T

he 
University 
of 
Michigan 
Board 
of 
Regents, a group of 
eight state-elected members who 
have general supervision of the 
University and its endowment, 
has two seats up for election this 
Tuesday. Incumbent candidates 
Regent Andrea Fischer Newman 
(R) and Regent Andrew Richner 
(R) face stiff competition from 
Democratic candidates Jordan 
Acker (D) and Paul Brown (D). 
In the past, The Michigan Daily 
Editorial Board and students 
on campus have often called for 
transparency from the Board of 
Regents, and we are excited to 
see that Acker and Brown both 
pledge ethics and transparency 
if they are elected. Along with 
their concrete plans to increase 
college affordability and the 
fresh perspectives they can bring 
to the board, The Michigan Daily 
Editorial 
Board 
confidently 
endorses Jordan Acker and Paul 
Brown for the open positions on 
the Board of Regents.
Acker stands out as the only 
candidate to have graduated from 
the University in the 21st century, 

yet he still brings significant 
experience to the job. With the 
increasing 
unaffordability 
of 
a University education being a 
major issue for the regents, we 
believe that Acker understands 
the realities of how students 
manage to pay for an education 
in 2018 and will bring a necessary 
perspective to the board. He has 
channeled this perspective into 
advocating specifically for a debt-
free education for all students, 
representing the experience of 
many of his classmates, who 
he said graduated with a debt 
burden unseen in previous 
generations.
As a former White House 
staffer and adviser to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, 
Janet Napolitano, Acker is well-
versed on making decisions 
that impact the lives of millions. 
We are excited to see much of 
the ingenuity he brings to his 
platform, including a desire 
to broaden the reach of the 
University through extension 
schools throughout the state. 
He also is a strong advocate 
for 
increased 
transparency, 

co-authoring a 10-point plan 
with 
fellow 
Democratic 
candidate Paul Brown calling 
for board meetings to be more 
accessible to the public, rejecting 
campaign donations from those 
with 
business 
relationships 
with the University and other 
transparency reforms.
In addition to his work 
on the 10-point plan, Paul 
Brown also possesses an array 
of 
experience 
that 
makes 
him a superb and qualified 
candidate. As the only union 
member running, we believe 
Brown maintains a unique and 
important perspective that could 
be used as a regent. Brown is a 
proud member of the Lecturers’ 
Employee Organization, a group 
that has been influencing great 
change within our University. 
Brown has also served as a 
collaborator for various public, 
private, not-for-profit, for-profit, 
start-up and public boards. 
Through his positions, he has 
not only gained experience, 
but demonstrated his ability to 
actually provide results. Brown 
has a deep understanding of 
private-public 
financing, 
and under President Obama 
and the U.S. Department 
of Treasury, he helped 
implement the $1.5 billion 
State 
Small 
Business 
Credit Initiative, which has 
helped create more than 
240,000 jobs with no cost to 
taxpayers.
We 
are 
eager 
to 
witness 
Brown 
impart 
similar 
creativity 
and 
diligence in the position 
of regent. Brown’s focus is 
on making the University 
more affordable, but still an 
economic powerhouse. He 
is aware of its profitable and 

influential reach, and plans to 
increase accessibility through 
decreasing tuition rates and 
broadening its economic and 
social impact throughout the 
state. Brown hopes to implement 
a bill similar to Texas, where any 
student graduating in the top 10 
percent of their class is assured 
automatic admission to the 
public universities in their state. 
In addition, he wants to expand 
the 
University’s 
Summer 
Bridge Scholars Program in 
order to increase and maintain 
socioeconomic diversity within 
the University. Finally, he is an 
advocate for educational policy 
change in the state, showing 
his desire to use the position 
as a mechanism for greater 
change. For these reasons and 
his pledge for transparency, 
we endorse Paul Brown for the 
position of regent.
Fischer Newman is one of 
two incumbent regents, and 

she has served on the board 
for more than 20 years — first 
elected in 1994, and re-elected 
in 2002 and 2010. Fischer 
Newman’s experience does 
not fall short in the public 
sector, as she has served as 
the Special Counsel to the 
Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Acquisition and Logistics 
under President Ronald Reagan 
as well as being appointed to 
the Department of Education’s 
National Advisory Committee 
on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity, among other high-
profile 
positions. 
However, 
Fischer Newman’s experience 
here 
does 
not 
necessarily 
imply 
future 
success 
as 
a 
University 
regent, 
especially in an educational 
climate 
where 
students 
demand affordability and 
transparency.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, November 2, 2018 
— 5A

Our generation has often been criticized for being vocal about issues yet failing to show up when 

our voices can affect real change — at the polls. There is some truth to the matter, with 18.1 percent of 

college students voting in the 2014 midterm election and University of Michigan students turning out at 

an even lower rate. However, if we do exercise our civil liberty, young people have the power in numbers 

to determine the election. As election day quickly approaches, The Michigan Daily Editorial Board 

encourages students to carefully consider the candidates and issues on the ballot and go out and vote on 

Nov. 6

Here are some things to keep in mind as you head to the polls:

* Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 6.

* There will be buses departing from Ingalls Mall and the Duderstadt Center lawn to take you to your 

polling location.

* Lyft will also be providing free or discounted rides to the polls.

* Bring your ID! Mcards are acceptable forms of ID. If you forget your ID or do not have an acceptable 

photo ID, you can still vote by signing an affidavit.

* If you are in line before the polls close, you have the right to cast a ballot.

* You can bring information — including The Michigan Daily’s endorsements — into the voting booth 

with you.

For more information about voting, check out https://www.vote.org.

What to know for Election Day

W

ith term limits keeping 
Gov. Rick Snyder from 
running for a third 
term, the people of Michigan have 
a chance to choose a new direction 
for the state’s top office. Candidates 
Gretchen 
Whitmer 
and 
Bill 
Schuette provide starkly different 
visions for the future of the state. 
Whitmer, a former prosecutor and 
state Senate minority leader has 
committed to “fix the damn roads,” 
while Schuette, the current state 
Attorney General, has channeled 
President Donald Trump with his 
“It’s time to win again” slogan.
The Michigan Daily Editorial 
Board strongly endorses Gretchen 
Whitmer for governor of Michigan. 
Whitmer has proven her dedication 
to the state of Michigan through 
her years of public service in local 
government. During the debate 
over whether to expand Medicaid 
under the Affordable Care Act 
in Michigan, Whitmer worked 
across party lines to advocate 
for increased health insurance 
coverage for thousands of Michigan 
residents. That sense of drive and 
prioritization of Michigan unity 
is what brought us, as an editorial 

board, to conclude that she is the 
best candidate to create change in 
our diverse state.
As students, the issue of college 
affordability is at the forefront 
of our minds when considering 
candidates. 
While 
Schuette’s 
plans 
for 
college 
affordability 
have remained vague, Whitmer 
has proposed to implement the 
Michigan Opportunity Scholarship, 
a program that would allow 
Michigan students to have two 
years of higher education schooling 
completely debt free.
Additionally, as young voters, 
Michigan’s public schools remain in 
our minds. Schuette and Whitmer 
strongly disagree, with Schuette 
supporting charter schools and 
the privatization of education, 
much like Secretary of Education 
Betsy DeVos. Whitmer has come 
out in strong opposition of the 
privatization of education. Whitmer 
plans to improve the consistency of 
school funding and create more 
accountability for public schools. 
We agree with Whitmer that this 
plan is a better option to improve 
education quality, accessibility and 
equality in Michigan.

Whitmer’s also supports an 
increase of the state minimum 
wage to $15 an hour, showing her 
dedication to the working class of 
Michigan and her prioritization of 
the standard of living of everyone 
in Michigan. In stark contrast, 
Schuette’s economic policy focuses 
mainly on cutting taxes and vetoing 
tax increases.
The most important issues 
in this upcoming election are the 
ones that affect the everyday lives 
of all the Michiganders who have 
been neglected under the current 
administration: road infrastructure 
and water availability. Whitmer 
has committed to a comprehensive 
and specific plan to improve road 
conditions 
through 
registration 
fees or gas tax increases. Schuette, 
on the other hand, has not included 
any specificity or detail in his 
plan and doesn’t mention where 
the money for any infrastructure 
improvements will come from, 
though he has firmly stated that 
he will work to improve road 
conditions.
Whitmer has also highlighted 
the importance of clean drinking 
water for all Michiganders, making 

special mention of the topic in her 
infrastructure plan. Schuette’s plan 
includes few implementable policies 
and is sparse on details, especially 
concerning 
from 
a 
candidate 
currently part of the administration 
that enabled the Flint water crisis.
We 
are 
also 
concerned 
about 
Schuette’s 
response 
to 
an endorsement by singer Ted 
Nugent, who has made sexist and 
anti-Semitic 
comments 
in 
the 
past. 
Instead 
of 
distancing 
himself from 
Nugent, 
Schuette 

campaigned 
with 
him 
and 
welcomed 
his 
endorsement. 
Schuette’s ties to Nugent are 
worrying 
when 
considering 
Michigan’s need for politicians who 
are able to appeal to many audiences 
and build communities.
Whitmer, 
however, 
is 
a 
uniter. She’s worked tirelessly to 
expand access to Medicaid for 
Michiganders, and has focused 

her campaign on issues affecting 
every resident: water, roads and 
schools. Given her dedication to 
the Michigan community and 
impressively comprehensive policy 
platform, The Michigan Daily 
Editorial board believes Gretchen 
Whitmer is best suited to lead 
Michigan into the future.

I

n 
the 
upcoming 
midterm 
elections, The Michigan Daily 
is endorsing Debbie Stabenow 
for U.S. Senate and Debbie Dingell 
for U.S. House of Representatives. 
The Debbie duo has been working 
tirelessly to take care of all their 
citizens, from families, to students, 
to immigrants, to workers. The two 
have also worked to protect the 
Michigan economy and what it has 
been founded on: the Great Lakes.
Debbie Stabenow has been 
a 
Democratic 
senator 
since 
2001, graduated from Michigan 
State University and was the 
first Michigan woman senator 
elected. Debbie Stabenow is a 
lifelong Michigan native, and her 
top priorities are creating jobs in 
Michigan by growing a diverse 
economy, banning oil and gas 
drilling in the Great Lakes, and 
taking care of agricultural and rural 
communities. 
Stabenow 
supports 
the 

Development, Relief, and Education 
for Alien Minors Act, the Keep 
Families 
Together 
Act, 
and 
comprehensive immigration reform 
to make sure the federal immigration 
system supports families, workers, 
businesses 
and 
farmers. 
She 
considers health care a human 
right and has been campaigning to 
increase children’s health care 
insurance, such as her Quality 
Care for Moms and Babies 
Act to improve maternity 
and infant care. She strongly 
believes full time jobs should 
provide living wages and 
is working to promote job 
opportunities in skilled trades 
and technical careers. As a native 
Michigander, she recognizes how 
important the Great Lakes are to 
our economy and way of life. She 
is committed to creating clean 
energy jobs and reducing our 
fossil fuel use. She has frequently 
voted for stricter restrictions on 

guns and is pro-choice. Stabenow 
has consistently worked to make 
the voting process, as well as the 
government, as transparent 
as possible.

Debbie 
Dingell, a Democratic representative 
for Michigan’s 12th congressional 
district in the U.S. House, studied 

at Georgetown University, and was 
first elected in 2014. She has many 
similar policy priorities to Stabenow. 
Her top priorities include 
ensuring every 

American 
has 
health 
insurance through her protection 
of the Affordable Care Act, working 
to reduce the cost of medicines, 

strengthening 
the 
economy 
by 
supporting 
manufacturing, 
protecting the environment and 
improving workers’ pensions.
Dingell is a strong advocate for 
immigration reform, announcing 
in a joint statement with Michigan 
Reps. John Conyers Jr., Dan Kildee 
and Brenda Lawrence, that we 
are “a Nation of immigrants,” 
and will support the DREAM 
Act. An environmentalist and 
activist, she relates economic 
advancement to the importance 
of all families having access to 
clean air and water as well as 
affordable housing, and — listen 
up college students — affordable 
higher education. She also believes 
in raising the minimum wage, 
another bonus. She is a huge 
supporter of renewable energy and 
is an opponent of Trump’s decision 
to repeal the Clean Power Plan and 
withdraw from the Paris Accords. 
Like Stabenow, Dingell places great 

emphasis on the importance of the 
Great Lakes in our economy and has 
detailed plans to protect these great 
Michigan assets. She is pro-choice 
and is endorsed by Emily’s List, an 
organization dedicated to helping 
pro-choice candidates run for office. 
She is an advocate for government 
transparency as well and constantly 
works toward making elections free, 
fair and non-discriminatory.
Stabenow and Dingell have 
been taking care of Michiganders 
and Americans for the past few 
years, providing health care, jobs 
and a stable economy to all their 
constituents. Now it is our turn. We 
must take care of our fellow students 
and Michiganders and vote to keep 
Debbie Stabenow and Debbie Dingell 
in office. Students hold a powerful 
role in the upcoming election. We 
have the power to stand up for what 
is right and turn this nation around, 
but only if we vote responsibly. Vote 
for the two Debbies in the midterms.

ENDORSEMENTS

Vote Whitmer for Governer

PHOTOS BY ALEXIS RANKIN AND KATELYN MULCAHY / DAILY

KATELYN MULCAHY /DAILY

ANNIE KLUS / DAILY

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

FROM THE DAILY

Vote Dingell, Stabenow

FROM THE DAILY

Vote Acker, Brown for Regents

FROM THE DAILY

BETSY STUBBS / DAILY

