Detroit Couple Shares Hopes, Concerns Ahead of Election Day

In another installment of Detroit Today’s voter panel discussions, Stephen Henderson speaks with a couple living in Detroit about how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking about ahead of Election Day. 

Listen: Detroiters Adrienne and Jon talk about the role of healthcare, equity and police reform in their voting decisions in the days leading up to Election Day

Guests:

Adrienne Williams is a Detroiter who recently moved back to the city from Los Angeles. She says a big part of the reason she’s back is to be closer to her partner and her parents.  “With the pandemic happening, my dad [who was a driver] has been fully unemployed and trying to find new work at 80 years old,” says Williams.

As far as the issues that are important to her, Williams says “healthcare, I’m an African-American woman and I’m also a diabetic.” She adds that at one point in her life when she had no insurance, the healthcare she was granted under the Affordable Care Act made a big difference in getting her the medication she needed.

In looking ahead to the next four years, Williams says she’s “not excited but there’s a pending sense of relief with Biden,” and she says that she’s curious what police reform would look like under an administration led by him and Sen. Harris. 

Jon Moy, a Detroit-based writer, says that he’s “pretty much always voted Democratic,” and that in this election he’s taking advantage of mail-in voting. “It provides more time to research everything with a little less pressure,” he says.

On what motivates him as a voter, Moy says “healthcare, criminal justice reform… it often runs down to leadership. COVID has laid bare a lot of the systemic failings of the American political system…there are a lot of systemic issues.” 

Related:

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Metro Detroit Voters Share What’s On Their Minds Ahead of 2020 Election