Local leaders recently cut a seven-year pipeline from classroom to commission. The Wayne County Youth Council was a bridge that connected young people to the civic process. 

At the Wayne County Commission meeting on July 17, the Wayne County Commission voted to eliminate the Youth Council. 

The Wayne County Commission is the top legislative branch in the county. Some young people say this decision is silencing their voice and ending a vital way to learn about politics and policy.

Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke with Detroit Documenters Amanda Absher and Lynelle Herndon to learn what the commissioners and community members had to say about this decision. 

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Vetoes aren’t just polite refusals. They’re vital checks of power between executive and legislative branches, at every level of government. 

But when the city council doesn’t grasp how vetoes work, things can get heated.

During a recent city council meeting in Highland Park, confusion over veto authority sparked a heated moment with a dramatic walk‑out by Council Member Khursheed Ash-Shafii. 

The city council had previously voted to cease a contract with the consulting firm McKenna. The mayor vetoed that decision and then the city council was tasked with upholding or overruling the Mayor’s veto, per the city’s charter, at the Aug. 4th meeting. 

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke with Detroit Documenters Caitlin Santer and Lynelle Herndon to unpack the tension and decode what went wrong. 

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The Detroit Documenters play a vital role in improving our access to information. That’s because they attend a range of public meetings and document what leaders and community members are saying.

Detroit is in the middle of local election season. The primary is coming up on Aug. 5, followed by the general election in November.

Several boards and public bodies in Detroit have open seats, and it will take separate processes to make these boards whole. Some seats will be selected by voters and others will be appointed by local leaders.  

There are currently vacant seats on Detroit’s Public Schools Community District Board, Board of Police Commissioners, Wayne County Commission and the Tenants Rights Commission.

Detroit Documenters Coordinators Lynelle Herndon and Noah Kincade joined The Metro to help break it all down.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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In Detroit, three of the city’s seven city council districts have a community advisory council (CAC). The body helps advocate for residents’ issues and gives them direct access to city council members. 

Unfortunately, due to confusion around filing deadlines in the city clerks’ office, anyone who wants to run for  a CAC  will have to run as write-in candidate because their names won’t appear on the ballot. This includes incumbent candidates who have been serving on these councils for several years. 

To help us break down what CACs are, why only some distracts have them and what exactly happened that led to candidates missing the filing deadline, Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke with Detroit Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade and Outlier Media Civic Life Reporter Briana Rice.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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