Michigan United

A year before joining Michigan United, current executive director Ken Whittaker was involved in an election controversy for creating a plan to have a write-in candidate with no known political experience run as a write-in candidate to be mayor of Detroit in 2013. ⁵ The write-in candidate’s name, Mike Dugeon, was pronounced in the exact same way as then-candidate and election favorite Mike Duggan (D), who was also a write-in candidate after a court order took him off the ballot. Dugeon’s campaign was seen as a way to confuse voters in order to undermine Mayor Duggan’s legitimate run by trying to confuse voters. ⁵ Whittaker reportedly supported Mayor Duggan’s opponent, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon (D). ⁵

Political Activism

In 2012, the Michigan Organizing Project (MOP) and the Alliance for Immigrant Rights (AIR) merged to form Michigan United. ⁶ Both of the organizations focused on promoting left-of-center immigration policy, with MOP supporting proposals for illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses and AIR claiming to have recorded cases of profiling in Detroit by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ^{7 8}

Since the merger, Michigan United has expanded its scope to include projects on health care, criminal justice, and environmentalism.

Immigration

Michigan United has adopted far-left policies on immigration, advocating for local law enforcement officials to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement authorities. Michigan United accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP of being “notorious” for the “rampant use of racial profiling” and threatened that municipalities which work with federal immigration authorities may be liable for civil rights violations. ⁹

Michigan United has also supported the implementation of government-funded services for illegal immigrants, including citizenship classes and English as a second language classes. The organization has urged municipalities to issue identification cards to illegal immigrants, in addition to creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. ⁹

In 2017, some Detroit-area churches considered housing undocumented immigrants that were in fear of being deported. ¹⁰ Ryan Bates, then-executive director of Michigan United, told a crowd that churches should break the law and house the undocumented immigrants in the “spirit of civil disobedience, in the same tradition of sitting down at lunch counters and the freedom rides and getting arrested for a good cause,” comparing left-of-center immigration policy to the civil rights movement. ¹⁰

In February 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) canceled the sale of a former state prison to a company that sought to turn the facility into a $35 million immigration detention center. ¹¹ Jack Eggleston, a board member for Michigan United, praised Whitmer’s decision. ¹¹ That same year, Michigan United protested two proposed state laws which sought to bar any local governments from passing laws to prohibit cooperation with immigration authorities. ¹²

Other Issues

In addition to supporting left-of-center immigration policy, Michigan United has advocated for a broad of left-of-center agenda. Michigan United supports so-called “restorative justice” proposals as an alternative to incarceration and has argued for a decrease in the prison population, alleging that tough on crime policies have “systematically over-policed and criminalized” ethnic minorities. ¹³

Michigan United also engages in environmentalist activism, targeting Marathon Petroleum with a campaign for over 8 years by claiming that the company had polluted areas in Detroit. The campaign forced Marathon to spend $5 million to buy out African-American homeowners in the area. Michigan United has also support left-of-center environmentalist calls to force the state of Michigan to commit to a carbon-neutral energy plan. ¹⁴

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan United formed a healthcare team to advocate for increased government control over healthcare programs, claiming that “access to affordable reliable healthcare is a human right.” ¹⁵ Michigan United then-executive director Bates organized a direct protest against right-of-center COVID-19 policies. In October 2020, Michigan State Senator Mike Shirkey (R—Branch) stated he was in favor of rolling back government mandates that shut down in-service dining in order to promote “herd immunity.” ¹⁶ Bates showed up at the Michigan Capitol a few days after Sen. Shirkey’s comments wearing a hooded Grim Reaper costume and carrying boxes labeled “COVID death certificates.” ¹⁷

Mike Duggan Write-In Controversy

In the 2013 primary election for mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan (D) had to run as a write-in candidate after a court challenge removed from the ballot. ¹⁸ Another write-in candidate emerged named Mike Dugeon, whose name is pronounced exactly like Duggan. ¹⁸ Dugeon had no known political experience, and new outlets deemed that his candidacy was a political ploy to help Duggan’s main primary opponent, Benny Napoleon. ^{19 20}

Detroit TV station WXYZ reported that current-Michigan United executive director Ken Whittaker was the “behind-the-scenes” operative who promoted Dugeon as a write-in candidate. ⁵ WXYZ reported that Dugeon thought that Whittaker had created a Facebook page supportive of Dugeon’s campaign and that Whittaker approached him to be his “social networking campaign manager.” ⁵

Whittaker admitted he spoke “supportively” to Dugeon but said he had no “formal” affiliation with Dugeon’s campaign for mayor. ⁵ Whittaker had a political yard sign supportive of one of Duggan’s rivals, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon (D), outside of his home, but he claimed that it was his wife’s yard sign. ⁵ Critics accused Dugeon’s campaign of being an attempt to confuse voters and undermine Duggan’s run for mayor in order to support Napoleon’s chances. ⁵

Leadership

The Michigan United board of directors includes many people affiliated with left-of-center labor unions as well as Abdul El-Sayed, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Michigan. ²¹ El-Sayed ran on a far-left platform including the implementation of a $15 minimum wage and the creation of legislation to prohibit Michigan law enforcement officials from working with federal immigration enforcement. ²² El-Sayed campaigned on the immediate shutdown of Enbridge Line 5, a natural gas line which delivers 55% of all propane in Michigan. ²³ El-Sayed also promoted strict gun laws, including a ban on so-called assault weapons, and opposed legislation requiring that Medicaid recipients be employed. ^{24 22}

Aamina Ahmed, interim chair of the board of directors, was on a public school district’s policy advisory committee. The committee recommended that Plymouth-Canton public schools adopt a transgender policy to allows students, employees, and visitors to use any restroom or locker room they choose, regardless of gender. ²⁵

Seydi Sarr, the treasurer of Michigan United, ran for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2018 as a Democrat before losing in the Democratic primary. ²⁶

Nicole Alequin is listed as the deputy executive director at Michigan United. ²⁷ Alequin worked as the organizing coordinator for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Michigan for six years. ²⁸

Ken Whittaker, described as a “Democratic activist,” took over as executive director of Michigan United on April 5, 2021. ^{5 29} Whittaker held a number positions within the Michigan state and national Democratic Party before joining Michigan United. ²⁹ The Michigan Democratic Party has previously named him Young Democrat of the Year. ²⁹

Financing

Michigan United is still incorporated under the Michigan Organizing Project name. The organization reported $1.2 million in revenue in 2019. ³⁰ While working as executive director, Bates had an annual compensation of $79,581, which included a base salary of $67,423 and fringe benefits of $12,158. ³⁰