Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
Episode 273- Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Series: Chris Swanson
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What does Michigan need in its next governor? Sheriff Chris Swanson believes it's someone who can protect, serve, and unify.
The Genesee County Sheriff joins The Common Bridge to outline his vision as a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 2026 gubernatorial race. Drawing from his 33 years in law enforcement and extensive background in education and emergency medicine, Swanson offers a refreshingly practical approach to the state's most pressing challenges.
Michigan stands at a crossroads. With declining population, housing shortages, and an education system ranked 39th nationally, the state needs leadership that transcends partisan divides. Swanson's candidacy emerges from this landscape with a focus on unity without demanding uniformity – recognizing that diverse perspectives strengthen rather than weaken our communities.
His innovative approaches to persistent problems showcase his leadership style. The "Ignite" program, which has transformed education in jails across 23% of states, demonstrates how innovative thinking can break cycles of incarceration. His proposal to expand career training to middle school addresses the skills gap plaguing Michigan's workforce. His commitment to building 140,000 new homes acknowledges the housing crisis facing families throughout the state.
Perhaps most compelling is Swanson's response to the 2020 protests, when he chose to walk with demonstrators rather than confront them. This moment exemplifies his leadership philosophy: listen first, find common ground, and work toward solutions that benefit everyone. "Nobody can convince me that unity can't be done," he asserts. "It just needs strong leadership."
As Michigan prepares for the post-Whitmer era, Swanson offers voters a candidate focused on practical solutions rather than partisan talking points. His message resonates beyond party lines: protect what matters most, serve as a servant leader, and build bridges across divides.
Want to see Michigan thrive again? Join the conversation about what leadership should look like in 2026. Subscribe to The Common Bridge for more nonpartisan discussions that challenge conventional political wisdom.
Engage the conversation on Substack at The Common Bridge!
Introduction to Sheriff Chris Swanson
Speaker 1Welcome to this episode of Season 6 of the Common Bridge, where policy and current events are discussed in a fiercely nonpartisan manner. The host, richard Helpe, is a philanthropist, entrepreneur and political analyst who has reached over 5 million listeners, viewers and readers around the world. With our surging growth in audience and subscriptions, the Common Bridge continues to expand its reach. The show is available on the Substack website and the Substack app Simply search for the Common Bridge continues to expand its reach. The show is available on the Substack website and the Substack app Simply search for the Common Bridge. You can also find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. The Common Bridge draws guests and audiences from around the political spectrum and we invite you to become a free or paid subscriber on your favorite medium.
Speaker 2Hello, welcome to the Common Bridge. I'm your host, rich Helpe. This is our continuing series with candidates for governor of the great state of Michigan. Now I know my audience is not only Michigan but national and international. But Michigan needs to be watched. This is a bellwether state. It is very important to the international community, sitting on an international border involved with international trade. It is the heartbeat of organized labor, the home of the United Auto Workers, where organized labor began. It is an environmentally important and sensitive area as we sit in the heart of the Great Lakes with the largest freshwater supplies in the world. And as Michigan goes, we think the nation and perhaps internationally influence is going to be affected.
Speaker 2And we have with us today, from Genesee County, michigan, the Sheriff of Genesee County, mr Chris Swanson. Mr Swanson has announced his candidacy for the governorship of the state of Michigan on the Democratic ticket. You may have seen him last year speaking at the Democratic National Committee. You may have seen him in other very public roles. Welcome to the Common Bridge, sheriff Swanson. It's an honor to have you with us.
Speaker 3I made it. I made it to the Common Bridge.
Why Run for Michigan Governor
Speaker 2We're very grateful that you're here and you know Michigan's got a lot of great assets and there's a lot to be done here. So, for our listeners, our readers, our viewers, why do you want to be the governor of the state of Michigan? Why are you the best choice? How can the state of Michigan make use of those assets? And perhaps, what are the top two, three, four things that the next governor must concentrate on?
Speaker 3Well, there's four questions there. So two of those questions. Number one the reason I'm running for governor is because I have a pathway to win and there is a common connection between being a sheriff of a big county and the governor. The sheriff is there to enforce laws, maintain order very trusted, elected professional position. The executive branch of the county, the governor exact same position, executive branch of the state enforce laws, maintain order and, honestly, people are looking for executive leaders.
Speaker 3Now, how to get there? We have an open seat In 2026, we have an opportunity to go and to try to carry on what's worked and to fix what needs to be fixing. And so, when you look at the transition and the timing of where I'm at, the timing is right on the positioning for me to do the job with many of the things you mentioned in your introduction, but all the other things I have in the background, but also the fact that I built relationships. That's the key in politics. It's building very authentic relationships.
Speaker 3Like you mentioned, the UAW. I've been with the UAW for 30 years building relationships from the international to the actives retirees. We're in Flint, michigan. I can literally tell you, two miles from where I'm at is where the sit-down strike happened in 1946 and 47. But ultimately, to get there, my top priorities across the state and what I've done as a sheriff protect what means the most to people, to serve as a servant leader and to unify and some of the things that I think we're going to get into show that I have receipts on all of those goods that this is a job that is well-suited for me.
Education Reform and Future Vision
Speaker 2I'm really happy you talk about unification, because the polarizations doesn't seem to be helping anybody, whether you're right, left, republican, democrat or something else. But let's look at the future. It's all about the future. Children born in 2026, the year of the gubernatorial election will graduate high school in 2044. What type of future should they expect and what should our priorities be today to ensure that future?
Speaker 3So, out of full transparency, I've been on faculty at the University of Michigan Flint for 27 years and so, as a teacher, with that student relationship, I've changed the model of how I teach from when I started in 1997. And we look at how things evolve in education being one of them. That same model has to happen in K through 12. But I'm going to add another grade to that and that is jail. You've seen, you've probably done research on Ignite You've seen people have made bad decisions, people have been caught up in addictions. So my plan, what I'm about to tell you, is K through jail, because we cannot forget about the population. There's moms and dads and sons and daughters that are listening right now who have been begging and praying for a new direction for somebody who just makes bad decisions. So when I talk about education, that is a foundation.
Speaker 3So when you look at the graduate, that's happening from those kids born in 2026, we need to move the CTE training, career training, education all the way back to middle school, that we don't stigmatize kids coming out of high school.
Speaker 3If they don't go to college that they haven't made it, they can go, if we model it well, from high school right into the job force If you introduce these training skills like ironworking and electrical and coding and software development. We have these opportunities in fifth and sixth and seventh eighth grade, where kids are fresh with where are they the best used for their passion? And then we use high school as a way to model that. There are a lot of ways that we see kids transitioning from high school going into sophomore year of college. Right now, imagine putting kids out in the workforce at 17, 18 years old. They've got two years apprentice training, they've got two years of some type of technical school and they're going right into the job and they're making 35, 40, 50 bucks an hour. Back then we do it for the military, we can do it for those in the professional world and open up a brand new style and a supply of great talent.
Speaker 2That really appeals to me. Growing up in the industrial area of Wayne Michigan middle school, we had shop, I had wood shop, I had metal shop, we learned to weld. I was terrible at all of those things and that pretty much confirms what you just said. I shouldn't be doing that type of work. Certainly nobody would want to pay me for doing that type of work. But fortunately in a vocationally oriented school they taught us how to program computers and I was much better at that. And it's really interesting the part about jail because people do make bad decisions and they tend to get it out of their system in their late 20s and they've got to go someplace and hopefully they can put that activity behind them and get to work doing something productive.
Speaker 3Well, that's why we introduced Ignite in 2020. And I hope that you and your listeners and your readers go Google Ignite, genesee County. It's our education model in jails, where we've been doing the same thing since 1836 and seeing generational incarceration and poverty and addiction. But in 2020, september 8th, we launched a new philosophy, a new culture where I'm telling you Rich, we're putting people out now that have not only just welding experience certificates, barber schools, they're learning how to get their GEDs diplomas, they're graduating, they're going from jail to college right now. We've done that for now five years. We're in 23% of the states in America. We're in 26 sheriff's offices. Here's an example of education cannot be the same in 2044 as it is right now. It has to evolve.
Michigan Population and Economic Growth
Speaker 2Amen. So many candidates have said that Michigan's declining population is their top priorities. So what should the priorities for our next governor be to make our state grow again? You know we're looking at birth rates, out-migration, particularly the college-educated retirees, you know, heading to Florida or elsewhere in the Sun Belt, and then we have immigrant populations. And when you look at that population, how important is the population level and what are your thoughts about what to do about that?
Speaker 3Well, to your first point, you're right, it's a complex answer to keep people in Michigan. Number one we have to keep our students being educated in Michigan. In Michigan there's a lot of universities, and I say I speak from experience. They're coming here to Michigan to get educated and taking their talent elsewhere. Number two is we're competing with 49 other competitors. Michigan has to be a place where we become a business innovator, a business capital partnership. We need to take ideas from people into implementation. So one of the economic not only offerings I'm going to do as governor is to create a pipeline that if somebody in Michigan has an idea that they want to put into action, that that 517 number becomes a partner to help them along the way. And if we can do that, imagine this to 1,000 companies in a year and 100 of them are growing and 10 of them become Fortune 500 companies. They're going to stay in Michigan, just like behind the scenes. Michelle has stayed and she grew up in Davison. When you have those roots that are deep here, people seem to stay. It's got to start with where the talent is. But to your other point there is a great void in other industries coming into Michigan. So we need to attract those industries.
Speaker 3You mentioned the Great Lakes data centers, ai that is the future. Ai is going to be in the future as much as when people say I use the internet. Ai is going to be that kind of a trade. And so when we have these cooling centers that need to be utilized, we have a great environment to do that. But you need a business-minded leader to drive that industry. It can't be just automotive and it can't just all be data, it's got to be all of it. When you do that and you add in, we have a business. How are we going to support the families in those industries?
Speaker 3Housing there's 140,000 houses needed in Michigan. 20,000 new houses every year. 60% of the housing in Michigan Rich are built before 1981. If you look back in history, when GM was growing and building, they partnered with local communities because they were building plants and they were building subdivisions Good, safe housing. It's a partnership. That's how you keep people in Michigan, you keep our students, you make it attractive for business. You give thriving opportunity, just like Sean Fain says, not just a wage, a living wage where they have no reason to leave. Go vacation Florida, but live in Michigan.
Speaker 2I appreciate those thoughts because, again, I could live any place and I choose to live here, and part of it's because of that depth and part of it because I've seen what this state can do and that people here can own a home versus have to be in an apartment or rental housing. But look, we're in a political landscape right now and, of course, governor Whitmer will be term limited out and that's leading to this opening in 2026. How do you think her legacy or her performance will play in next year's race?
Speaker 3Well, I'm friends with Governor Whitmer and I can tell you any leader can look back and think I would have, could have, should have done something different, I could have messages different. But that's why experience and that's why education and all these things are happening. She's done a phenomenal job going through what she's gone through and the fact that she's made huge, huge progress on roads. What she did with Selfridge, that was a very difficult thing to partner with an administration who they've sparred back and forth, but it was the right thing to do. You know, selfridge a 3,000-acre base, the largest air national guard in the country, with two new squadrons coming in Like that's a defense investment that Michigan will have for generations. The current straddle tankers I've been in one, I did a boss lift. They were built in the 1950s, so once they deliver in 2028, 2030, those squadrons, they're going to be here for generations.
Speaker 3That's the kind of leadership that you need. Whatever is going to work for the good of Michigan, you support. Whatever goes against, you stand against, just like tariffs or our friends in the north and Canada. That's where leadership is. It's not easy and it's not partisan, just like your platform here. You're nonpartisan but you do things right. I think she's going to be remembered as a governor who made things happen in difficult times, starting with COVID all the way up to where we are today.
Political Landscape and Polarization
Speaker 2Look, and I'm old enough to remember a day when a governor wouldn't be criticized for a meeting with the president of the United States. And I'm also old enough to remember Lyndon Johnson pulling the rug out from George Romney during the 1967 civil unrest. So we've kind of seen it all. It's a difficult job. What kind of headwinds might a person from the Democrats run into, based on the legacy of Governor Whitmer?
Speaker 3So the first is people like to bring up the history. You know Michigan, since Engler, has flipped back and forth. 2024 changed everything, rich, I mean, we all learned a great lesson. What you saw with President Trump, you know losing in 20 and then coming back in 2024. We've never seen that we are in uncharted territories politically. So I don't subscribe to this. Is what the natural progression is.
Speaker 3I think people, like you said earlier, are desperate for unity. They're desperate for common sense, leadership. They're desperate for inspiration, optimism, even in the face of danger. So I think there's some people that on both sides, if it doesn't come from that party, it doesn't matter if it's a cure to cancer, I don't want to listen, but the majority of the people are looking for somebody to get things done, to move forward. We're tired of the uncertainty. We're tired of the people are looking for somebody to get things done and move forward. We're tired of the uncertainty, we're tired of the conflict. You mentioned unity earlier. I always say publicly unity is not to be misunderstood with uniformity. We're all different, we all come from diverse backgrounds. We can agree to disagree, have civil discourse, but move forward and that's where leadership comes in. That's what I bring and that's what I'm hopeful for. I've been looking for a guy like me.
Speaker 2That's great. So you did mention President Trump. He's brought change in many policy areas. Where do his successes and his policy headwinds and his approval ratings, you know, fit into this race that's coming up in 2026?
Speaker 3Well, clearly, whoever wins the Republican primary is most likely and I can only predict the future going to have somebody behind them being the president and when that candidate goes up, the Democratic victor, which the pathway as I said I wouldn't do it if I didn't have a pathway to win will go up against that. But 2026 has a lot of races across the country, including Arizona, including what we have right here with the Gary Peters seat, a US Senate seat. There's a lot that's going to steal the oxygen. I don't think any party is able to focus on just one race because there's a lot state level and nationally that we need to focus on. You know, and I think people are looking again for, for less polarizing individuals and people that can lead. People in this country want leaders that can win.
Speaker 2You mentioned Senator Peter's retirement and that's going to be a factor in the race and I concur Polarization. The Republicans and the Democrats have seemed to go to opposite corners versus meeting in the middle, and now there's I don't know if it's a tide, but we know that for example, senator Sanders, a strong independent. We saw people like Joe Manchin leaving the Democratic Party and now here in our own state, mike Duggan, very successful mayor of the city of Detroit, has announced that he is going to run as an independent. Are people looking at that run by independents as a way out of this party polarization and how might you convince them that we can leave the polarization and still vote for a party?
Speaker 3So Mayor Duggan's a friend of mine. I want to show that what he's doing is truly something that is out of the ordinary. I'm sure his team has thought about it. If he was standing right next to me, I would say the same thing. It's a huge uphill battle. I think he knows that it's a big lift. Michigan is still a two-party system. The best candidate is somebody who has the independent appeal with a base, and that's the reason why the Democratic appeal that I have with a base at the general election. That's why I got a 30% crossover vote here in Genesee County. When Donald Trump almost flipped Genesee County red, I was able to get a 30% crossover appeal. Those are the kinds of things that I think are indicators to your point. People are looking for something, but they're mainly looking for the person more than they are party.
Speaker 2Yeah, I hope that that is true and it's letting people see the candidates. So when you turn the clock back to 2022, the governor's race was largely obscured from the public. The debates were not held in our largest population centers or broadcast on those networks. They were late in the cycle, some after the early voting had started. How would you like to see 2026's race be made available to the public?
Speaker 3So there's a lot going on on both sides, with all the primaries, all the things that are going to be there. I think the first person you need to ask is what are the viewers looking for? Do they want a debate between the parties or do they want a debate between those that are going to be on the general ballot in November? That's the question, because you got one shot to capture people's attention and, of course, as I said, there's a lot of moving parts between the Senate and a lot of House races. You know what's happening at the House and the Senate. At the state level, there's a lot of things that can happen. So I think the best thing is what do the viewers and voters want? To get them the best education to pick a candidate? Is that pre-primary or is that post-primary to the general? Time will tell.
Speaker 2Let's dive into some policy areas, because, no matter who becomes our next governor, they're going to have to implement policies, or at least recommend policies. You mentioned housing and education. Is there anything else you wanted to add to those before we go into some other topics?
Housing and Education Priorities
Speaker 3Well, housing right out of the gate, we already know there's a need. Right here in Genesee County we were given the incredible opportunity for the mega site, which is 10,000 jobs, which a minimum salary of 98,000 and above. And when you look at that three to five to six year plan and the fact that those folks that are coming here have extended families that are gonna help support small businesses and restaurants and gas stations and school districts, that investment in mid-Michigan is gonna list the entire state. So the first thing is you have to make sure that, when it comes to investment coming into the counties, coming into the state of Michigan, that we see that housing has to be a part of that. They have to have a place to go. Reduce regulations, expedite building work with local municipalities so they can help push those building inspections and those building permits along. Find a way to partner with international and national building companies that can come in and do mass building, because we need them. The supply is less and the demand is great. There has to be a place for them to go and you have to do that in advance. As I always say, prepare in peace to perform in chaos. Chaos is not. When the job is there, they have workers coming in, or the opportunity's there and the investor workers coming in, or the opportunity's there and the investor says, well, where are my people going to live? And you haven't prepared for that.
Speaker 3The second thing, when it comes to education and I go back to what we talked about we have a system that has gaps, but we don't have a broken system. That would be unfair to every teacher, every administrator, every superintendent, every parent and every school board out there. Of course, we have disparities, but the one thing that I take full attention on is because I see in the jail. We have become a mental health hospital in jails in Michigan, and when you look at the mental health crisis not only the adult age but also what's happening in kids and the special needs that are requiring we need to incentivize teachers to get into these fields that are difficult to get into by incentivizing their education and getting an agreement that the state may supplant your education costs.
Speaker 3But why don't you serve three, four, five years to the people of Michigan and you use that in areas as much as there's a need in Marquette, there's a need in Muskegon, there's a need in Ann Arbor? You got to make sure that every student in Michigan is covered with those services. And you can do that with a lot of technology, you can do that with talent, but you've got to build the baseline first. It's you know you don't start running the bases on third base. You've got to start with a hit and then go around. And that's where education and housing comes in. Two policies, putting the experts on the table, and there's the direction we're going. Let's get there.
Speaker 2And look, you can lose a big lead too. Michigan was a leader in education. Our education system was the envy of the nation. That's right Now. I've gotten recent data that says that Michigan ranks 39th for pre-K to 12th and 47th for higher education. We know that we have people graduating from our universities without good skills. We know we have people being passed through in high school with functional illiteracy. You can't compete in a world economy with those kind of outcomes. And how does the next governor get inside those policies and say enough, we need to make sure that there is an educable person that has a way they can contribute to society when they exit high school and especially when they exit college?
Healthcare and Taxation Policies
Speaker 3So you're talking to somebody who tested literacy and I use this example in the jail 2020. When we started Ignite, I tested the levels of math and reading in the jail and it was between fifth and sixth grade. The entire population, half of them can't read a menu, and how do you expect them to go out and not re-offend? So the same thing in public schools. As a governor, you find out where we are and where we need to be, what works and what doesn't work. What literacy philosophy have we been using? That doesn't make sense, which is the reason why we're in the 30s. Let's find out where other best practices are. Are they doing it in Mississippi? They're breaking literacy records in the state of Mississippi. What are they doing that we can duplicate here? What can we do? That's adding to what we have.
Speaker 3I agree with you. It doesn't matter what your skill set is. If you can't do math and reading, especially when you're getting out of high school, then you are always chasing and never leading. And that's where a governor comes in to work with the experts that are already there. Take best practices, identify where the shorts are, but, most importantly, measures. You've got to hit your measurements. You've got to know are we succeeding? When we launched ignite rich, within the first six months we saw reading and math go up almost two grades because we kept our empirical data all the way through and we're able to track it. It's a great political platform to say you know, schooling is going to be important to me, but leadership shows this is where we were, this is where we are and this is how we got there. That's how you handle that.
Speaker 2That'd be a great way to evaluate a future governor. When I look at some of the other issues around let's call them kitchen table issues affordability, health insurance, taxation what are some of your thoughts around those economic issues or economic policies in general?
Speaker 3Well, everybody's impacted with health care. I mean from the time you are a young kid to the time that you may be seeing the golden years of your life. And let's face it, there is an uncertainty in Washington when it comes to Medicare, medicaid and health care. There's an uncertainty with the big bill that's in the Senate right now. There's a lot of unknowns that I don't think anybody should stand in front of you and say I got the answer. But one thing Michigan has to have is a backup plan a backup plan for people that are retiring out of their health care and a backup plan for people who do not have health care. I can't speak for the country, but I can say in the state of Michigan, we need to make sure that our Medicaid and Medicare are funded, and if there's federal money that's taken away, how do we supplant that? There may be some movement of line items, but without a doubt yours and mine and all your listeners healthcare is priority number one, and when it comes to healthcare, I believe in preventative, I believe in the best medicine is not getting sick, and so how do we create healthy foods in schools? How do we create healthy awareness? How do we create a lifestyle. You know, when you go to places I know that you talk about Ann Arbor and you go down to and you go to these communities where there's a lot of activity you can show that in these zones there's less cardiovascular problems, there's less asthma, there's less medical issues.
Speaker 3I've been a paramedic since I was 20 years old. I'm still a licensed paramedic and when I look at the health care of an individual, we're making decisions now that have medical consequences 10 years down the road. How do we encourage colonoscopies and blood screenings and skin screenings? How do we prevent long-term cancer by stopping in the beginning? How do we incentivize everybody who has a Michigan driver's license to be CPR certified AEDs at every public building? How do we make sure there's Narcan in every corner of every part of the state of Michigan? It's all healthcare. Healthcare is not just in crisis. Healthcare is an algorithm again, a holistic ecosystem to keep people safe and healthy. Again, as a paramedic, as a health professional, I check a lot of boxes in a lot of these policies that we're talking about.
Speaker 2How about taxation? I know that other candidates have floated the idea that we should eliminate the income tax as reviewing it as a tax on work, and it's an intriguing notion. I wondered what your thoughts about that might be.
Speaker 3I'm watching what Florida is doing and let me tell you anytime you want to eliminate something, you have to have some place that's going to pick it back up. Without a doubt, the last known budget number for the state of Michigan is $82 billion. They spent $84 billion but they took an 86. The only way if you don't want to pay into the system whether it's revenue tax or whether it's sales tax or whether it's federal funding is to have something that's going to supplant it. I believe and I agree it's a great talking point. But what is the backup plan Now? If you increase the GDP two to five percent, bringing 30, 40 billion dollars by adding more goods and services that people get from Michigan? We're incredible export of goods and services. We have a tremendous talent here. If we can think business, elevate that GDP and now we have room to grow. Now we're able to have a little bit more flexibility.
Speaker 3But we don't have that right here. We have a 29 billion dollar debt between unfunded liabilities. We have bonds that are out there with the roads and other expenses. We need to pay our debt down. We need to increase our revenue and when that happens, you don't need as much tax revenue from our citizens. You can look at gas tax holidays. I said this in my announcement. Maybe we give people Memorial Day, fourth of July and Labor Day gas tax holidays to give a little relief. But as far as adjusting those numbers, it's way too soon to make a political promise, because what you take from one, you've got to take and give to another and there's a there's a very delicate balance there, so we need to be cautious a very delicate balance there, so we need to be cautious.
Speaker 2There's been some culture issues that have kind of snuck into our political policies and you know specifically DEI, the future of affirmative action, the 2020 civil disturbances that you had a unique approach to. When we think about these kind of issues that are very divisive, when you think about DEI policies, you think about affirmative action, you think about what's the legacy of 2020. How would you relate that to the voters in the state of Michigan and the nation at large?
Speaker 3I would speak to every voter and everybody out there, even if they're not a voter. Just look at the American citizen. We're a country that has been seen as a beacon of light around the world. Look at the American citizen. We're a country that has been seen as a beacon of light around the world and we all look and act and worship different. We live different. But it goes back to what I said with unity. Unity doesn't mean uniformity, and if we have a culture that can look at somebody who may be completely different and see value in them and see some type of connection, that's how you break that down, and it has to start with each individual. I understand that there's government systems and there's guidelines is because they're trying to counter what should happen, natural. And if you look at individuals I've never met you, rich, but I can already tell that if I drove over to where you're right now, we'd have a pleasant dinner and we'd talk about things that were probably great topics, even though if we spent enough time together, we'd be completely different. That's what we need. I want everybody to have the same equal rights and opportunity. Everybody deserves dignity and, as an individual leader, you have to look at people that may not have the same opportunity, as you may not have made the right decisions. We've all got family members that when you tell them to go right, they go left and you wonder why. But eventually they come back. Do you judge them from the mistakes of the past or you give people a second chance? We've all been given grace and mercy. So, again, I am a strong believer that leadership sets the tone, and the reason I'm so strong is because what you mentioned in 2020, I was there, rich, my dad and my grandfather were both in Detroit Police Department.
Speaker 3My dad was in the 67 riots, my grandfather was in the 67 riots, my grandfather was in the 45 riots. I was there and I was going to repeat the same exact thing that I was taught generational until I saw the human side behind it, until I saw the humanity of the question. All they wanted to be asked is what can you do? Can you listen to us? And when I asked the question and they started chanting, walk with us. Everybody that looks so different. That was full of hate instantly turned. You listen to us. And when I asked the question and they started chanting, walk with us, everybody that looks so different. That was full of hate, instantly turned to hope. So nobody can convince me that it can't be done. It just needs strong leadership, and when you do that, then you don't need mandates to keep equality a priority. You just need to create a good heart in people.
Labor Unions and Government Transparency
Speaker 2I appreciate those sentiments because I think that you know, meeting the moment of can't get into the case specifics. You can't get into the statistics about who attacks who. It's today we have this situation and these are your people. So well done sir. Yes, sir, thank you. We have been a state of Michigan that has prospered because there were great jobs with great wages. I, of course, know many people my best friends in the world, uaw Teamsters and the like and we also have right to work, which has merit. Where are you as far as right to work and card checks specifically?
Speaker 3Well, you're talking to a guy who's literally standing on a seventh floor outside the red bricks of downtown Flint. I'm a labor guy all the way, because labor lifts all boats and union contracts from back then to where we are now. It has helped every family one way or another. It's touched these different individuals. So, as a governor, we are a labor state that has great talent with safety records, education. You have journeymen and an apprentice together. You have mentors to create a workforce that is building top quality products. Going back to the UAW, the American made vehicle made by American labor, you've got to create an ecosystem where companies come in and they see the value of it. They don't see it as an enemy. So the fact that we want to find where are the wages that we're going to have in state and school contracts that have labor attached and labor that's going to give a quality product, that is a reason why we built here. You go back to what you said.
Speaker 2This was a community that had 80,000 UOW workers and we're down to 8,000 now community that had 80,000 UOW workers and we're down to 8,000 now, and part of that is that there was relocations to non-union states. I know there were major bids lost to non-union states. A good union can do a great job. It can lead to great economic opportunity and we've also seen the bifurcation, frankly, between the union leadership and the rank and file. That's right that the rank and file didn't feel they were being served by the union leadership. So when you come to right to work, should a worker in Michigan be obliged to join a union or should it be if a company can meet its workforce at whatever size, where they don't have to be unionized?
Speaker 3Yeah, I support labor unionized all the way. And you work with those new employers to come in to explain to them why organized labor in your industry is vital.
Speaker 2What about card check? Pardon me, what about card check? Simple, like hey, we'll come to your house and you can check the box and say you want to be in the union. Is that a thing we can do?
Speaker 3Somebody who doesn't do that. What's fair on the job site and the work site? Those folks are going to have to answer that. What I'm saying is, when it comes to an employer coming in, you need a system where they can not only just show the value of organized labor but they can show through history where you're going to get for your company with this kind of a workforce. And again I mentioned this that not everything is going to be labor, they know that. But at least if they have a fair shot of competing and you can see that labor is not the enemy of big business and big business needs labor. But it has to work. It goes back into the ecosystem of leadership and that's where you have an environment where organized labor is not seen as that enemy but they're seen as a partner in growing businesses, huge manufacturing and business owners.
Speaker 2Recently the Freedom of Information Act for government transparency. In our state of Michigan the governor is exempted from FOIA. State of Michigan the governor is exempted from FOIA and our current governor promised to remove that exemption. That has not happened. Have you established a position yet on the exemption for the governor for the Freedom of Information Act?
Speaker 3I will speak from. My current experience is I have no exemptions unless it comes down to something that's under subpoena, an active case or something that can be ruled as a safety issue for the public. I have always been a supporter of FOIA and transparency and I will carry that to the governor's office. The decision that's being made in Lansing. I have no say in that. I'm not involved in those conversations, but I can assure you this when I'm governor you'll be able to have full access unless it meets that criteria for public safety court purposes or discovery.
Speaker 2And you've certainly lived in a world where you had to be highly accountable and second guest and Monday morning quarterback a lot.
Speaker 3Well, I can tell you, today starts my 33rd year on the job, and if there's one profession that is scrutinized more than any other in the country, it's law enforcement. And then, when you get higher up in the ranks and people want to FOIA reports and the things that we have to do. I've always said when you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, and I serve the public with that monto.
Immigration and Public Safety Initiatives
Speaker 2Sheriff Swanson, I know this is more of a national issue, but there perhaps may be state implication and that has to do with immigration immigration policy. People have lots of different views on that and you know, sometimes I think it went from one very extreme policy to an opposite extreme policy. Is there a role for the governor of the state of Michigan after this upcoming election next year?
Speaker 3Well, I think you're spot on that immigration is a federal issue. But you can also have influence, especially when you look at Michigan and you look at how many people are here that are working and have tried to get their citizenship for decades. Nobody can disagree. We all want a safe border everywhere in the country. So have a system that protects the border with a system to get into this country, a true system that's organized and it can expedite. But for those that are here that have been trying for years to get their citizenship, that have federal ID numbers, they have social security numbers, they're paying taxes, they have businesses, but they've been waiting for 15, 20 years to get citizenship, that's got to be fixed and give them a quick pathway to become citizens, to enjoy the freedoms that we experience every day. But I can tell you firsthand when our ghost team arrested two individuals from Honduras two months ago same operation, two different people, two different scenes they were gone within three days because they came to have sex with a kid. That's not the same individual that we're talking about with immigration and you can't class the entire group because of the bad acts of just a few.
Speaker 3I think we have to look at immigration on a human and a respect level, but also a protection level. There's a balance to all. I agree with you. You can't have one extreme than the other. There's a common sense way to handle immigration and that's the answer Secure the borders. Those that commit crimes, they have given up their right to earn their American citizenship. But for those that are here, let's give them an expedited pathway for them to thrive in this country.
Speaker 2Thank you for that. Let's move on to a couple other topics. Title IX really interesting that it has created opportunities for women and for girls. Some people will frame it as being under assault. Have you given thought to where you'd come down with Title IX? We know the Trump administration has directed certain interpretations at the state level. Some states are complying, some states are not. What can you tell the voters and the listeners, readers and viewers of the Common Bridge about Title IX?
Speaker 3Well, I can tell you fairness and equality, and it comes down to that and on top of that, it's dignity for all. I think there's a lot of questions that you have under reference to Title IX that are still up in the air. There's a lot of hands in that that are trying to decide, but it comes down to those people that are involved, specifically to the competitors, to the parents, the schools equality, dignity and fairness.
Speaker 2If you use those as your guidepost, you'll come to the answer that makes the most sense.
Speaker 3Any other policy areas you want to get into today that are important you know, I got to tell you Rich, I grew up and I understand the importance of protecting people and as we close out the show, I can see the timer. I do come from a law enforcement medical background, with an education background, but whether it's economy we talked about, or education or any policy, the core of all of it is people have to feel safe. So, as governor, the things that I will protect are the things that I've already done as a sheriff. Number one we're going to cut the supply chain of fentanyl, because 85% of it comes in on our expressways 96, 94, 23, 75, using Operation Vigilant, disrupting that supply line, because if we do that, we help save people's kids. Number two statewide ghost global human oppression strike team. We've been around since 2018. The sextortion that's happening with our kids, the amount of people who are being victimized, the human trafficking we're going to protect your kids.
Speaker 3Statewide, we're going to protect animals. I can tell you there's a direct connect between people who beat, starve and torture animals to child abuse, elder abuse. You can see in Genesee County. When you do that, there's accountability here. We're going to create a list. It's called a Protect my Pet Offender List. So if you are convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or multiple of animal abuse, neglect or torture. You cannot own an animal for a long period of time. That way you can't just re-offend these animals that can't have no voice, reduce and change the way animals are being identified as property to living property.
Speaker 3So when we rescue animals we don't get to give them to a new owner unless the individual signs off. They're the ones that are arresting. We're going to change that to make them living property under the forfeiture law and get those animals rehomed. We're going to create an environment where people are safe wherever they are. Reduce crime, like we've done in Genesee County in the state of Michigan. Reduce crime, like we've done in Flint with murder and certainly property crimes. When you do that, you have less victims. You have less insurance costs. You have less businesses that are running because of crime. I can tell you this you're going to have a protector, a sheriff in the governor's office who understands how to hold people accountable and also protect people when they're not looking and they can sleep safe in bed.
Closing Thoughts on Unity
Speaker 2I know that that would be a strong suit for everybody in Michigan, no matter where you're at. And so, as we come to our close, you know, in this political environment and perhaps the associated established media environment you know that thrives on us being separated can all these factions come together and unite around common goals? I've been at this six years and my career was about getting people with different interests to find a common objective, and it's hard. Do we have a shot and how can we get there?
Speaker 3Chris Swanson. I can say that, rich, because I speak from experience, I can bring people together that you would never, ever expect to be brought together, because all they need is an ambassador. They need a voice, they need somebody to give permission to bring folks together with the idea that we're going to walk out of here. We may not agree on everything, but we're going to get things done. People ask me what about the House and the Senate where you're governor? Nobody can predict what it's going to be, but it matters not, because, for the good of the people, not one party has all the answers, and if somebody can bring a great idea for the state of Michigan, I'm listening and with that, that's a victory for the people.
Speaker 3There has to be a change, there's got to be a paradigm shift, because what you and I are experiencing every day is families that are breaking up, friends that are breaking up over politics, over something as simple as just who's up there and who's there. No, I encourage new leaders to come up with a new type of philosophy, and I've said before my democratic options are not opponents the two that are in my race. I know them personally. I'm not going to go out and attack and bash them. Why would we do that? Because now I'm fertilizing that problem. These are options to people, and I think it starts with one and then another, and that's how you get exponential growth. There is hope, rich. I promise you it's coming.
Speaker 2Well, I like hearing that. Is there anything that we didn't talk about, that we should have discussed, or any closing thoughts for the voters in the state of Michigan?
Speaker 3Trust the system. Don't give up. Do your due diligence on finding people that believe and have the receipts to show they can get it done. And I look at that because there's a lot of people who have been disappointed by political leadership. I can tell you I know what I'm writing the checks for and the costs that I'm giving to do this run because I believe that if you can trust, like I trust, what I can do, then you're going to have hope again. Hopelessness is a very dark place to be. So I tell your listeners, I tell your readers right now just trust that there's more coming and to find people that can give that hope and inspiration and bet on them one more time.
Speaker 2We've been talking today with Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, announced candidate for governor, seeking the nomination on the Democratic ticket and, of course, looking to the general election in the fall of 2026. And with our guest Sheriff Chris Swanson. This is your host, rich. Helpe signing off on the Common Bridge.
Speaker 1Thanks for joining us on the Common Bridge. Subscribe to the Common Bridge on substackcom or use their Substack app, where you can find more interviews, columns, videos and nonpartisan discussions of the day. Just search for the Common Bridge. You can also find the Common Bridge on Mission Control Radio on your Radio Garden app.