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Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 82 – No. 9 | November 7-13, 2018
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Ford, GM and Toyota Rank Highest on Automotive Diversity Scorecard
2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent
Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor North America ranked high on the Rainbow Push Coalition 2018 automotive diversity scorecard. The annual ranking serves to hold automakers accountable and make minority representation in the automotive industry more than a trendy talking point, according to the organization, headed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The scorecard reveals the findings from a survey completed by the top 12 automotive manufacturers and grades them in six different categories including employment, advertising, mar- Rev. Jesse Jackson keting, dealership, procurement and philanthropy. The qualitative instrument is a color-coded system of red (least favorable), yellow, and green (most favorable). Rainbow Push released the rankings on Friday, Nov. 2 as part of the 19th Annual Rainbow PUSH/CEF Global Automotive Summit held in Detroit. Ford, GM and Toyota each reflected “best practices” in ethnic diversity in employment, marketing and philanthropy. While lagging slightly behind Ford and Toyota’s rankings for diversity in advertising and procurement, GM demonstrated best practices for diversity among dealers, according to the scorecard. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ranked in the middle among 12 automakers. Volkswagen and BMW were at the bottom of the list for diversity across the company. “We will continue our collective work with automakers that desire internal and external culture changes that embrace diversity. When we do that everyone wins,” Jackson said. While Ford and Toyota have done a lot to demonstrate best practices, GM has worked directly with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) – the trade organization that represents 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies around the country – to head a program that helps young aspiring journalists. The automaker and the NNPA provide HBCU students an exciting opportunity to “Discover the Un-
See DIVERSITY page A2
WHAT’S INSIDE
Whitmer Wins Michigan Governor's Office Results for Proposals 1-3
Proposal 1 Legalize Marijuana
YES Proposal 2 Anti-gerrymandering Measure
YES Proposal 3 Promote The Vote
YES
Money. B5
Voters sent Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow back to Washington, D.C. to serve a fourth term Tuesday after she defeated Republican challenger, Farmington Hills businessman John James in a surprisingly competitive race. With 61 percent of the votes reported the state’s senior senator was declared the victor after racking up 52 percent of the vote versus 46 percent for James. Stabenow staved off a surprisingly strong challenge to her seat from James who repeatedly questioned her effectiveness after 18 years in the Senate. The 37-yearold Navy veteran offered himself up as a young, vibrant, and energetic businessman with conservative credentials that would allow him to be a more effective representative for Michigan in a Republican-controlled Congress.
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iding a blue wave of Democratic victories across Michigan Tuesday, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer will be Michigan’s 49th governor come January, following her resounding defeat of Republican challenger Attorney General Bill Schuette in Michigan’s 2018 midterm election. With 56 percent of the precincts reporting, Whitmer declared herself the winner and Schuette conceded after she piled up 54 percent to 43 percent of the votes, cruising to a more than ten-point victory. Whitmer’s victory means she will be only the second woman to hold the top office in the state and the first Democrat since the end of the former Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm’s term in 20011. Whitmer waged a robust campaign after stepping down as minority leader of the Michigan Senate to run fulltime as the Democratic nominee. She previously served as the Ingham County prosecutor and used those prosecutorial skills to wage a contentious battle against Schuette; a President Trump supporting archconservative from Midland who accused her of being a traditional tax and spend liberal with an “extreme” agenda.
He desperately tried to tie her to the policies of the Granholm Administration, during whose tenure from 2002-2011 the state and country experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Schuette argued Whitmer’s policy proposals would take Michigan back to such grim days which he characterized as the “lost decade.” Whitmer, however, fought back emphasizing Schuette’s almost obsessive opposition to the Affordable Care Act, including his filing nine different lawsuits to get it declared as unconstitutional. Her argument deftly tapped into the health care anxieties of many Michigan voters worried about losing protections for preexisting conditions. Polls have consistently shown voters supported the state’s expansion of Medicaid for uninsured residents ever since it began in 2014. Turning the tables on her Republican opponent, she argued Schuette was the extremist as shown by his relentless hostility to the Affordable Care Act and by proxy, the state’s Healthy Michigan Plan which has provided health coverage to nearly 700,000 state residents since it was rolled out in 2014. Among that population are more than 100,000 Detroiters. And it has also brought more than $2.3 billion to the Michigan economy and created 30,000 jobs.
See WHITMER
WINS page A6
Stabenow Cruises To Fourth Term
By Trevor W. Coleman
Four Lies You’re Telling Yourself About Your Finances
By Trevor W. Coleman
Stabenow, however, was able to deftly use James conservative
record and uncritical support of President Trump as a cudgel to hammer him within the large urban centers throughout the state. Trump’s extreme unpopularity among minorities and women, along with his administration’s efforts to destroy the Affordable Care Act motivated near-record turnout in midterm elections across the country. She emphasized everywhere she campaigned that James said he supported President Trump’s agenda “2000” percent and was unable to offer any meaningful replacement for the Affordable Care Act if it were eliminated as President Trump has argued it should be. Polls have shown strong support for the law and voters being particularly concerned about undermining the law’s protections against discrimination against people with preexisting conditions.
That line struck a nerve with many Michigan voters who
See STABENOW page A6