WATCH: Jocelyn Benson Vows to Fight to Bring Down Energy Costs for Michigan Families

Yesterday, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson held a roundtable in Detroit with Attorney General Dana Nessel to hear from families facing higher utility bills and discuss how the next governor can bring down the rising energy costs. 

While Jocelyn has a comprehensive plan to bring down the cost of everything — from housing to healthcare to energy — John James has been driving up costs for Michiganders. Just last week, James voted to continue Trump’s war in Iran — even as gas prices hit $5 per gallon — while continuing to push John James Tax hikes that have forced Michigan families to pay an additional $5,619 over the past year. Jocelyn is the only candidate who will ensure Michiganders can afford to pay their bills and fill their gas tank.

In case you missed it…

WWMT — Grand Rapids, MI: In Detroit, Democratic Secretary of State and candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson sat down with community members to talk about high utility prices, and she was joined by attorney general Dana Nessel, who has challenged utility rate increases. If elected governor, Benson says she would stop profit driven rate hikes, slash heating and cooling costs by weatherizing aging homes, and hold providers accountable for shutoffs. And she criticized James for voting with president Trump, whose policies she thinks are to blame for rising prices. Benson says affordability is a top concern of her campaign: “My hope is that I will be able to be with all of you in a place, six weeks from now, to do great things for the people of Michigan: to drive down costs, to take on these bad actors that are driving up prices, including the President of the United States and everyone at the federal level who is responsible in many ways for this mess.”

WWJ-TV — Detroit, MI: Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson spoke with Detroiters at the Mug Cafe alongside Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Benson blamed John James for tariffs and rising gas prices. She also talked about holding power companies accountable and rooting out corruption: “I think we have to ensure once anyone is on the board that there are ethics and transparency requirements in place, to make sure people can't become corrupted even if they enter it right. And so we need both. We need good people who are public servants first and we need transparency and ethics requirements to ensure there’s no backroom deals being made to allow profit-driven rate hikes to go through.”

WWJ-AM — Detroit, MI: Attorney General Dana Nessel was there to support Benson as they listened to residents in metro Detroit talk about their struggles with inflation, utilities, gas, groceries and health care, and all the things that are just expensive right now. They called it an affordability roundtable, and during it Benson laid out her plans to lower every day costs for Michiganders: “We've got to end profit-driven rate hikes by demanding more accountability. We want to know how this additional money is being used, and we want to make sure that it's used to invest in modernizing our energy grid and in transitioning to more clean energy sources that will enable us to actually drive down costs. We also have a plan to winterize homes and assist homeowners, like those we heard from today, to drive down energy costs and make smart choices.” And as you know, Benson's campaign has said Republican nominee John James has backed policies driving up higher costs, including trade actions affecting Canada.

WJBK-TV — Detroit, MI: The Democratic candidate, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, along with the State Attorney General, meeting with residents in Detroit to discuss the skyrocketing costs for consumers. Now we know the price for everything, from groceries to gasoline, is spiking these days. Secretary Benson says much of the problem can be traced back to decisions at the federal level, involving a reckless tariff war that has driven up costs for energy and fuel.

###