Lots of celebration on socials about the Benson/Brinks ticket but what does it actually mean for working families in Michigan

Over the past 36 hours there has been a constant buzz on social media over the choice of Winnie Brinks to be the running mate for Jocelyn Benson in the November Election. This will be a pairing of the current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Majority Senate leader Winnie Brinks.

It’s a feel good story that features two women. However, I prefer to look at what their voting record has been, what Benson’s platform for Governor looks like and who Brinks and Benson have relied on to fund their previous and current campaigns for office.

Voting records

The only elected position that Jocelyn Benson has held is her current position as Secretary of State. As Secretary of State she does not have a vote on public policy, thus no voting record.

Senator Brinks has a track record as both State Representative and State Senator. Brinks served as State Representative from 2013 – 2018, then was elected to represent the 29th State Senate District where she served from 2019 to the present. In 2023, Brinks became the Senator Majority Leader in Lansing.

Most liberal commentary on Brinks labels her as a progressive, which I find to be a shallow term that doesn’t have much teeth. The minimum wage in Michigan has been grossly inadequate and current sits at a ridiculously low $13.73 an hour. People can’t live off of such a wage, let alone find secure housing. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition in order for someone to afford a 2 bedroom apartment they would need to make $25.53, which only covers the cost of housing.

On the matter of housing, groups like the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union and the Rent is Too Damn High have been pressuring Senator Brinks for several years on adopting a Tenant Bill of Rights, which would include ending the ban on Rent Control in Michigan. These groups have pressured Brinks in Lansing and at her home to adopt policies that would actually center working class families. In July, I wrote a piece critical of the claims from Senator Brinks that she is fighting for affordable housing when in fact she has fought for making it easier for developers to build housing and to direct massive public funds to developers, which is nothing more than public subsidies.

For years the immigrant-led group Movimiento Cosecha, along with other immigrant justice groups in the state have pressed Senator Brinks on passing Drive Safe Bills, which would allow undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a Michigan Driver’s License and reduce the chances of being abducted by ICE. Cosecha visited Senator’s Brinks’ office on numerous occasions in 2023 when the Democrats had a trifecta in Lansing and were promised by the Michigan Democratic Party that they would pass the Drive Safe Bills. Cosecha visited Senator’s Brinks’ office in March of 2023, in September of 2023 and in November of 2023 with no commitment from her office to pass the Drive Safe Bills.

Even during the Lame Duck period in November/December of 2024, the Democrats had a chance to once again pass legislation that would give immigrants the ability to obtain a driver’s license. They failed to do so. I saw the disgust, disappointment and disbelief on the faces of the Cosecha Michigan members, because despite all of the promises from State Legislators and from Governor Whitmer’s office that they would pass the Drive SAFE bills after they won the trifecta during the 2022 election, they failed to make that promise a reality.

Benson’s Campaign Platform

If you look at Benson’s campaign platform you will find a great deal of rhetoric with little concrete plans to implement policies that would benefit working families in Michigan. Under her Affordability section all of her proposals are bandaid solution to systemic problems. Benson does not address the wealth gap in Michigan nor how the system of Capitalism ultimately benefits a small percentage of people, but leaves most Michiganders having to live paycheck to paycheck.

Under the section on Data Centers Benson wants to play the “we have have data centers as long as it doesn’t negatively impact communities” game. Data Centers are inherently bad and are run by tech giants that are driven by increased profits.

In Benson’s environmental section there is also lots of rhetoric without any serious corporate accountability measures, which includes not eliminating Line 5, no plan for a robust mass transit system, no mentions of the use of nuclear power and no mention of mining in the UP, like the awful copper mining in the UP.

Benson’s platform also omits other major issues such as immigration, ICE and policing in Michigan, which have been critical issues over the past decade. Not taking a stand on these issues should tell you something about the Neo-liberal platform of the Benson/Brinks ticket.

Follow the Money and Campaign Finances

Check out campaign financing for Jocelyn Benson since 2017 and this most recent election cycle as a candidate for Governor. Benson has given her campaign over half a million dollars, with lots of union support (mainstream unions give millions to the Democrats, but how has that translated into real benefits for working class families) corporations and wealthy individuals.

The top contributors to Winnie Brings since 2017 have been Democratic Party Committees, various unions (mainstream unions give millions to the Democrats, but how has that translated into real benefits for working class families) and corporations like the Meijer PAC, Michigan Association of Health Plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan PAC, Comcast Corporation, Delta PAC, Cms Energy Corp Employees for Better Government, DTE Energy Company PAC and the Molina Healthcare Inc Michigan Political Committee.

The voting record of Winning Brinks, the platform for gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and the campaign finance records of Benson and Brinks reflects a business as usual approach to electoral politics, where corporate interests are protected and working families will continue to survive, living paycheck to paycheck. I for one am not celebrating the Benson/Brinks ticket.