What’s a typical day like for a United States Senator? We caught up with Sen. Debbie Stabenow just before heading into the WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) studios in Southfield. Her first stop on this day was an interview for a segment on “Spotlight on the News” with Chuck Stokes. GINA JOSEPH – THE MACOMB DAILY
Senator Debbie Stabenow made the announcement in January that she will not seek re-election and plans to leave the United States Senate at the end of her term, Jan. 3, 2025. Since then she has been inundated with interviews that have delved deep into a political career spanning nearly five decades.
But what about just one typical day?
To give constituents and the next generation of leaders looking to fill her seat an idea of what the job entails, we were invited to spend the day with Stabenow as she went about the business of being a Senator.
Her day usually begins around 8 a.m.
That is unless she has an earlier meeting or phone interview with a local radio station. Her two children are grown up and raising families of their own but she still packs a lunch in order to maintain a healthy diet, which might explain the pace she’s able to keep at the age of 73.
My day with the Senator began at 10 a.m. with her taping for Spotlight on the News with Chuck Stokes at WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) in Detroit.
As with many reporters interviewing the matriarch of politics I was still working my way through elementary school when she was elected to the Ingham County Commission in 1974. But years later, when assigned to cover her visits to Macomb County I always found her approachable.
Stokes had the same experience.
Warming up the interview and before getting to the heart of her decision to leave politics he recalled an incident that could have been detrimental to his career. He and his television crew traveled through a snowstorm from Detroit to Lansing to do the interview for Spotlight’s Newsmaker of the Year in December of 2000.
“That was the year she became the first female from Michigan elected to the United States Senate,” said Stokes.
The interview went well or so it appeared. When they returned to the studio they discovered all they had was a great video, with no audio
“It was a human error. Something wasn’t plugged in,” said Stokes, who then had to call the Senator and explain why he and his crew would need to return for a second time.
“She was so gracious. She just said, ‘No problem. When are you coming back?’ I’ve always been indebted to her for that,” Stokes said.
After sharing a little history between them the conversation moved on to more pressing matters like who Stabenow is hoping to pass the torch onto when her term is up in January of 2025.
“They are lining up on both sides of the aisle for your political seat,” Stokes said. “Is there anyone you might endorse?”
She replied “no.”
Then he asked her if she would if it became a close race?
Still, she said “no.”
“My plan is to let them duke it out,” Stabenow said. “I just want to make sure we have someone who loves Michigan as much as I do.”
Nobody can argue with that.
As a young woman growing up in the small town of Clare where her family ran an Oldsmobile dealership, Stabenow was known for her love of Michigan and as a student of Michigan State University planned on working for the state’s criminal justice system or in social work. But a fight to save a county medical care facility from being shut down ignited a fiery desire to solve problems for people in need that’s still burning.
“I was very concerned about it. So I got involved,” Stabenow said.
Other women joining in the fight saw the fire in her eyes and convinced her to run against the man trying to shut the facility down. So she did and at the age of 26 and despite having no experience won the race that launched her career as a politician.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Stabenow.
She could see everything she was interested in doing for others could be done on a broad basis as an elected official.
“It opened up a whole new world for me,” she added during a chat over a cup of coffee.
During one of these breaks, between traveling from the studio in Southfield to the Michigan Food and Farming Systems Field Day in Detroit and Macomb County Community Mental Health in Clinton Township I asked Stabenow if she considered herself a trailblazer.
I figured she had to since there were only eight women serving in the State House and none in the State Senate or top statewide offices when she ran for the State Legislature in 1978.
But she just smiled and humbly replied.
“I hope I’ve been opening doors for women. I feel like I have,” she said, adding what’s really important is not being the first of your kind but one of many who come after you.
“If there’s not three or four others you are just a token” she said.
Today, there are 44 women serving in the State House and 15 in the Senate including the Senate Majority Leader. Women also hold the top three statewide elected offices including the governor. Two of the state’s last three governors have been women.
She’s also a closer.
Hundreds of bills that she has authored over the years have become law including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which continues to protect a vital resource for Michiganders. She’s also sponsored or co-sponsored many more created by colleagues on both sides of the political arena.
“When it comes to Michigan, if it’s a good idea I don’t care who comes up with it,” Stabenow said, before finishing a bowl of soup and heading out the door to our next stop.
Navigating the day as always was Terry Campbell, a member of Stabenow’s team for more than 10 years.
“She found me,” said the former Corporate Operating Officer for Eastern Market when asked what led her to work for the Senator. Campbell – whose calm and friendly demeanor served Stabenow throughout her busy day –also worked for a nonprofit making her a great asset.
“I have an incredible team,” Stabenow said, as Campbell opened an umbrella to shield her from the rain that fell halfway through this day.
It did hold out for the farmers though.
After the interview with Stokes the caravan traveled to a neighborhood in Detroit for the Michigan Food and Farming Systems Field Day, where a panel of black women farmers expressed their frustration over Michigan’s current agricultural system.
“The system is broken,” said one livestock farmer.
Remi Harrington of Zoo City Farm and Food Network out of Ann Arbor and Lansing believes the funding allocated for farming programs run by nonprofits is not helping to make their operations sustainable.
“There needs to be a very specific nuanced approach to support black growers,” said Harrington.
Like many others she was happy to see Stabenow.
“I’m grateful to her as a matriarch of women in politics and for being part of the executive branch of the government working to help us,” Harrington said. “She chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. It’s really a profound legacy.”
After listening to their concerns Stabenow gave the group an update on the progress that’s been made including a recent meeting with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who seemed very passionate about it.
She said besides additional funding there are now 17 centers being set up across the country including one in Grand Rapids and Detroit along with advisory committees.
Then she reminded them that they are trying to adapt a rural system to an urban system and it has to be done in steps.
“Don’t give up. You’re doing a great job. It’s always hard at first but you are making a difference and you are getting people’s attention,” she said, before jumping back in her car and heading to her last engagement for the day.
“I felt like she was telling us, ‘I laid out the framework for y’all. Now get going,” said Harrington. “That’s what I got out of her speech.”
There’s no doubt Stabenow will be remembered as a champion for the Great Lakes and Michigan farmers.
But she’s not done yet.
What could prove to be her greatest accomplishment in the coming years is the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act, a bipartisan bill she authored with Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). It was not only the biggest step forward in expanding community mental health and addiction services in decades but has transformed the way we view health care.
Stabenow always wondered why nationally-funded health care above the neck is received differently than the rest of the body and when she finally presented the question to Blunt he said, “Go write a bill.”
The bipartisan legislation has flown under the radar until now.
Since it passed, a nationwide demonstration program setting the standard for care is proving successful in permanently closing the gap in funding between physical and behavioral health care in communities around the country.
Among the examples is Macomb County Community Mental Health (MCCMH) in Clinton Township, which was Stabenow’s last stop for the day.
As one of 34 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) in Michigan to receive the grant funding to expand their mental health and addiction services as part of the demonstration program, they were anxious to share their good news.
“It’s truly a transformation,” said Dave Pankotai, CEO for CCBHC.
Since establishing the clinic that provides 24/7/365 crisis services, outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment, immediate screening, risk assessment, and diagnosis along with primary health care services, care coordination with community partners and a pharmacy more than 15,000 people have been served.
“It’s helping out hundreds of thousands of people nationwide,” Pankotai said of the models created for the program.
A report by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing shows in the first year of operations, 93% of these demonstration clinics provided staff training in suicide prevention and response, 87% reported an increased number of people served, and 94% reported an increase in the number of people treated for additions.
The clinics have also been cost effective.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people who received services at CCBHCs:
• Had 69% fewer emergency department visits for behavioral health
• Spent 60.3% less time in jails
• Saw a 40.7% decrease in homelessness.
Many of these statistics were presented to Stabenow during her visit to the clinic along with testimonials from several people.
“I feel like my life is finally on track,” said a woman, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “My memory is coming back and I don’t feel like I’m being watched all the time.”
Today there are more than 500 of these clinics operating in 46 states, plus Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and Guam with more expected to open in the coming years.
“She was ahead of her time,” Pankotai said. “Having someone like her in Washington to support our needs has been a blessing and she will be missed.”
Stabenow’s last day in office is Jan. 3, 2025.
Until then she will continue to spend her days fulfilling a mixture of duties that include public events and individual meetings, while spending precious time with her family including her 97-year-old mother and five grandchildren.
As she told Stokes, she feels great.
She could probably serve another term but she wants to pass the torch on to the next generation and see some of her grandchildren’s milestones in person.
“It was a tough decision in a sense that I love what I’m doing,” she said.