Free read, March 31-April 4: Tariffs hit Detroit, McMorrow raises $1M, campaign finance portal in beta mode
Another week end roundup! Thanks for supporting Detroit one million
Hey, subscriber gang!
I hope you had a good laugh this week. This April Fools joke from the city of Detroit’s social media team was all I needed.
The number of accounts saying my quote tweet is the only reason they knew the post was actually an April Fools joke made me smile.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs took over your timeline and mine this week.
The 25% auto tariffs affect imported vehicles and certain parts. The tariffs are expected to add an additional $2,500 to $5,000 for the lowest-tariffed American cars, and up to $20,000 for some imported models, according to the East Lansing based Anderson Economic Group.
The organization estimates Honda Civics, made mostly with U.S. parts, will experience the lowest impact. The Chevy Malibu, Volkswagon Jetta and Ford Explorer were also among the vehicles less likely to be impacted by tariffs.
US. consumer impact is estimated at $30 billion for first full year, the group reports.
“Trump has a very simplistic view,” U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar told me Friday outside of the Stellantis Detroit Assembly Complex.
“The cost of cheap vehicles are going to go up. People can’t afford that,” he said. “Trump probably doesn’t understand that most cars that are made in the United States have some components made abroad, and some parts of cars that are made in Mexico or Canada or South Korea, actually are made here by UAW workers. These products that go out are also now going to be tariffed by some of those countries.”
Those looking to bring new manufacturing to the United States, like the UAW, whose leaders came out in support of the tariffs last month, “have the right idea,” but abruptly halting decades long practices isn’t practical, Thanedar said.
“We are the largest consumer market. When the U.S. acts irresponsibly, like a wrecking ball, like what Trump is doing, countries aren’t going to rely and invest in us. The world economy is driven by the U.S. economy,” he said.
Here’s what else I was paying attention to this week:
Detroit to pay $35K after wrongful detainment
The city of Detroit has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a woman and her child were wrongly detained as a result of the Detroit Police Department's use of license plate readers, the Detroit Free Press’ Paul Egan reports.
Some of the officers involved, who were not identified in a statement Egan, have been referred for possible discipline.
It was reported last fall that Robinson sued the city, the police chief and other officers in federal court after police handcuffed her in front of her home, put her 2-year-old autistic son in the back of a police cruiser, and seized and impounded her only car.
She had to borrow a vehicle to keep her job as an assembly line worker at Stellantis after police did not return her car for more than three weeks.
Robinson and her son were detained only briefly and she was never charged.
Read the full story: Detroit to pay $35K after license plate error prompts wrongful detainment of mom, toddler
New state campaign finance portal doesn’t work yet
A $9.3 million upgrade to update Michigan’s outdated campaign finance portals is still a work in progress.
The Michigan Department of State rolled out the new software this month and there’s less information available to the public in its current form than the old system, Simon Schuster of Bridge Michigan reports.
The news of the upgrade came with excitement — the old software’s interface was awful. But now, campaign finance nerds are wondering when information available on the old system’s software will return.
The database is used to provide the public with information about Michigan’s campaign finance, lobbying reports and politician’s financial disclosures.
The new software will integrate lobbying disclosures, campaign finance and new personal financial disclosures.
The Michigan Department of State told Schuster the current website represents the “base functionality,” acknowledging more changes will be implemented. The department said they were aware of issues they hope to correct as soon as possible.
Two years ago the state contracted a private tech company based in Troy, Tyler Technologies, to build the new system. The company is making $9.3 million over a five-year period.
Draymond offers mid-Michigan perspective on Detroit
Get ready for Draymond Green’s career as a personality. It’s already here and his takes are often full of local flavor.
The Saginaw High/Michigan State/Golden State Warriors legend shared his perspective on Michigan’s high school basketball landscape in the mid-2000s on BARS, with Brownie and Rab.
Green recalled the rivalry between Saginaw Valley League and Detroit area high schools when he was a Saginaw High Trojan playing for MHSAA championships.
“We always say, like Flint, Saginaw, there's a connection,” Green said. “We’re both small cities, 25 minutes apart from each other. Both cities ran on plants. There's a General Motors plant in Saginaw, at the time there was a big General Motors plant in Flint. So we kind of the same, you know? The same thing that's feeding their city, same thing that's feeding our city. So you kind of got the same type of people. Detroit's totally different, and Detroit always looked down on us. They thought they was better than us, they would joke on us at AAU coming from a small place.”
Saginaw and Flint don't even exist to people in Detroit, he said.
“There's people that live in Detroit, that’s never been to Saginaw, like no interest in ever going, nor will they ever go,” Green said. “You also had to out dog him like you had to, because they got all the glitz, they got all the glamour. It’s Detroit, they got a million people. They got all the teams. They got a casino, you want to do anything nice, you gotta go down there.”
New PinkPantheress!
I waited until right now to react to PinkPantheress’ new single, “Tonight.”
I’m glad I did because you’re now reading my raw thoughts… She’s still got it.
The 23-year-old UK singer traded in the pitched-up “Hey!” effect for similarly toned “Like what?” to the first single to what is expected to be her first project since her 2023 debut, Heaven knows.
If you don’t remember, Pinkpantheress is the Gen Z pop girl who took over TikTok with tens of seconds-long snippets that became viral hits in 2021 during the pandemic.
Her Bridgerton inspired music video for “Tonight,” which samples Panic! At The Disco’s “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?” gives me the idea she’s ready to take over again.
At least 16 noncitizens voted in Michigan in 2024
The Michigan Secretary of State’s office identified 15 noncitizens who cast ballots in the state’s November presidential election.
A months-long review by the Michigan Secretary of State's office released Thursday is the latest piece of evidence that will be used by voter fraud activists in the debate over whether lawmakers should do more to prevent voter fraud.
Craig Mauger broke the story Thursday.
The 15 people uncovered by the findings are in addition to the University of Michigan student from China, Haoxiang Gao, who allegedly voted illegally in Ann Arbor. Gao faces felony charges of perjury and of being an unauthorized elector who voted. The felony charge can bring a penalty of up to four years behind bars.
The potentially illegal votes represent less than 0.0003% of the 5.7 million total ballots submitted, the Secretary of State’s office said Thursday.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who is running for governor, acknowledged the political debate over ensuring non-citizens aren’t voting, saying the small percentage of potential voter fraud cases don’t justify efforts from Republicans to pass laws Democrats say would make it harder for people to vote.
She called the Republican efforts “failed policies.”
“This is a serious issue, one we must address with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” Benson said in a statement. “Only U.S. citizens can legally register and vote in our elections. Our careful review confirms what we already knew – that this illegal activity is very rare. While we take all violations of election law very seriously, this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections.”
Benson said the department will continue to work with lawmakers on data-drien efforts to improve security.
McMorrow raises $1M hours after announcing Senate bid
Surprise — Mallory McMorrow is running for U.S. Senate.
The state senator from Royal Oak, who grew up in New Jersey, was expected to announce her campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Gary Peters in Congress this month, according to media reports.
Melissa Nann Burke and Craig Mauger broke the news Wednesday.
Peters announced he wouldn’t seek reelection to the seat earlier this year in a surprising move that shook up big name candidates’ 2026 plans.
“Wow. Just wow. We have already raised over $1m from over 12k people in support of this US Senate campaign. From all 83 counties in Michigan. From every state in the country,” McMorrow posted on social media Thursday.
When I asked McMorrow earlier this year at the Michigan Democratic Party’s spring convention, she wouldn’t budge on whether she was running or not.
But, she did drop a few golden nuggets about what potential candidates like herself consider before running.
“How much you can raise and what kind of campaign you’re able to run is a real consideration,” McMorrow told me in late February. “The higher (office) you get, you have to raise a lot of money.”
I haven’t spoken to McMorrow about her campaign yet. Looking forward to hearing back from Lis Smith on that. I’ll try not to ask the same questions as everyone else when I do.