metro >> politics Open Seat Gary Peters wants to fill the shoes of retiring Sen. Carl Levin. I Jackie Headapohl Managing Editor U S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is retiring after 36 years in the Senate, leaving an open seat that will be filled this Nov. 4 at the ballot box. U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who cur- rently represents Michigan's 14th District, wants you to check his name on that ballot. He recently visited the Jewish News' offices in Southfield to answer questions. Below are some highlights of the conversation. JN: What do you intend to concentrate on if elected to the Senate? Peters: For me, it's still about the econ- omy; it's the No. 1 issue here in Michigan. We need to grow the economy and create good-paying middle class jobs. I have three areas of focus within the economy. One, I will continue to work to make sure that we have a strong and vibrant auto industry and I hope to continue the work I'm doing as a co-chair of the House Auto Caucus in the Senate. Two, I'll concentrate on working with small businesses, which are the engines of growth for us in Michigan. My efforts related to small business have been focused on financing. I currently serve on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. I have 20-plus years background in business and in the investment world. One bill I wrote in the House created the State Small Business Credit Initiative, which helps economic development groups in states across the country provide lending to businesses that might not otherwise qualify for lending in a public-private partnership. That program, passed in 2010, has already created more than 6,000 jobs in Michigan, 50,000 jobs across the country. In the Senate, I hope to expand that program. The third part of my economic frame- work is infrastructure. I want to make Michigan the logistics capital of the coun- try and expand our trade opportunities with Canada. I've been very aggressive in my support of the new international bridge. I've been working to get funding for the customs plaza, which is currently the holdup on the project. The Canadians are fronting about $2 billion, and they are reluctant to pay for a customs plaza that will house U.S. officials. I've introduced legislation that will prioritize customs plaza funding. Those border crossings that have the most trade and the most volume should have priority. Detroit/Windsor is No. 2 on that list (behind Laredo, Texas, which just got funding); Port Huron/Sarnia is No. 4. I'm also working to secure funding in a 20 October 23 • 2014 JN U.S. Rep. Gary Peters public/private partnership to build a new rail tunnel between Detroit and Windsor. The rail tunnel there now was built in 1909 and doesn't accommodate double-decker trains. My ultimate dream would be to turn that 1909 tunnel into a high-speed pas- senger rail tunnel. We're also working to get funding for high-speed rail that would connect Chicago to Detroit and Detroit to Toronto. That would be absolutely transfor- mative for the region. JN: Could you give us your thoughts on what's going on in the Middle East? Peters: The situation in the Middle East is like a three-dimensional chess board — it's hard to find any clarity; but it's critically important to our country and particularly our area, which has a strong and vibrant Jewish community as well as the largest Arab community outside the Middle East. We need to help stabilize the area, which is in a constant state of conflict and is of strategic importance to the whole world, despite the recent drop in oil prices. With international terrorism, what happens in the Middle East often spills over into other countries and even into our homeland. I think the U.S. has to be actively engaged in what happens in the Middle East, from an economic, diplomatic and military standpoint. JN: Your thoughts on Israel? Peters: I always have been and will con- tinue to be a strong supporter of Israel. Our friendship with Israel is of strategic impor- tance to the country. JN: Do you support the Obama adminis- tration's plan to fight the terrorist group ISIS? Peters: I do support the air strikes cur- rently going on. I believe they are neces- sary to degrade the capabilities of ISIS, but I also realize the effectiveness of air strikes is limited without credible ground forces. You need to have folks on the ground, but I don't support sending in U.S. ground troops. We need partners. The Iraqi government and its military need to be the ground forces in Iraq. We also need a strong coalition of other Sunni governments. It can't be only a U.S. or western operation. ISIS presents a signifi- cant threat to Arab Sunni governments — the Jordanians, the Saudis, the UAE, Bahrain — they all need to be engaged, and we're seeing that now. I would like to see them contribute ground troops as well. Syria is more problematic. I did vote to support training the moderate Syrian rebels in hopes that they will join those ground forces. But it may take more than just Syria, that's why we need other Sunni governments engaged. We also have to undermine the credibil- ity of ISIS within the Islamic community. We need courageous religious leaders to condemn them and discredit them as not a legitimate form of Islam. The U.S. can't delegitimize them; it has to come from their own people. IN: How would you support the contin- ued revitalization of Detroit? Peters: Transit is one area I particularly focus on. Transit is a key component of urban revitalization. I was involved in get- ting the funding for the M1 Rail in Detroit, for example, which goes from Downtown to Midtown. But I don't think it will ultimately be successful until it goes from Downtown to Pontiac. Regional transit is a magnet for jobs. It empowers people to get around. I met a Detroit citizen who uses DDOT buses to get to and from work and get her daughters to and from school. She spends over six hours on the bus every day! We have to do better than that. It's not only an economic development issue. It's a moral issue. I will aggressively fight for transit fund- ing. Wherever we make these investments in transit across the country, it's a magnet for economic development. Take Cleveland: it has a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) — some- thing we can hopefully do here in Detroit — that goes from downtown Cleveland to the Cleveland Clinic, about 8.5 miles. It was a $200 million investment in 2008. A recent report shows that there has been $4.3 billion of real estate investment along that corridor. Those kinds of investments require sig- nificant federal dollars. We need to make those investments here in Michigan, and I'll work aggressively to get that funding. ❑ No Conversation With Candidate Terri Lynn Land Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land Editor's Note: The Jewish News was unsuccesful in its repeated attempts via phone and email (five) with Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land's campaign office and the state Republican party to arrange an interview with her.