Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan received a major endorsement that may set him a part from his other gubernatorial candidates. As part of the weekly series MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow discuss how this move influences the rest of the race. Then, Michigan Sen. and Chair of the Senate K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) joins the show to discuss the K-12 budget and what he’s willing to negotiate. 

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In this episode:

• Duggan receiving an endorsement from a group that normally backs Democrats
• Sen. Camilleri’s thoughts on the proposed K-12 budget
• Whether budget negotiations will be settled by July 1 deadline

The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights — a union representing more than 14,000 members across the state — announced this week it was endorsing Duggan for governor. 

Although endorsements don’t equal votes, Gorchow says this powerful group may help draw legacy support away from Democrats.

“It’s one thing for a group to endorse. It’s another to put resources behind a candidate. And the carpenters union has done that for gubernatorial candidates in the past,” Gorchow said. “While the union did endorse Republican Rick Snyder for governor, it traditionally backs Democrats. It endorsed Gretchen Whitmer for governor twice, among others.” 

Later in the show state Sen. Camilleri shared what’s in store for K-12 school funding, as well as his thoughts on the governor’s race.

The first-term senator and his Democratic colleagues passed a K-12 budget bill earlier in the spring that’s about $600 million more dollars than what Gov. Whitmer recommended. Since then, Gorchow says, the revenue outlook has cooled a bit.

Still, Camilleri says the state is “on the right road,” pointing out that it still has a balance on its School Aid Fund Balance Sheet.

“Even with the budget that we passed, we are well situated to pass it as-is,” he said. “I’m sure we’re going to have some differences between the governor and whatever the House puts out, because we’re still waiting to see what their proposal is.”

Camilleri says he agrees that Michigan is not yet where it needs to be on certain education metrics compared to other states across the country.

“However,” he said, “we have not seen the full outcome of these investments in at-risk funding, or in mental health and school safety, or some of the other programs that we’ve lifted up, including literacy funding,” noting that Senate Democrats are focused on making “long-term investments” in these “proven tools.”

The deadline for enacting a state budget is July 1.

More from WDET:

• The Metro at MPC: Is Michigan doing enough to prepare K-12 students for higher education?
• Detroit Evening Report: Duggan pushes for small business regulation reform in Detroit
• MichMash: Michigan legislature’s budget debate surfaces at Mackinac Policy Conference

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.