After pro-Trump rioters stormed Washington’s Capitol to disrupt an Electoral College vote count, several public officials and security experts in Michigan said they aren’t surprised by the mayhem.
Wednesday’s siege at the Capitol followed weeks of post-election threats to public officials in Michigan and other battleground states that left many concerned for their safety and wondering whether qualified people will want to serve in public official roles in the future.
“I’ve been getting battered and flooded with emails and phone calls and texts for months,” said Jonathan Kinloch, the Democratic vice chair of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, one of several local and state bodies targeted by President Trump and his supporters after Michigan certified the November election for Democrat Joe Biden.
The old saying, “all politics is local,” is up for debate alongside concerns about the health of democracy. What’s not in dispute is a positive feeling about local politics and government among those in Michigan who serve within its ranks.
Tom Ivako
That’s the conclusion of a new compendium study, “The Functioning of Democracy: Insights” from Michigan’s local leaders, by the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.
The study, which examines 12 years of data, concludes that those leaders are generally “positive about institutions, relationships and attitudes associated with local democratic governance.” To be sure, that contrasts in many cases with a greater level of skepticism about government at the state and federal levels, and the study found some areas of concern.
Contact: umichnews@umich.edu The globe has no shortage of crises and hot spots. And the need for diverse, disciplined diplomats and other foreign affairs professionals has never been greater. That’s the perspective of experts at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and what’s prompting an immersion and expansion into international policy simulations involving students, faculty and guest experts. John Ciorciari Ford School students recently participated in the Schuman Challenge, organized by the European Union’s delegation to the United States, and the U.S. Army War College’s International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise. Both explored the changing nature of China’s global influence.