Photo credit: Sarah Anthony/Porsha Monique
Michigan Sen. Sarah Anthony has a blunt message for Black voters. Hold your elected officials accountable once the ballots are counted. Anthony chairs the Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee, so she knows exactly where the state’s money goes. The conversation took place one hour after the polls closed at Abdul El-Sayed’s election night celebration.
Anthony described the race as a change election built on affordability and quality of life. Federal cuts, in her view, robbed the state of money for health care and food. Even so, she calls herself a grassroots organizer at heart.
Looking ahead, Anthony shared what voters should demand in the first 100 days. Beyond that, she explained why she is not leaving the Democratic Party yet. She also described how Black voters can keep their priorities from getting pushed aside.
What does Abdul El-Sayed’s candidacy represent about the direction Michigan voters want to see this state and country move in?
I think this is a change election. We have been able to travel all across the state and hear some pretty common things. It is about affordability, it’s about the quality of life for our people and about the history of our state.
When we’ve heard from El-Sayed, we have heard a vision that includes all of us, not just people who are wealthy and wealth connected. It includes people who honestly care about children and health care and housing and food. You can go to any corner, whether in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint or Benton Harbor, and these are issues that people care about. I’m excited that he has been able to reach people who normally don’t even care about politics. It’s been exciting to watch this journey.
Black voters are consistently told how important their votes are, but after Election Day, many feel their priorities get pushed aside. What do elected officials need to do differently to earn that trust beyond election season?
I’m going to be honest with you, I’m going to flip the question. I think Black folks need to do a better job of holding elected officials accountable. We can’t rely on leaders to come to us and tell us what our agenda is, whether during an election cycle or whenever they feel like it.
After Election Day, it’s important for us to say, you talked about health care and housing and food on the campaign trail. Now it’s January. Now it’s March. Now it’s June. Tell me what you’ve actually done that makes my life better.
As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, you know exactly where Michigan’s money goes. With families struggling with housing, groceries and health care, what’s one budget priority Michigan leaders can no longer afford to ignore?
The federal government has done a job on our balance sheet at the state level. The One Big Beautiful Bill just robbed us of so much money that made sure people had health care and food.
I’m somebody who believes it’s about the hierarchy of needs. If we don’t take care of the basics, you can’t actually listen to what somebody says if your belly is empty or if you can’t afford housing. So I think we have to get back to the basics. We need to make sure people have exactly what they need just to live a good life.
We often hear that every election is the most consequential of our lifetime. Beyond the political rhetoric, what is genuinely at stake for Black women and Black families in Michigan as tonight’s results unfold?
These last two years, the Trump administration and this Congress have done a number on everyone in the country, but particularly women and people of color. We saw what they did in terms of robbing thousands of people of their jobs. We saw the disinvestments in our health care and housing, even in our cultural institutions like our museums.
If we want to change the trajectory of our state and end some of this chaos, we have to take our actions very seriously. We need a Congress and a Supreme Court that is going to listen to people.
Regardless of who wins tonight, Michigan families will wake up tomorrow facing many of the same challenges. What should voters demand from their newly elected leaders in the first 100 days, and how will you personally help hold them accountable?
First of all, everybody’s going to be excited because we’re going to stop getting these text messages and these phone calls and seeing these ads. After the dust has settled, I think we have to demand better.
It’s one thing to fight against Trump and these congressional members. It’s another thing to tell our leaders to listen to us. We need to demand better for our children in our education system. We need to demand big policies like paid family leave, and things like making sure everybody in Michigan has clean water and access to quality, affordable housing. These are not things that we can’t afford. Our priorities are wrong.
So I think our state representatives and our senator and our governor need to hear from us. I just happen to be a senator, but I’m a grassroots organizer at heart. I’m excited to be able to work with the Democratic leadership here in Michigan to actually deliver for people.
Has the Democratic Party taken Black women voters for granted, and what would meaningful political accountability actually look like?
Anytime you have a long standing relationship, sometimes you have to come back and say, what have we done for me lately? Right? Whether it’s a friendship or a romantic relationship, we always have to say, are we still good? Are you still serving me?
I don’t think that’s a neglect of Black women in the party. I do think we always have to take the opportunity to do a pulse check and a gut check. We have to make sure the issues that impact us, such as child care, health care and paid family leave, are at the center of what we’re actually seeing from our elected leaders. I’m not going to leave the Democratic Party yet. I still think that’s the best opportunity for us to have our voices heard and our issues front and center.
Source: According to Porsha, featuring Porsha Monique and Michigan Sen. Sarah Anthony
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