Whitmer Keynotes at Michigan Chronicle’s Pancakes & Politics Season Kickoff 

President and CEO of Ignition Media Group Dennis Archer Jr., left, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, center, and Real Times Media CEO and Michigan Chronicle Publisher Hiram Jackson, right, pose after Whitmer’s speech during her keynote address at Michigan Chronicle’s annual Pancakes & Politics event Friday, March 18 at the Detroit Athletic Club.
Photo by Monica Morgan

Michigan Chronicle kicked off its 17th annual Pancakes & Politics season with keynote speaker Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who spoke on upcoming policies and programs for Michigan residents at the Detroit Athletic Club before about 300 attendees.   

Hosted by President and CEO of Ignition Media Group Dennis Archer Jr., the live event highlights business and economic issues over breakfast with local business and community leaders.  

“Those of you who don’t know, the first Pancakes & Politics we had was with Kwame Kilpatrick and L. Brooks Patterson,” Hiram Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media (RTM) and Michigan Chronicle publisher, said previously, adding that the forum’s future is already here.  

“For 17 years, Pancakes & Politics has consistently delivered influential and impactful discussions about policies that affect Detroit.”   

Jackson added that media organization birthed the annual event through the premise that people have more things in common than not. 

“Each spring, folks from Wayne, Oakland, Genesee, Washtenaw – the entire region we come down here to talk about issues we feel are important to our region,” Jackson said. “Look around. You see ethnic groups of all fashions. White, Black, folks of all economic backgrounds. We just felt 17 years ago that everybody should be at the table when we’re discussing these big public policy issues.” 

Richard DeVore, regional president for Detroit and Southeastern Michigan at PNC, described the event as the “intersection of main and main.”   

“This is where you want to be in thoughtful, important conversation of all the things important in southeast Michigan,” DeVore said during the event.   

As the city, nation, and world face the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses, schools, and the community are adjusting to reduced (or eliminated) mask mandates and a significant decline in positive cases COVID-19 cases as economic shifts impact pocketbooks due to high gas prices and an increased cost of living.   

During the event, a video report by Digital Anchor Andre Ash featured Detroiters talking about what is hurting their pocketbook.  

One resident said, “Everything is going up except for the pay.”   

Another resident was unhappy about local potholes that damaged her car “a third time in three years.” 

“Inflation is a concern of everyone,” one Detroiter said, adding that it’s not good if residents can’t afford their gas or certain necessities. “I feel (state) priorities would be budgeting.”   

After the video, Whitmer addressed the crowd and said that after a “long, lonely couple of years” isolated during the pandemic, the state is seeing a much-needed revitalization, especially from a statewide economic perspective. However, it may not look like it. Whitmer said that “the economy is growing.”   

“We’re experiencing the best of history,” she said, noting that the state has added jobs in the last nine straight months in a row. “Unemployment is decreasing.”   

From $400 car insurance checks (hitting mailboxes by Monday, May 9) to eliminating a $3 billion statewide deficit since May 2020 that impacted Black businesses, Whitmer said there is now a lot more breathing room to work with now. With Michigan’s financial footing back on track, prioritizing disenfranchised groups, job creation, and economic stability are some of the top priorities for her administration.   

“Everything that impacts our lives was going to be impacted by that now,” she said, adding that the state now boasts a $7 billion surplus. “Best of all we’ve got an open road ahead of us.”   

Whitmer initially presented the 2023 budget of $74.1 billion in proposed spending to lawmakers on Wednesday, February 9. Michigan currently has a good problem with a surplus on hand because of higher-than-expected tax revenue and federal COVID-19 aid.    

Whitmer described the budget proposal targeted for the next fiscal year as an “opportunity” the state has not had in decades and does not raise the state’s taxes while boosting its credit rating.   

Whitmer added that the state had come a long way after the deficit “ravaged” the Black community from a business angle and beyond. Students are also getting in on the benefits.   

“This budget has the highest per-student funding as well in our state’s history,” she said, adding that statewide initiatives are continuing to work to “close the gap” between students in wealthier areas and disadvantaged ones.   

“The pandemic was the biggest disruption and kids need additional support,” Whitmer said.   

From fixing local roads and bridges through a proposed billion in funding to set up grant programs that would distribute millions of dollars to businesses who didn’t receive earlier COVID relief funds – Whitmer’s focus on equity and sustainable, long-term programs for families and workers is a step in the right direction. However, she can’t do it alone, she said.   

“We know that … a solid quality of life… should be what unifies us,” she said, adding that Michigan should be a state that “invests in ourselves” while building things and empowering people.   

Empowerment includes helping the most vulnerable, including homeless residents.   

One attendee asked during a Q-and-A session what the state administration is doing to help that population.   

Whitmer said that the state recognizes that coming out of the pandemic, many people were (and are) still struggling locally and around Michigan and the nation.   

Whitmer said that addressing the root causes of homelessness (including housing insecurity) is something she prioritized in $100 million proposed funding to put in Michigan State Housing Development Authority to work with affordable housing groups, among other avenues.   

“We have to do it and haven’t prioritized resources,” she said, adding that using federal resources would help combat homelessness.   

She also mentioned building a psychiatric complex in Michigan would help mental health-related issues, which she said is a topic that has been “under-invested” for decades.  

“I think we can make a big difference in people’s lives,” she said, adding that the state has an “opportunity in front of us.”   

“The most powerful voice in any office holder’s ear is the constituents’ voice. Please, stay engaged in this (democracy) process.”   

Lynette Dowler, vice president of Public Affairs, president and chair of the DTE Energy Foundation at DTE Energy, echoed Whitmer’s thoughts in a video that the DTE Foundation is looking forward to driving positive, meaningful change in the education, workforce, and equity realm.   

“In the end, our investments can’t drive positive change alone … we know that it takes all of us working together to create meaningful impactful change in the community,” Dowler.  

Initially introduced in 2006, the Pancakes & Politics series has continued to be a staple for the Black community, providing a platform for change-makers, influencers, and government leaders to voice community concerns, share solutions, and bring about change regionally.   

The remaining forums are for April 21, May 19, and June 16 and will host an audience of invited business, political, and community leaders. They will broadcast each forum for the public at a later date — stay tuned to MichiganChronicle.com for broadcast dates.