Wayne County Transit Millage 2026 Explained: Warren Evans on the August 4 Vote

An eight-hour job should not require a six-hour commute.

Attorney Todd Perkins sits down with Wayne County Executive Warren Evans for a direct conversation about the Wayne County Transit Millage 2026, SMART bus service, DDOT, and what the August 4 election could mean for residents across Wayne County.

Voters will decide on a 10-year, 0.9831-mill public transportation proposal estimated to raise approximately $57.6 million in its first year. The revenue would be distributed among Wayne County, SMART, DDOT, and other community and regional transit providers to operate, maintain, improve, and expand public transportation services. 

Wayne County says the existing millage supporting SMART expires at the end of 2026 and that communities currently receiving SMART service could lose that service if the proposal does not pass, with exceptions for DDOT and other locally funded transportation. SMART has also released proposed route extensions, new fixed routes, and expanded on-demand Flex service for currently underserved communities. 

In this episode, Attorney Perkins and Executive Evans discuss:

•  Why some passengers spend two or three hours traveling to work—and another two or three hours getting home 
•  How long commutes affect workers, single parents, children, seniors, and people with disabilities 
•  Whether SMART bus service could end in some communities after 2026 
•  What taxpayers would be funding under the proposed millage 
•  Proposed new routes, route extensions, paratransit, and microtransit services 
•  Coordination between SMART, DDOT, and local transportation providers 
•  How the public can measure results and hold officials accountable 
•  Voter participation, political distrust, and why local elections matter 

Transit is not only about getting people to work. It is also about getting them back home to their families.

Whether you support the proposal, oppose it, or remain undecided, hear the facts, the costs, the promises, and the accountability questions before making your decision.

Comment below: How has public transportation—or the lack of it—affected your family, job, education, or community?

Subscribe to Perkins for the People for real questions, direct answers, and conversations about the decisions affecting everyday people.

Episode: Wayne County Transit Millage 2026: Could SMART Bus Service End? Warren Evans Explains

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Need Voter Information?

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting

Want more information about the Transit Millage?

https://www.waynecountymi.gov/Government/Boards-Authorities/WC-Transit-Authority

#WayneCountyTransitMillage #WarrenEvans #SMARTBus #PerkinsForThePeople #DetroitTransit

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

What about the youth that are trying to do the right thing? Who are trying to get to skill trains trained that are trying to get to community colleges, that are trying to get these different places. We don't provide an adequate vehicle for them now, and if this millage doesn't pass, there is no vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

And to see that those kids can't and and and adults who go to those schools can't make it there because there's no no transit is um is unacceptable. Chief Executive Warren Evans on Perkins for the People, and um we're here to have a talk and uh sit back and talk about what's going on in the county and for you to enlighten us and to you know to give us those nuggets of information and things that you're always doing something. And you know, I know this is a very um exciting time of year with the elections coming up, but um I I I I found out recently about a transit bill that is uh on the ballot, and it's on the ballot August 4th, is my understanding. Is it the primary? And and so and you know what I want voters to recognize because people always think I'll vote in November. And you know, they don't understand. The vote is, you know, some of these votes are so significant that happened in on on the at the primary.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

And November is and this one is entirely the primary. There is no November for this.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Okay, and that's uh and that's coming right up fast and quick. Um, and can you can you tell us about the bill and then let's get into it and and and make it understandable? Because I know you you know it on a very technical level, um, being a proponent of uh of bringing resources to everybody in Wayne County, and I think this is one of them, and I think people need to know that.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

Yeah, let me try to start uh going back a little bit. Probably 30 years ago was the initial uh transit vote in Wayne County, and it allowed for communities to opt into the SMART program and opt out. Okay. So of the 43 communities, 13, 14 or so opted out, which that means they're not a part of the SMART bus system. And when you have the rest of the communities that are in, it makes it silly for both. There should be no opt-out communities in my mind, but also the communities that opt in don't get the most direct bus transportation if you have to go around the communities that are opt-outs.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Let me let me so let me figure this out. And because I I take the bus every now and then, I I enjoy it, but I'm just a straight route up Wopworth, um, down to um to the to the bank and uh the M1 rail, and not so much smart as much as um many other riders. Does that mean that if I'm going along a route and that city has opted out, that bus has to drive around that city?

SPEAKER_03 3:02

Yes, it does. They go around it because it's not a part of uh of that SMART system network, which is absolutely ridiculous. The other thing I like to say uh before we break this down further is this is an in or out vote. What does that mean? This means you will either Wayne County will either opt in to SMART, which means the other 17 communities or 13 communities come in, uh, and we have a united county, or there will be no SMART service, period. So this is an in or out. Obviously, we don't ever want to be, I don't think, in a position where we don't have the bus service.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So the gravity of it is really hitting me. I I you know, I'm you know, because we've been hearing about, and I know about the transit bills that have been failed over the years, you know, you said 30 years. I I even I thought it might even be longer than that, but I just know how it's been a back and forth between the counties. Does that mean that if this bill does not pass, that means that uh cities like um uh River Rouge would not have any bus service?

SPEAKER_03 4:19

If they have their own local municipal bus service like D Dot is in the city of Detroit, that remains it's funded differently, but there would be no funded smart bus service, any other bus service. So the small communities like Igorse, which doesn't have a bus service or any of those other communities, yes, they would not have uh a bus service, so it would be a step in the wrong direction for sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Um But I I mean this is one of those things that you know I'm sitting turning in Inkshaw. We don't have a bus service. Right. So this would mean, and this the significance of this is that these individuals either be finding some type of private means of conveyance or uh of transportation, walking, um, and essentially, I mean, people buying cars, which is kind of unaffordable for a lot of people, you know, given insurance, given gas, and all those things. And uh, you know, you could look at it even from an environmental perspective. Um, so this is a real, real big deal.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

It is, it is, and it's it's probably not getting uh the noise that it needs at this point. We still have two or three weeks before the election, but that's why opportunities to talk about it like this are so important to me. Yes, it is critical.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

I I I mean, and I sit here and I, you know, I I like to be very open about that. I'm kind of embarrassed myself personally that I was not aware of the significance. I just thought it was a bill that, you know, I didn't recognize if if it doesn't pass no bus service, well, D Dot will remain, but D DOT works interactively with Smart. And um that is, you know, I I can see that being a calamity for many households.

SPEAKER_03 6:05

Oakland County is all in. McComb County is all in. Wayne County needs to be all in. If we're gonna be a part of what we always call a region that's trying to grow. If you looked at Wayne County 10 years ago and look at it now, you know we're in a far different place and we're moving in the right direction. We have great medical centers that are that are being built now and are coming online. They're of no value if seniors can't get to them, if people who need to get to them, people with learning disabilities, people with physical impairments, um, people who say, I don't use the bus, so I'm not gonna vote for it, is a very short-sighted approach because you're not assuming that what helps other people will also help you and will help the county grow. Uh, you know, uh data with respect to where bus services have been created in the past, show an economic development gained by being able to move people back and forth. You know, we we deal with, for example, delinquent youth significantly in this county, and I'm not saying that's a good thing or it's a bad thing, but that's a reality. Well, what about the youth that are trying to do the right thing, who are trying to get to skill trades training, that are trying to get to community colleges, that are trying to get these different places. We don't provide an adequate vehicle for them now, and if this mileage doesn't pass, there is no vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

I I I mean, I'm I'm seeing it, and um that is but so when we have these individuals, we like you said, you have these individual um things being built, like the medical centers, we have a great community college all around Wayne County. I mean, one of the prominent most prominent community colleges in the country, and to see that those kids can't, and and and adults who go to those schools um can't make it there because there's no no transit is um is unacceptable.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

And I I think it is, and and and I've taught, as you probably have too, in those colleges, and I've been in classrooms where kids are taking two hours to get to school with a series of non-interconnected bus systems or walking part of the way or those sorts of things, coming in class late, you know, uh not getting benefit of what's being taught, but through no fault of their own. You know, and now, you know, I you you see kids and you know you, you know, as somebody who's practiced law on me, has been a police officer most of my life. We know how many people are driving what we call dirty. You know, they got they got a little piece of car, you know, improper plates, you know, stop at the gas station to put a gallon in to try to get to somewhere. Yeah, and which is a problem in and of itself, but the stress it creates by by the time that kid gets to class, learning is the last thing on his mind. Exactly. Uh and so it it for all the right reasons, we need this transit. Again, people with impairments, uh, seniors, you know, not every senior has got a son or a daughter that can come every time they need to go somewhere. Families try to do the best they can, but having a clean, safe bus system that will get them to these new modernized healthcare facilities, I think is critical to uh, you know, to a strong community and a strong county and the growth of the community.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Because, you know, I I was talking to last year, I was talking to one of the uh presidents of the unions for uh the mechanics uh or one of the uh bus services uh bus worker unions. His kid moved to San Antonio because of the better um transit uh system that they have. Because a lot of young people I know don't want to drive.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

You know, um my children drive because they have to, but they would prefer not to. Um and they're going to, and unfortunately, you see those kids, there's an exodus of those kids if we don't have um a system. And for a long time it wasn't Wayne County. If we would complain about the other counties not being opted in for many, many years, we would talk about that, and now it's us. Economically, as I read it, you know, that I did do some reading on it, and economically, it you know, a lot of times when people see a millage and they see it on a ballot, they're thinking, oh, this is more money out of my pocket. But you're you're really only talking about eight dollars per household, uh, approximately about that much per month.

SPEAKER_03 10:43

Yeah, so all of the other communities that are opt-in communities, it's just a renewal, so they're not paying anything additional. This is only the 17 opt-out communities that would be getting into something that they weren't in uh before. And, you know, it's uh it's I think critical. The only thing I would say, you know, nobody likes to be taxed any additional dollars. We don't, and I understand that. But do your history for a minute and understand, we were on the brink of bankruptcy 12 years ago. I have never asked or supported a tax increase in 12 years for anything. We are now double-A bond rating, you know, uh well run. We don't throw money away. Right. Uh, and we're not gonna throw money away with this either. There will be money collected, but we want the routes that the local communities, the 17 opt-out communities, think are most important for them. Some of those are retirement communities, some of those are, this doesn't mean a uh a huge smart bus going up a major street. It could be microtransit, it can be whatever the community needs. And we're committed to not having a one size fits all because for 43 communities, one size doesn't fit all. Uh, and we have met with the leadership of all of these communities to discuss what their needs are so they can be become a part of uh a comprehensive uh transit plan. And I think that's that has gone well, and I think it has helped to garner some support that wasn't there before, but that's the really the only real way to do it.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

You know, and that's interesting, you know, because my mindset was exactly opposite of what you're saying that it happens, and it and it really is you that's a unique concept to have the microbus services in those smaller communities. If I was a leader or even a resident in some of those smaller communities, that must be something I would embrace wholeheartedly. I mean, for the people in those communities, we can't just assume everyone in those communities want to drive because that's not the case these days. I mean, you know, look at gas. I know a lot of people don't want to drive just because that. Look at insurance, even though I know the big topic is about Detroit insurance, but even Michigan insurance is a lot different than other states. And very expensive.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Think about Detroit for a minute. You you have D DOT, which is a competent bus line that goes here and there, but many of the problems that people in Detroit have is getting out to the bus line, which is the microtransit situation. Elderly people that can't walk the three or four blocks to get there. People who are in an area where they don't feel particularly safe about walking to the bus stop, whatever that situation is, those other accoutrements can be added to other systems to try to make them work more effectively. The other thing I would just say is in 43 communities, we have some communities that are aging at a significant rate. Uh, and because of that, young people are not moving back into those communities. Uh, and one of the reasons they're not moving in is the transportation issue. The cost is fine. Some of those communities would be well within the range of first-time homebuyers and young families, but they're caught between, but we want to be able to go to Detroit to go to sporting events and other sorts of things, and we're not driving down there because we don't have the car, the money, or the gas to do it, or we don't pay $50 for parking. Oh, it's good. Yeah. Uh, and so it's keeping people from buying the properties in those communities because of the lack of transit to get them from point A to point B. And I think most people don't really think about that and rationalize that uh is as thought. But I've got to because at the end of the day, what's best for the entire county and its communities is what makes us grow, makes us do better, and stay financially strong.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

So, you know, there's no downside as far as I see. I don't see a downside to this. Um, you know, like you said, you know, you you can let's just read off a little bit of your resume, just having come in to this, you know, I question why you wanted to become county exec, given the nature of what you were stepping into. And I think it's because you built a career on enjoying challenges. And you come in here, the county, like you said, it wasn't double-A rating when you came in here, it was on the brink of it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Um, and I was having come out of um, by the time you were here, I was still in Highland Park, who was also dealing with some uh difficult financial issues, is doing much better today. Um but you came in here and you've shown what you do not only as a leader but as an administrator, as somebody who has the financial acumen, or at least put the people around you. Your team has done miraculous things. So I see this, you know, when you come to them and you say, Listen, people, I've never, we I've never proposed proposed or supported income or tax increases, but this is something that's absolutely necessary. And I see it as something that's only necessary because of the fact that you said if if it doesn't pass, we lose the service.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

And if it does pass, the economic growth continues until the county continues to do better, which means its 1.8 million residents do better.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

So what can I say to my friend? What would you, you know, when I leave this, because you know, I like to be a voice to my neighbors, I like to be a voice to uh, you know, first encouraging them to vote August 4th. Um, and you know, because a lot of times when I me personally, when I look at uh ballot initiatives and uh millages, I look at them, if it's for schools, I vote yes all the time. If it's for the for the arts, I vote yes all the time. I I I mean, I've always been the type of individual who wants to um wants increase for others, um, even if it's at some limited expense for me.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

But this is not a very great expense, number one, for homeowners. Um, you know, and I I guess as a lawyer, if I was talking to my community, I said, listen, if you're a renter, it doesn't affect you. But I I know that's not something that you're you're promoting as a leader of the community, but me myself, the practical effect is it's eight dollars. And I can get eight dollars so now the seniors in my community, now the young people in my community, and myself included, if I don't want to, I'm gonna have better service.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

And you gotta remember, at least my worldview is the senior community are the people that got us to where we are today. Right. Uh and we're doing them a disservice, yeah, not to make sure that they have the best mobility that we can give them. Yeah. Uh if you know, people think back 20 years ago, well, I don't think buses were, you know, I don't think they were clean enough, or they were get on a smart bus now, and you'll understand. They're clean, they're air conditioned, they're they're they're uh a comfort to ride. Uh and it's and again, the the millage money will go into a pot to contract with smart and others to do this, which means we will be the gatekeepers to the level of service. We're not giving money to somebody and saying, oh, do a good job. And we hope it all works out. We will be there monitoring how the levels of service are actually supporting the 43 communities that are there. Uh, and I would implore people to give us a try it a try.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Well, I've never seen you throw away money, so so I don't think that's gonna happen here. But uh I I guess another question I would have with this service now, when it passes, I like to speak positivity into the future. And I think it will. The polling looks good. That's great. That is an awesome thing. When it passes, will it work more interactively with Oakland, Macomb, uh, and those communities that are already up uh all the way opted in?

SPEAKER_03 18:56

Yeah, absolutely. In fact, a couple of years ago, I I kind of did a to see for myself how this goes. So I got on a Grand River bus in the city of Detroit, down around the casinos, and the goal was to get to um sporting goods store somewhere in Novai and Novai. Okay. Not only did it take forever because of the synchronization between smart buses out here that were doing something different and this in the city line of Detroit, but then we got to an opt-out community, and there was no bus service, so you had to walk the two miles to the to get to the store. So you had to get off the get off the second bus, and I'm still two miles south of where I need to go for the employment opportunity. So you walk up a busy road that two miles. Now, those roads don't even have sidewalks. Right. I mean, you know, so you can imagine somebody that's not nimble and agile or has some difficulty. That's just a place they couldn't go. The other thing is because of the lack of uh coordination, people were spending two and three hours on a bus trying to get to work, and two and three hours on a bus trying to get back, you spend eight hours at work, and you're a single mother with somebody babysitting your child, or you trying to spend quality time with your child, and the reality is you can't spend quality time with the kids that you're not around. Uh, and so for all of those reasons, you know, and I talked with a bunch of the passengers there, and they were happy to be on the bus, but they were candid about what a problem that causes for them in terms of uh of time, and we can do better than that.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

So I so if we take that model after August 4th, say I'm I imagine it would take to the new year to really fully uh get um implemented, we're that's a straight shot from where you got it, and you're going straight there and reduction of time besides the walk, you know, and you think two miles to walk, two miles is gonna take you.

SPEAKER_03 20:58

And you wouldn't have to walk, obviously, because the the walking is because that was an opt-out community and the buses couldn't go into it. Exactly. So yeah, no, uh it's it's significant. We only got a couple of weeks. Uh, and all you can do when you're an elected official is try to gain a reputation with your citizens that you're working for them and you're trying to be fiscally responsible. I honestly think my administration has done that over the last 10 years, and we're hoping to get some credit for that with this one. Give me, I understand you don't like tax. Give me a chance to do this. Only $8 a month. Uh, and we're gonna manage it and we're gonna make sure that it works well. Uh, and I I I think we'll have a winner there.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Oh, I I mean absolutely. I was as a kid who took the bus every day, you know, because my parents didn't have a car. The last day of school I was able to drive a bus because they rented a car for me to go to prom. So I had that. Um, but You know, I I took the Detroit bus because I was with all within the city of Detroit. And I look at the and the bus service was okay then. I've seen it deteriorate. You know, when I rode the buses and I ride the bus now, the routes aren't the same. Uh they don't connect the same. And it's clearly a i it's a disconnect, like what you're saying, with the fact that we're not having this comprehensive service for all because the cities, you know, conceptually, Wayne County is smaller today than it was when I was 40 years ago when I was in uh in high school. It is because we're we are a community that interacts more. And we want that interaction to grow, and I think the growth comes out of it, and it's a growth mindset, and it's um, you know, like you said, people coming downtown to go to a show or going to a sporting event. That wasn't happening then, and now we have that opportunity. And there's room for growth, right?

SPEAKER_03 22:55

I mean, then if you and I go back many years, Detroit had a population of two million people. Right now the entire county's got a population of 1.8 million. There's certainly room uh for growth, but that growth has got to come with services. Yes. People are, you know, as you mentioned, whether it's San Antonio or wherever it is, people are looking, especially young people are looking. What added value do I get going here? I get a subway, I get a bus service, I get this, I get that. We have to, you know, we can't, you know, oh, we have opt-out 17 opt-out communities, and you know, uh blah, blah, blah. That doesn't pay the piper anymore.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Not at all. Not at all. And not if we want to be a growth mindset. Right. And not if we don't want to lose our young people and not take care of the people, like you said, the seniors, who really off the backs of the seniors. Yeah. So um, so yeah, I um I am gonna do what I can as soon as I get out of here. You know, I I got a big mouth, so I'm gonna be championing this thing all the way up until August 4th. And no, but uh tell us what's new. Anything else? You know, I love talking to you about what's going on. And you know, today I know they had the jazz fest that because we got air quality issues today, and you being mindful of of the health of uh of the community, I think that that's not going today. Um, is that going to be rescheduled or how how we're gonna be able to enjoy something that people enjoy every summer?

SPEAKER_03 24:25

What we've had, and I think you know for 20 some almost 30 years, we've had a senior fun fest in Heinz Park uh that always has between one and two thousand seniors. I mean, it it is a staple in the schedule of a bunch of people, can't wait for it to happen. It's an opportunity to get a bunch of seniors together to provide information on healthcare stuff, play bingo, eat, you know, those sorts of things. Well, I've had people clamoring for the last five years, like there's no more room. I can't ever get to the senior fund fest there. So we set up a second one in Elizabeth Park downriver in Trenton uh for today. Uh but with the air index uh um and the heat index, I just figured we'll have to postpone it for another day. So we're gonna reschedule it. But the last thing in the world I want, you know, uh is people uh of advanced age and you know, people with asthma and other sorts of things getting sick as a result of trying to come out and have a good time. So we will reschedule it.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

So yeah, I would like if I could work with your communications office to placard it on our our websites and on our our social media platforms when you do reschedule that. Um but it apparently is this air quality, it's it's an ongoing thing for the rest of the summer, I hear.

SPEAKER_03 25:50

Yeah, well, I mean, they're not putting the they're not having great success putting the wildfires out. So as long as that's happening and the wind's blowing uh in this direction, that's gonna continue to be a problem. That's really gonna hurt us, you know. This is this is Michigan. This is our season for people to be outdoors to do uh all those sorts of things. So it is a problem, but you know, it's not a problem we can fix, but we just have to try to work around it. Yesterday, uh no, actually the day before yesterday when the uh the smog really started to get bad. My thought was what are you know uh seniors gonna be able to do uh or people with health problems? I said, we probably have still got masks left from COVID. Let's go into the warehouse and see what we got. As it was, we had about 70,000 masks left over. Uh and I've got to really credit my staff for this. I mean, they they work like a speedboat. You know, some governments are like battleships, takes them a long time to make a 360. These guys are in and out. We uh set up uh a couple of locations, one in Detroit, one out county, uh, and we got roughly 50,000 masks out to community groups, to senior homes, to other places that were in our database. And we contacted the 43 communities, including Detroit, said, you know, if you need something, you know, and we've got it, we'll make it a uh available. So I think in a very short period of time we did that. Now, having said that, driving around the last couple days, I'm amazed at the number of people who don't seem to care. You know, I've been you know, I'm gonna make the masks available, but you gotta put it on. Uh, I don't think people understand how significant those particulates in the air can be in later years. It's not something that's gonna knock you down in the street right now, but it's not something that your lungs uh need to absorb. So hopefully we're uh we're helping a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

No, I I you know something I and I I enjoy how you always give credit to your team, but it you know, it it it's really a top-down thing. Those people love what they do at your in your in your team, and you know, that's why I think they out they they move with quickness and with compassion with humanity. Um, because it is a humanity issue right now, a humanity humane concern um that we look after the health of everyone. But you know, I don't want you know, I got it before you get out of here. You know, we talked about and and I don't I don't want to leave this conversation without talking about transit before we leave. But we got an election season. And you know, Michigan, I never looked at how Michigan and how central Michigan is throughout the United States, because you know, we're a state of what 11 or 13 million people. Um, you know, we um people always call it consider us a manufacturing state all the time when we were when I was growing up. Uh the you know, the auto industry of the world, uh number, you know, and that's kind of changing and we've becoming more tech. But we got this election and it's it's exciting. I mean, last night I I looked up on the uh on the internet and I saw that Mike Cox uh withdrew from you know a couple weeks ago or a month ago, uh uh former Mike Mayor Mike Duggan withdrew. And um, you know, as we're leading up to this uh election, and then you know, we have some very hotly contested um the Senate race. Um on you know, you don't hear much from the Republican side in the Senate. But then you have the 13th and the 12th. Um, you know, it's everything seems to be in play this season, and it and it's exciting, and we are the nationals are looking, you know, national uh eyeside eyes on Michigan right now. So I, you know, I like you know, I obviously I I you know we didn't talk about this, but I'd love the f I'd love to pick your brain about where you see things going and and and the excitement hopefully it gets people out to vote. That's my main point.

SPEAKER_03 29:58

I don't I you know I don't I'm not I don't define it as excitement. I think there's anger, there's confusion, there's a number of things as we continue to be polarized, you know. It it it seems strange to me, and I mean I'm certainly a Democrat, I've always been a Democrat, let me put that out on the table. But I I it is very difficult for me to understand how people could be upset with the concept of health care for all.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

Or I mean, look at the conditions, look at the cost of living, look at a bunch of things. People are irritated, yeah, uh, and they're looking for solutions, tangible sorts of things that a candidate can bring to the table to do it. And it seems like to me the ones that are getting the most energy are the ones who are at least saying, you deserve this, and if I get there, I'm gonna see that you have health care, I'm gonna see that you have this, I'm gonna see that you have that. Uh, and others are kind of not voicing that with the same authority, and I think people are starting to get kind of frustrated with it. So it's gonna be interesting to see you know how that how that plays out. I mean, one good thing is they're quality candidates. I mean, it in the Senate race, you got quality candidates. I mean, quality in terms of competence to do a job. Now, what they aim to do as a part of the job may be different, but the competence to be able to walk the halls uh and perform, I think, uh, is clearly there. The the governor's race, I think, is, you know, I mean, people are backing down because the polls are showing, you know, Benson's gonna have the nomination on the on the Democratic side, and John James is gonna have it on the Republican side because of Trump's endorsement of him in large part.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

A polarizing endorsement of sorts, yeah, oh yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

But I mean, both parties are continuing to polarize. I mean, that's to me kind of the problem now. I, you know, I'm not a legislator, thank God I don't have the personality to be a legislator. Uh but I do understand collaboration and trying to get stuff done. And you know, I I tell people all the time collaboration is the new currency. I mean, it really is. If you can't collaborate and use what you do well and what resources you have, partners with what I have and what she has, and yeah, we're not going anywhere. Right. You know, and sometimes you gotta take a little bit rather than fight about a lot. You know, let's take the little bit, then let's go fight for another little bit. Let's but let's keep trying to move the compass north, not you know, stand on how adamant we are about this one fixed position and get nothing done.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

It's almost like, you know, in the law they say, do you wanna do you wanna settle on something or go all for nothing? Right. And you know, it's I think we've taken for many years we've taken the all for nothing and wound up getting nothing for the people. And I, you know, and and again, I I like how you I'd like to rephrase my thought. I'm excited that the possibility of people coming out to vote. You know, because I've seen the the the malaise in people and the uh apathetic uh nature of people because they just don't feel like their vote counts. And now they've been put into a position now, I have to go vote in order to at least have a chance at some um some change. And you know, I've I've I've I've stayed active even though I've been a candidate last year, and that experience was uh I enjoyed that experience, and it was something that I don't foresee myself doing again, but knowing what hearing what people want and hearing the things that you hear and that you experience from talking those people and talking to those seniors that you go talk to, not campaigning, you know. I mean, even though, look, you know what I love about you, you got a campaign going on and you haven't even talked about it, you know what I'm saying? And you know, because you're more concerned about your record and what you do for people and having that your legacy than what than the vote. And I think you're also pretty confident about, you know, and I'm confident because I know where I'm voting for, and I and I'm checking that button.

SPEAKER_03 34:15

And I'm campaigning, you know, what I know you do and stuff too. But the biggest problem that I see is we don't get any more than 18 to 20 percent of our citizens to vote. And we talk about majority rules, but anybody knows 20 percent ain't a majority of anything. And so the apathy is a problem, but the apathy is earned. Politicians and people in elected office have not earned the continued support of people, or the people would be voting. I mean, they they don't vote because they don't see a relevance to it, as you as you said. Hopefully, now when people are getting irritated to come out to vote, it's not the irritation as much as it is the understanding that I've got to get involved.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Right.

SPEAKER_03 35:02

You know, I mean, I understand they're irritated, but you know, be irritated two years from now, be irritated from two years from now, regardless of what, because it's really we've got to get those numbers of people that are that are taking an active interest in the community because everybody takes an interest in complaining. I mean that Yeah, they do. Right, yeah, and it's to me kind of disingenuous to complain about something you're not trying to fix.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah, well, just I mean, the the real work is the fixing. Yeah, but the easiest part is to vote.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

You know, it's just you know, and it's you know, I credit our our our county clerk in in providing efficient elections, and our city clerks in providing efficient elections uh that get people in and out of the polls, you know. Um, and as much as you have a a in a a national administration, the federal administration that wants to um scare people into not voting almost, um that would draw me, as a person that my my my personality would draw me to the polls. Because if they don't want me to do it, that would be sudden if they don't want me to do it, I gotta go do it. Right.