tell you, anytime you want to eliminate something, you have to have some place that's going to pick it back up. Without a doubt the last known budget number for the state of Michigan is $82 billion. They spent $84 billion, but they took in $86. The only way if you don't want to pay into the system, whether it's revenue tax or whether it's sales tax or whether it's federal funding, is to have something that's going to supplant it. I believe, and I agree it's a great talking point, but what is the backup plan? Now, if you increase the GDP 2%-5%, bring in 30-40 billion dollars by adding more goods and services that people get from Michigan - we're incredible exporters of goods and services, we have a tremendous talent here - if we can think business and elevate that GDP, now we have room to grow. Now we're able to have a little bit more flexibility. But we don't have that right here. We have a $29 billion debt between unfunded liabilities. We have bonds that are out there with the roads and other expenses. We need to pay our debt down. We need to increase our revenue, and when that happens, you don't need as much tax revenue from our citizens. You can look at gas tax holidays, I said this at my announcement. Maybe we give people Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day gas tax holidays to give a little relief. But as far as adjusting those numbers, it's way too soon to make a political promise, because what you take from one, you've got to take and give to another. And there's a very delicate balance there, so we need to be cautious.
Richard Helppie
There have been some culture issues that have snuck into our political policies, specifically DEI, the future of affirmative action, the 2020 civil disturbances; you had a unique approach. When we think about these kind of issues that are very divisive, when you think about DEI policies, you think about affirmative action, you think about what's the legacy of 2020, how would you relate that to the voters in the state of Michigan and the nation at large?
Chris Swanson
I would speak to every voter and everybody out there, even if they're not a voter, just look at the American citizen. We're a country that has been seen as a beacon of light around the world, and we all look and act and worship different. We live different. But it goes back to what I said about unity. Unity doesn't mean uniformity, and if we have a culture that can look at somebody who may be completely different and see value in them and see some type of connection, that's how you break that down. It has to start with each individual. I understand that there are government systems and there are guidelines because they're trying to counter what should happen natural. If you look at individuals - I've never met you, Rich, but I can already tell that if I drove over to you right now, we'd have a pleasant dinner, and we'd talk about things that were probably great topics, even though, if we spent enough time together, we'd be completely different. That's what we need. I want everybody to have the same equal rights and opportunity. Everybody deserves dignity. And as an individual leader, you have to look at people that may not have the same opportunity as you, may not have made the right decisions. We've all got family members that when you tell them to go right, they go left, and you wonder why, but eventually they come back. Do you judge them from the mistakes of the past, or do you give people a second chance? We've all been given grace and mercy. Again, I am a strong believer that leadership sets the tone. The reason I'm so strong is because, what you mentioned in 2020, I was there, Rich, my dad and my grandfather were both in the Detroit Police Department. My dad was in the 1967 riots, and my grandfather was in the 1945 riots. I was there and I was going to repeat the same exact thing that I was taught generational, until I saw the human side behind it, until I saw the humanity of the question. All they wanted to be asked is, what can you do? Can you listen to us? When I asked the question, and they started chanting "walk with us," everybody that looks so different that was full of hate, instantly turned to hope. Nobody can convince me that it can't be done. It just needs strong leadership, and when you do that, then you don't need mandates to keep equality a priority. You just need to create a good heart in people.
Richard Helppie
I appreciate those sentiments because I think that meeting the moment, can't get into the case specifics, you can't get into the statistics about who attacks who, instead it's today we have this situation and these are your people, so well done, sir. (Chris Swanson: Yes, sir. Thank you.) We have been a state that has prospered because there were great jobs with great wages. Of course, I know many people, my best friends in the world are UAW, Teamsters and the like, and we also have right to work, which has merit. Where are you as far as right to work and card check, specifically?
Chris Swanson
You're talking to a guy who's literally standing on a seventh floor outside the red bricks of downtown Flint. I'm a labor guy all the way because labor lifts all boats. Union contracts from back then to where we are now has helped every family. One way or another, it's touched these different individuals. So as a governor, we are a labor state that has great talent with safety records, education. You have journeymen and apprentices together, you have mentors to create a workforce that is building top quality products. Going back to the UAW, the American made vehicle, made by American labor, you've got to create an ecosystem where companies come in and they see the value of it. They don't see it as an enemy. The fact we want to find is where are the wages that we're going to have in state school, contracts that have labor attached, and labor that's going to give a quality product. That is a reason why we built here. Go back to what you said, this was a community that had 80,000 UAW workers, and we're down to 8,000 now.
Richard Helppie
Part of that is that there were relocations to non-union states. I know there were major bids lost to non-union states. A good union can do a great job. It can lead to great economic opportunity. We've also seen the bifurcation, frankly, between the union leadership and the rank and file. The rank and file didn't feel they were being served by the union leadership. When you come to right to work, should a worker in Michigan be obliged to join a union, or should it be if a company can meet its workforce at whatever size where they don't have to be unionized?
Chris Swanson
I support labor unionized all the way, and you work with those new employers to come in to explain to them why organized labor in your industry is vital.
Richard Helppie
What about card checks? Simple, like, hey, we'll come to your house and you can check the box and say you want to be in the union; set up, a thing we could do.
Chris Swanson
Somebody who doesn't do that, what's fair on the job site and the work site, those folks are going to have to answer that. What I'm saying is, when it comes to an employer coming in, you need a system where they can not only show the value of organized labor, but they can show through history where you're going to get for your company with this kind of a workforce. And again, I'd mention this, that not everything is going to be labor. They know that, but at least if they have a fair shot of competing. You can see that labor is not the enemy of big business and big business needs labor, but it has to work. It goes back into the ecosystem of leadership, and that's where you have an environment where organized labor is not seen as that enemy, but they're seen as a partner in growing businesses, huge manufacturing and business owners.
Richard Helppie
Recently, the Freedom of Information Act for government transparency, in our state of Michigan the governor is exempted from FOIA, and our current governor promised to remove that exemption. That has not happened. Have you established a position yet on the exemption for the governor for the Freedom of Information Act?
Chris Swanson
I will speak from my current experience; I have no exemptions unless it comes down to something that's under subpoena, an active case, or something that can be ruled as a safety issue for the public. I have always been supportive of FOIA and transparency, and I will carry that to the governor's office. The decision that's being made in Lansing, I have no say in that, I'm not involved in those conversations. But I can assure you this, when I'm Governor, you'll be able to have full access unless it meets that criteria for public safety, court purposes or discovery.
Richard Helppie
You've certainly lived in a world where you had to be highly accountable and second guessed and Monday morning quarterback a lot.
Chris Swanson
Well, I can tell you, today starts my 33rd year on the job. If there's one profession that is scrutinized more than any other in the country, it's law enforcement. Then when you get higher up in the ranks and people want to FOIA reports and the things that we have to do, I've always said, when you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. I serve the public with that motto.
Richard Helppie
Sheriff Swanson, I know this is more of a national issue, but there perhaps may be state implications, and that has to do with immigration. Immigration policy, people have lots of different views on that. Sometimes I think it went from one very extreme policy to an opposite extreme policy. Is there a role for the governor of the state of Michigan after this upcoming election next year?
Chris Swanson
Well, I think you're spot on that immigration is a federal issue, but you can also have influence, especially when you look at Michigan, and you look at how many people are here that are working and have tried to get their citizenship for decades. Nobody can disagree we all want a safe border everywhere in the country, so have a system that protects the border with a system to get into this country, a true system that's organized and can be expedited. For those that are here that have been trying for years to get their citizenship, that have federal ID numbers, they have social security numbers, they're paying taxes, they have businesses, but they've been waiting for 15, 20, years to get citizenship, that's got to be fixed. Give them a quick pathway to become citizens, to enjoy the freedoms that we experience every day. But I can tell you firsthand, when our GHOST team arrested two individuals from Honduras two months ago, same operation, two different people, two different scenes, they were gone within three days because they came to have sex with a kid. That's not the same individual that we're talking about with immigration, and you can't class the entire group because of the bad acts of just a few. I think we have to look at immigration on a human and a respect level, but also a protection level. There's a balance to all. I agree with you, you can't have one extreme then the other. There's a common sense way to handle immigration, and that's the answer. Secure the borders. Those that commit crimes, they have given up the right to earn their American citizenship. But for those that are here, let's give them an expedited pathway for them to thrive in this country.
Richard Helppie
Thank you for that. Let's move on to a couple of other topics. Title IX, really interesting that it has created opportunities for women and for girls. Some people will frame it as being under assault. Have you given thought to where you'd come down with Title IX? We know the Trump administration has directed certain interpretations at the state level. Some states are complying, some states are not. What can you tell the voters and the listeners, readers and viewers of The Common Bridge about Title IX?
Chris Swanson
I can tell you fairness and equality, and it comes down to that, and on top of that, it's dignity for all. I think there's a lot of questions that you have under reference Title IX that are still up in the air. There are a lot of hands in that that are trying to decide, but it comes down to those people that are involved, specifically to the competitors, to the parents, to the schools, equality, dignity and fairness. If you use those as your guidepost, you'll come to the answer that makes the most sense.
Richard Helppie
Any other policy areas you want to get into today that are important?
Chris Swanson
I've got to tell you, Rich, I grew up understanding the importance of protecting people. As we close out the show - I can see the timer - I do come from a law enforcement, medical and an education background, but whether it's economy we talked about, or education or any policy, the core of all of it is people have to feel safe. So as governor, the things that I will protect are the things that I've already done as a sheriff. Number one, we're going to cut the supply chain of fentanyl, because 85% of it comes in on our expressways - I-96, I-94, US-23, I-75 - using operation Vigilant, disrupting that supply line. Because if we do that, we help save people's kids. Number two, statewide GHOST, Global Human Oppression Strike Team, we've been around since 2018. The sextortion that's happening with our kids, the amount of people are being victimized, the human trafficking; we're going to protect your kids. Statewide, we're going to protect animals. I can tell you, there's a direct connect between people who beat, starve and torch animals to child abuse, elder abuse. You can see, in Genesee County, when you do that, there is accountability here. We're going to create a list. It's called a Protect My Pet offender list. So if you are convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or multiple of animal abuse, neglect or torture, you cannot own an animal for a long period of time. That way, you can't just re-offend these animals that have no voice; reduce and change the way animals are being identified as property to living property. When we rescue animals, we don't get to give them to a new owner unless the individual signs off - they're the ones that we are arresting. We're going to change that, to make them living property under the forfeiture law and get those animals re- homed. We're going to create an environment where people are safe, wherever they are, reduce crime in the state of Michigan like we've done in Genesee County, reduce crime like we've done in Flint with murder and certainly property crimes. When you do that, you have less victims, you have less insurance costs, you have less businesses that are running because of crime. I can tell you this, you're going to have a protector, a sheriff in the governor's office who understands how to hold people accountable and also protect people when they're not looking and they can sleep safe in bed.
Richard Helppie
I know that that would be a strong suit for everybody in Michigan, no matter where you're at. As we come to our close, in this political environment and perhaps the associated established media environment that thrives on us being separated, can all these factions come together and unite around common goals? I've been at this six years, and my career was about getting people with different interests to find a common objective, and it's hard. Do we have a shot, and how can we get there?
Chris Swanson
Chris Swanson. I can say that, Rich, because I speak from experience. I can bring people together that you would never, ever expect to be brought together, because all they need is an ambassador. They need a voice. They need somebody to give permission to bring folks together with the idea that we're going to walk out of here. We may not agree on everything, but we're going to get things done. People ask me, what about the House and the Senate when you're governor? Nobody can predict what it's going to be, but it matters not, because for the good of the people not one party has all the answers. If somebody can bring a great idea for the state of Michigan, I'm listening. And with that, that's a victory for the people. There has to be a change. There's got to be a paradigm shift. Because what you and I are experiencing every day is families that are breaking up, friends that are breaking up over politics, over something as simple as just who's up there and who's over there. Now I encourage new leaders to come up with a new type of philosophy, and I've said before, my Democratic options are not opponents. The two that are in my race, I know them personally, I'm not going to go out and attack and bash them. Why would we do that? Because now I'm fertilizing that problem. These are options to people, and I think it starts with one and then another. And that's how you get exponential growth. There is hope, Rich. I promise you, it's coming.
Richard Helppie
Well, I like hearing that. Is there anything that we didn't talk about, that we should have discussed, or any closing thoughts for the voters in the state of Michigan?
Chris Swanson
Trust the system. Don't give up. Do your due diligence on finding people that believe and have the receipts to show they can get it done. I look at that because there are a lot of people have been then disappointed by political leadership. I can tell you, I know what I'm writing the checks for and the cost that I'm giving to do this run, because I believe that if you can trust like I trust what I can do, then you're going to have hope again. Hopelessness is a very dark place to be, so I tell your listeners - I tell your readers right now, just trust that there's more coming, and to find people that can give that hope and inspiration and bet on them one more time.
Richard Helppie
We've been talking today with Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, announced candidate for governor, seeking the nomination on the Democratic ticket, and of course, looking to the general election in the fall of 2026. So with our guest, Sheriff Chris Swanson, this is your host, Rich Helppie, signing off on The Common Bridge.
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