LANSING, Mich. — About 50 people attended a Democrat-hosted town hall Friday night at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, where voters expressed concerns while calling for more aggressive political tactics.
- Michigan Democrats created Vision Project in hopes of listening to concerns from constituents
- The first Vision Project town hall in the Lansing area happened Friday night
- FY 2026 budget is still not complete with deadline coming at the end of September
WATCH: MICHIGAN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS AS BUDGET DEADLINE APPROACHES
Democrats launch listening tour after losing supermajority
After losing their supermajority at the Capitol last November, House Democrats created the Vision Project to reconnect with voters across the state.
State Representative Julie Brixie said Democrats are traveling throughout Michigan to hear directly from constituents about their priorities. Brixie said the idea came Minnesota lawmakers who created the program.
"Affordable housing was a common theme but also a lot of people were impacted by medical care," Brixie said about Friday's town hall.
Lansing resident Alex Jones attended the town hall and expressed urgency about the party's messaging strategy.
"Talk more about tariffs and let them know that they're destroying this economy," Jones said. "It's time now to fight fire with fire. We're past being nice."
Budget impasse threatens government operations
The looming budget deadline has created tension between the parties, with each side blaming the other for the potential shutdown.
Brixie pointed to Republican control of the legislative agenda as the primary obstacle.
"And the Republican House is not doing it. They control the agenda. They control the committees and they refuse to pass their budgets," she said.
"The Republicans are stopping the budget from happening and people are very afraid about the impacts of a governmental shutdown on their lives," Brixie added.
Republican leadership responds
Senator Jim Runsted, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, counters that Democrats haven't presented a balanced budget to address key priorities like roads and schools.
I asked Runsted what the key will be towards passing a state budget before the deadline.
"I think it's going to be appealing to the people and what they wanted. They want more money for roads," Runsted said when asked about the key to passing a budget on time.
Runsted also criticized Democratic control over education funding decisions.
"They really didn't like any of this stuff about the freedom of the schools to have the money to spend themselves as opposed to being directed through the Department of Education, which is controlled by the Democrats," he said.
Despite the partisan tensions, Runsted expressed optimism about reaching an agreement before the deadline.
"Hopefully we can get some agreement from the Democrats," he said.
The current fiscal year is set to end September 30.
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