3
NEWS

Thursday, July 13, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Democratic candidates for Michigan governor and U.S. 
representative speak at a campaign stop in Bloomfield

Abdul El-Sayed, 
Haley Stevens 
discuss auto 

industry, public 

health issues

By NISA KHAN

Summer Editor in Chief

A crowd of 50 gathered in the 

Bloomfield 
Township 
Public 

Library to hear from guberna-
torial candidate Abdul El-Sayed 
and Haley Stevens, the Demo-
cratic candidate for Congress in 
the 11th Congressional District.

Hosted by the Birmingham-

Bloomfield 
Democratic 
Club 

on Monday night, the speakers 
spent the meeting introducing 
themselves and their campaign 

before taking questions from 
the audience.

Stevens is an Oakland County 

local who served in the previous 
Obama administration. She was 
the chief of staff on the Auto 
Task Force for the U.S. Trea-
sury Department — this team 
was delegated the task to work 
on the auto industry in Detroit. 
She also created the first online 
training program for digital 
manufacturing.

“This is a moment for all of 

us,” she said, stating elected 
officials were not steering the 
country in the direction every-
one 
was 
comfortable 
with. 

“Because there is something 
happening in Washington that 
is disconnected from the rest of 
us.”

Stevens was asked on her 

positions 
on 
certain 
issues 

and her plans to work with the 
opposition party. Along with 
supporting Medicaid and rec-
ognizing the gerrymandering-

faults in Michigan, she said it 
was imperative that Michigan 
had younger representatives in 
Congress that could work with 
Republicans.

She further explained the 

average age of a Michigan rep-
resentative was in their 60s and 
they needed fresh, new voices.

After Stevens, El-Sayed, who 

began canvassing in Ann Arbor 
on Sunday, began explaining 
his background the audience — 
beginning with his parents back 
in Egypt coming to the United 
States and feeling like they 
belonged in this country.

He then explained the crux 

of his interest, which is the 
politics of health. He explained 
most sickness and life expectan-
cy comes from the politics side 
rather than the biological side; 
it is politics that affect the dif-
ferences of health care coverage 
and sickness between Detroit 
and Bloomfield Hills.

He emphasized Detroit had 

 
 
 
 
 MAX KUANG/DAILY 

Construction on South University street in Ann Arbor. 

plenty of hospitals; public health 
was preventing care, and hospi-
tals were too meddled in bureau-
cracy.

Despite his young age, El-Sayed 

said he would be a fit for gover-
nor with his expertise in public 
health, following Michigan’s han-
dling of the Flint water crisis.

El-Sayed then answered ques-

tions as well.

An 
audience 
member 
com-

mended El-Sayed for being a Mus-
lim man running during “Trump’s 
era.” While El-Sayed thanked her, 
he reminded the audience Trump 
won by a small margin and “this 
country is still our country.”

Over half of the audience were 

newcomers 
to 
the 
Democrat-

ic Club, ignited by the current 
Trump presidency.

Audience members, such as 

Bloomfield Hills residents Debo-
rah Bernstein-Seagal and Brian 
Kott, were more familiar with 
Haley Stevens and came to hear 
her talk.

“My son went to high school 

(Seaholm) with her,” Bernstein-
Seagal said.

“We were recently reintro-

duced to her as a potential candi-
date, and we think it is important 
to elect Democrats in the current 
environment,” Kott said.

El-Sayed was a new face to 

many as well, who heard him for 
the first time that night.

Kott 
said 
while 
he 
was 

impressed by El-Sayed, his unfa-
miliarity 
to 
some 
Michigan 

residents may leave him at an dis-
advantage with the other, well-
known Democrat gubernatorial 
candidate Gretchen Whitmer. 

“I would was also introduced 

to Dr. El-Sayed,” he said. “A very 
impressive man … And I think his 
problem is name recognition and 
the fact that Gretchen Whitmer 
is known fixture and a minor-
ity leader of the House and all of 
those other things. He’s certainly 
qualified and deserves to have a 
voice in our current society.”

with 
Kislyak 
to 
establish 

communications between the 
Trump 
administration 
and 

Russia, reportedly to discuss 
issues related to Syria. The FBI 
believed the meeting included 
talk of easing sanction against 
Russia in exchange for financial 
assistance. 
Meanwhile, 
at 

the same time, the Obama 
administration 
increased 

sanctions against Russia in 
response 
to 
the 
supposed 

election interference. 

U.S. 
intelligence 
agencies 

released a report to explain 
why they believe Russia was 
involved in the hacking effort. 
FBI Director James Comey 
assured Trump that he was not 
personally under investigation. 
In fact, on different occasions 
in February, March and April, 
Comey 
assured 
Trump 
he 

was 
not 
personally 
being 

investigated.

After the inauguration, the 

FBI interviewed Flynn about 
his December meeting with 
Kislyak, and his statements 
differed 
from 
other 
public 

statements, sparking concern 

Russia 
could 
compromise 

Flynn by threatening to leak 
information. 

In March, for the first time, 

Comey announced to the House 
Intelligence 
Committee 
that 

there 
was 
an 
investigation 

occurring 
on 
the 
Russian 

hacking and links to the Trump 
campaign. 

In 
May, 
Comey 
testified 

at 
a 
congressional 
hearing 

and was fired by Trump; he 
never 
publicly 
stated 
that 

Trump himself wasn’t under 
investigation, 
which 
the 

president had asked him to do. 
Former FBI Director Robert 
Mueler then was appointed 
special counsel to oversee the 
FBI’s investigation. 

According to Bill Moyers, in 

June, Comey testified before the 
Senate Intelligence Committee 
and said he believed he was fired 
because of the investigation.

“It’s my judgment that I was 

fired because of the Russia 
investigation,” Comey said. “I 
was fired in some way to change, 
or the endeavor was to change, 
the way the Russia investigation 
was being conducted.”

RUSSIA
From Page 1

and curb revamping, but it is 
the work being done on South 
University 
Avenue 
that 
has 

proved to be the most intensive. 
Developer and city work on the 
street began May 1 and has been 
going on ever since.

According to the City of Ann 

Arbor website, eastbound South 
University 
Avenue 
between 

East University and Washtenaw 
avenues had to be closed to allow 
for water main work to be done 
as well as streetscaping, which is 
the designing of streets based on 
the natural and built fabric of it.

Elizabeth 
Rolla, 
project 

manager for the Ann Arbor 
Downtown 
Development 

Authority, 
explained 
the 

goals are to widen sidewalks, 
improve 
seating, 
create 
rain 

garden landscaping, plant street 
trees, update pedestrian street 
lighting and work on utility 
improvements.

“Our 
board 
of 
directors 

selected this project because 
it saw a need to create a more 
vibrant part of downtown,” Rolla 
said.

SOUTH U
From Page 1

Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com

