ON THE AIRWAVES: Benson Emphasizes Affordability Agenda Ahead of August Primary
This week, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson took her affordability agenda across the state, from Traverse City to Detroit, to discuss her plans to make healthcare, energy costs, and housing more affordable as the next governor. For months, Benson has laid out comprehensive plans to bring down costs – from healthcare, to housing, to energy – and make Michigan the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family.
In case you missed it…
WWUP-TV: WATCH HERE
Reporter: [...] I’m also wondering how you look at access to housing, and what policies you might support to expand access to affordable or attainable housing, or just housing in general?
Jocelyn Benson: My housing plan is rooted in three pillars. One, supply: streamlining how we build homes in the state to make it easier and more affordable to do so, increasing the number of affordable homes, so that more people have access to them. The second pillar is support: providing support to first and second time homeowners, but also teachers and nurses and others who are moving to communities to work there. Workforce housing and support for that housing is critical to ensuring people who are living in communities and working in communities can continue to thrive. And the third is accountability: we need to hold accountable these out-of-state landlords, and others, who are buying up properties and driving up costs – sometimes tripling or quadrupling rents in apartment units overnight – simply to drive up a profit. That is pricing residents out of their homes in communities like Traverse City, and all across the state. We have to hold them accountable and put an end to that.
WJR-AM: LISTEN HERE
Reporter: You're talking a lot about affordability. [...] What things can a governor do to turn that around?
Jocelyn Benson: As Secretary of State, I inherited a broken system. I saw what it takes to actually turn that around and transform a government agency, knowing that when we do that, we're not only saving people time – you no longer have to wait to go to a Secretary of State's office – we’re also saving them money. We're making their life easier. So, when it comes to driving down costs on everything from healthcare, to housing, to utilities, we do need to streamline how our government agencies work. If we do that, we can make the cost of housing more efficient, increase supplies, make it easier to open childcare centers so that childcare is more accessible and affordable. [...] The second part of that is taking on corporations that are driving up costs for profit-driven reasons. Hospitals that are making profit-driven decisions over patient-driven ones. Utility companies that are consistently asking for rate increases, without producing the results of what they're using that extra money for. You also need a governor who's willing to take on corruption, anywhere it could be, especially when that corruption is driving up costs. [...] But that's not enough. We also have to increase jobs. We also have to grow our economy, diversify the number of jobs we have in our state, which is a big part of my agenda as well. Making it easier to start and grow a small business will also help our economy, not only reducing the cost of doing so, but enabling more people to have access to the wealth that can come from owning or starting your own business.
The Sunday Chronicle: LISTEN HERE
Reporter: [...] I'd like to ask you one more question: what it entails to be governor [...] how can we get in touch with you, and how do you represent us?
Jocelyn Benson: In the 2026 election, voters will face a choice: who do Michigan's leaders work for? The wealthy and the powerful? Donald Trump? Or the people? And for me, the answer is simple: as governor, I will work for you, the people. I will work every day to ensure that every Michigander, every Detroiter, knows no matter what party they belong to, no matter where you live, that I work for you. That I'll work to ensure, just as I have my entire life, that the power of the people will be greater than the people in power. For example, what that means is taking every dollar in our state budget and asking, is this going to make someone's life better? Is this going to drive down costs? Is this going to grow our economy? Is this going to increase wages? As governor, I'll have three fundamental jobs: driving down costs, growing our economy and increasing access to jobs, and standing up to corruption so that we can protect the people in our communities who have been hurt by a broken system for far too long. That means reforming how we're going to build homes, so that everyone can afford to buy a home in the communities where they work. It means investing in public education to build a world-class system that prepares our young people for the jobs of tomorrow. And I'll work with anyone to get this done, but I also have no patience for those who try to stand in the way of this on behalf of their wealthy donors, or corporations, or their own greed. We need a governor who will stand up for the people, and I'm the only one running for governor with a track record and a commitment to doing just that.
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