The Freep's pick for Michigan's Democratic gubernatorial primary | Opinion

Jocelyn Benson is virtually assured her party's nomination in the Aug. 4 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

While Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and veteran Kim Thomas will also appear on the Democratic primary ballot, recent polls that include either of the two show Benson with a 50-point-plus lead, a gulf so insurmountable that most pollsters have simply stopped asking Democratic voters about the August contest.

But even in a more competitive field, Benson would win our support.

Michigan's sitting secretary of state is determined, intelligent and forward-looking, a technocrat who understands systems and how to make them work, a mother whose passion is to improve the lot of our state's children, a fierce defender of democracy and an effective campaigner poised to win the seat in November's general election.

"I'm the mom of a 9-year-old little boy who, in a couple of days, is going to be 10. And it's not lost on me that everything we do over the next decade is going to define his childhood," Benson told the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board in a June interview. "It's going to define his future. It's going to define the future of our loved ones all across the state."

JOCELYN BENSON is our pick in Michigan's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will face the Republican gubernatorial nominee in the Nov. 3 general election.

A diligent public servant

Benson has approached the gubernatorial election with the same intentionality she has brought to her current role.

She literally wrote the book on the job of secretary of state, publishing "State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process," before her 2010 bid for the office. In that red wave year, Republicans took all three statewide offices and both legislative chambers.

But Benson regrouped, serving first as dean of the Wayne State University Law School and then as CEO of the philanthropy Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, before making a second run for secretary of state in 2018, this time winning the office decisively. She won reelection in 2022 with 56% of the vote ― two points ahead of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, considered one of the nation's most popular governors.

As secretary of state, she has transformed the office's core functions: expanding options to conduct routine transactions online, implementing a scheduling system that has cut the wait time for most in-person visits to 20 minutes or less and stationing self-service kiosks at SOS branches and grocery stores. She has conducted audits of Michigan elections, proving that they're safe and secure, and worked to expand voter access.

Benson's enthusiasm for that work is apparent, and she brings the same infectious energy to her pursuit of the governor's office, promising the same systemic improvements to state operations.

Michigan, Benson says, is at an inflection point, and the state's next governor must be prepared on day one to reduce the cost of living, grow the state's economy and bolster government infrastructure.

Real plans to help Michiganders

Benson proposes to address Michigan's free-falling educational system with a five-point plan based on data and best practices, ranging from increasing base teacher pay to $60,000, expanding the groundbreaking Rx Kids program, which provides direct cash payments to new parents statewide, extending kindergarten and pre-K to 3- and 4-year-olds and appointing an education cabinet to build a statewide strategic plan that tracks funding and metrics.

She says she would invest in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help residents covered by Medicare or Medicaid to access benefits and help residents appeal denied insurance claims. She wants to expand scholarship opportunities for doctors and nurses, particularly for those willing to work in rural areas where resources are scant.

Benson says she would expand the state's Freedom of Information Act to include the governor's office, and push the Legislature to follow suit, along with a FOIA tracking portal to show progress on requests and responses. Michigan is one of only two states where the governor and Legislature aren't subject to the state's open records disclosure law.

Benson believes data centers are not adequately regulated, and wants community input into the development of local data centers, in addition to guardrails that would protect Michigan's environment, water resources, ensure that energy costs don't fall on taxpayers, and require community benefits agreements with teeth.

She has not accepted corporate political action committee donations.

Republican lawmakers, following the lead of President Donald Trump, have questioned Benson's handling of the 2020 election. But repeated audits ‒ including a GOP-led investigation ‒ have shown that Michigan elections are secure. Benson has also prevailed in the courts in a GOP-filed lawsuit that claimed her office was not properly maintaining Michigan's voter rolls.

As to how she would work with GOP lawmakers who have cast her as a villain, Benson says she's more concerned with results than credit, and believes one party can't have all the answers.

"Our purpleness is an asset because it requires us to collaborate, compromise and identify shared values in developing plans to move forward," she said. "Getting to know, on an individual level, a lot of the lawmakers in the state, asking them for their own advice and input as we build a plan together, helps get things through, but also helps improve the plan itself. ... That's why I love democracy."

The 1 thing Benson wants to be judged on

Benson has made missteps. Her revamp of Michigan's antiquated campaign finance filing system was a flop, and is still in progress. Lawmakers were so frustrated with the site's troubled rollout that they removed it from her purview. Benson says she learned from that experience, chiefly that it's important to recalibrate when plans don't result in the desired goal.

She has also drawn criticism for the involvement of her husband, Ryan Friedrichs, in the development of a Saline Township hyperscale data center. Friedrichs is a vice president at the data center developer, Related Digital.

Earlier this year, Benson said, Friedrichs transitioned into a national-facing role at Related; Benson indicated that Friedrichs will take a further step back if she is elected, focusing on the duties of a first gentleman. Michigan's secretary of state plays no role in economic development decision-making. For the husband of a governor to work for a developer seeking a state tax incentive would be an obvious conflict of interest.

Benson noted that neither she nor Friedrichs have benefited financially from the Saline data center; the mandatory state financial disclosures she advocated to instate show that Friedrichs draws a regular salary. Her team confirmed that Friedrichs doesn't get bonuses.

Benson has won a string of lawsuits filed by partisan groups over her election protocols, but been dinged by the courts for overstepping her authority in giving guidance to local clerks about signature matching on absentee ballots, and by banning open carry near polling places.

Here we see no nefarious intent, but the diligence of an elections official seeking to ensure that every vote can be cast without intimidation, and counted fairly.

Michigan, Benson says, must achieve excellence, and if elected, she wants her tenure to be judged by one thing:

"Does my kid choose to stay in Michigan?" she said, speaking of her 10-year-old son, who would be 18 if she served two terms as governor. "Have I built a state that is the best place in the nation for my son to choose to build his career, whether he wants to work in the auto industry or somewhere else, in climate tech or in the creative arts, whatever he wants to do, is this the best place for him to do it and raise his family and call home?

How to vote

Local clerks mailed absentee ballots to Michigan voters June 25. Registered voters may cast ballots early, in person, in some Michigan communities starting July 6, and statewide from July 25 to Aug. 2 — check with your local clerk for your city's early voting start date, location of early voting sites and absentee ballot dropboxes for absentee. And, of course, you can vote — and register to vote — in person on Aug. 4, Election Day.

The Detroit Free Press Editorial Board is endorsing candidates in competitive races on the Aug. 4 primary in the three counties comprising our core coverage area, choosing the best-qualified candidate on each party's ballot. Because of the large volume of candidates, we are unable to invite every candidate to interview for the Free Press endorsement.

Write a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it in print or online.