Racial representation, job performance frame Michigan’s 13th Congressional District’s Democratic primary

The 2022 election marked the first time in seven decades that voters did not choose someone who is Black to represent the majority African-American city of Detroit in Congress. 

This year, with Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s seat in the U.S. House seemingly safe, those who hoped for that Black representation focused on the race in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. 

First-term Congressman Shri Thanedar, an Indian American, is seeking reelection in the 13th District’s Democratic primary. 

But the contest involves more than racial representation. It also raises questions over the current representative’s job performance and past malfeasance by one challenger. 

Earning endorsements

When the campaign began, some Black leaders in Wayne County rallied around former State Sen. Adam Hollier’s bid for Congress. But he was forced out of the race after submitting too many invalid petition signatures to get on the ballot. 

High-ranking Democrats like Mayor Mike Duggan then turned to Detroit City Council Member Mary Waters, who is also Black. Duggan gave her his endorsement because, he claims, she is active in the community while Congressman Thanedar is absent. 

“We need somebody in Congress who fights for us,” Duggan said. “And right now I don’t feel like we have any help from our Congressman. He’s not a bad person, just not helping.” 

The 13th Congressional District encompasses more than a significant portion of Detroit. It also includes the Grosse Pointes and some Downriver communities, among other areas. 

Yet during a recent tenants meeting at Detroit’s Jefferson Apartments, Waters told the crowd it matters whether their member of Congress has navigated the same racial issues they have. 

“It’s been decades since the city of Detroit in particular has gone without Black representation. We are a major city. It’s very important that we have some representation in Congress,” Waters said. “But that’s not the only thing. I know how to deliver on behalf of my constituents. And that’s true. I have a proven track record.”

Waters acknowledges the district is diverse, both ethnically and economically. Still, she says, there are problems that bind voters there together. 

Waters notes that many cities in the 13th face aging infrastructure that fails to hold up well whenever there is possible flooding. She believes a Congressperson would have more sway than she currently has on Detroit City Council to work with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development department on an issue impacting much of the district.  

“Housing. That relationship with HUD. We have some issues here,” Waters said. “Folks’ income level doesn’t work anymore. We need income-based housing. HUD can help us with that. HUD used to do a lot more of those things, then they kind of got away from it.” 

It’s the kind of action tenants like Gloria Bell say they want to see happen in the U.S. House. 

“I like what [Waters] said about HUD helping. Housing is my biggest issue right here. There’s a whole lot of housing downtown, the new buildings and all that. But they’re not affordable for people that have been here for so many years,” Bell said. 

“It’s been decades since the city of Detroit in particular has gone without Black representation. We are a major city. It’s very important that we have some representation in Congress.” — Councilwoman Mary Waters

Waters does face some headwinds. She lost two previous bids for Congress and was disqualified from a third. And Thanedar, a wealthy businessman, loaned his campaign about $5 million and is far outspending his rivals. 

Some commercials paid for by outside groups remind voters that Waters pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax fraud charge 15 years ago, after an investigation into an attempt to bribe a Southfield City Council member. 

Waters says Detroiters already rendered their verdict when they elected her to the City Council. She calls the current attack ads an effort by Thanedar to distract voters.  

“He doesn’t have a record to stand on, right? So, he’s doing the smear campaign,” Waters said. “Because if he had some things that he could really tout, he’d do it. But he does not. And guess what? If the people put him back in again, he’ll do the same thing again. So shame on us if we allow him to do that. He doesn’t have to go to Washington and do anything on our behalf. He’ll just come back and buy the seat again.” 

Connecting with constituents

Thanedar has used his campaign funds and some of his Congressional office budget for media ads and mailings. He says they are designed to ensure voters know who their freshman representative is in the recently redrawn 13th Congressional District. 

The effort seemed to be paying off at a recent senior appreciation day outside Detroit’s Aretha Franklin auditorium. The crowd was dotted by people wearing Thanedar’s white campaign tee shirts with his red, white and blue “Shri” logo. 

That included Thanedar himself, wearing a campaign shirt and a wide smile as a series of people stopped to talk with him, many saying they had seen at least one of his many television commercials. 

The U.S. Representative asked them if he could do anything for them, punctuating most exchanges with a parting, “Love you!” 

Thanedar bristles at the accusation that it’s difficult for people in the district to contact him or his staff. The Congressman claims he’s helped settle roughly 1,600 cases for his constituents since taking office, whether or not critics suggest otherwise. 

“They just keep attacking me. But we have one of the best constituent services,” Thanedar said. “Whenever I go in public like this, people say, ‘Your office has been very helpful.’ The political opponents keep making false accusations but I just keep doing my work. I just keep helping people and I don’t worry about politics.” 

It’s hard to be a politician and not worry about politics, however, as Thanedar is constantly pulled away from other events at the appreciation day to greet more well-wishers in the crowd.

Thanedar stated he’s co-sponsored hundreds of bills in Congress and been endorsed by the Democratic leadership there, including the ranking member of the House. Thanedar says his work in Congress involves everything from trying to ensure voters have access to clean water and mental health services to streamlining the process for Black and Brown entrepreneurs to receive help from the Small Business Administration.

Thanedar also notes that about a quarter of his constituents live at or below the poverty line. He has long maintained that he connects with those voters because he grew up in a home with very little money. 

“I understand the struggles of people living paycheck to paycheck. These are the people that nobody cares about. We have a system that is so catered to the rich, so catered to the powerful corporations. But the ordinary people who are struggling aren’t being catered to. And that’s who I want to help,” Thanedar said. 

He admits his rival Waters has picked up significant endorsements from Detroit Mayor Duggan and the United Auto Workers union. Yet Thanedar insists his outreach to individual voters will turn the election in his favor. 

He said, “It’s not about the party bosses and it’s not about the smoke-filled back rooms making these decisions for people. People have access to information. They make their own decisions. And I trust people’s decisions. Because people know what’s best for them, who can represent them best.” 

Fresh faces

Elsewhere in the senior appreciation day crowd, voter Keith McCord says he’s been watching the contest for the 13th District closely. 

And McCord says his favorite for the Congressional seat is neither Thanedar nor Waters. Instead, he says, he supports the third candidate in the race, attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins. 

“Her background appears to be real good. They need a new voice, new ideas. And I think that she’s gonna be okay,” McCord said. 

Hawkins worked until recently for Detroit’s law department. She says she felt compelled to make a bid for the U.S. House. 

“I have a child that I’m raising and I want him to have clean air and water, access to education and career growth and medical care. And there’s just so much broken,” Hawkins said. “And I just did not see anyone stepping up and running for office whose values aligned with mine.” 

Hawkins says she also surveyed many mayors and city managers in the 13th District and claims few were enthralled with Thanedar. 

“By and large they’re all disappointed. They don’t think that he’s been present or that he’s helped their communities,” she said. “One said that Thanedar came to town maybe one time, took a selfie in front of, I think it was a well, and that was it. He never heard from him again. He says that U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell reached out and only after that did he hear from our current Congressman.”

Hawkins says she found there could be an opening for a person like herself, who has never won a political election. 

“I have never been elected to public office. But that does not mean that I’m not ready to hit the ground running and that I would do a better job.” 

Hawkins, an African-American, would also provide the Black representation some Detroit officials want the city to have in Congress. Yet Hawkins says she can resonate with constituents across the district more successfully than Thanedar does, because many voters there share her working-class roots. 

“I definitely understand the issues that we all face. And I think Thanedar is very, very, very far-removed, given his wealth,” she said. 

Hawkins does have her own financial issues, though. She was terminated by City of Detroit officials after they determined her candidacy ran afoul of laws against someone in an executive branch running for office while being paid with federal funds. 

Hawkins claims she was offered other sources of campaign funding if she would adopt a stance supporting Israel. 

Thanedar strongly backed Israel after the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas. Waters has called for a cease fire in Gaza. And Hawkins says she, too, wants a cease fire. 

So she says she refused the PAC money and is now seeking legal advice about her termination by the law department. 

“I was disappointed in the decision obviously. And I was largely funding my own campaign. So that pretty effectively ended my ability to loan my campaign money,” Hawkins said. 

The primary race will likely determine who represents the District in Congress. Even after being redrawn, voters in the long-time blue region overwhelmingly chose the Democratic candidate in the 2022 general election.