Attendees Find Duggan's Interactive Approach Refreshing

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/10/2026) (GRAND RAPIDS) — “How many of you guys think this plan has merit?” said 2026 gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan.

Duggan was wrapping up his 90-minute presentation/Q&A on his education plan. The independent candidate had made his pitch to this crowd of about 100 Duggan-curious individuals. Based on the preliminary feedback, he had to have felt good.

If it didn't, the response to this last question must have. Almost every hand in the crowd shot up. Some even applauded.

“Think about what we didn't say today,” Duggan said, “Nobody said the word ‘Donald Trump,’ right? Nobody got mad at each other over this issue or that issue . . . We were talking about solving our children's education. This is why I'm running as an independent . . . most people in Michigan want to have this conversation."

Tuesday evening's “conversation” was on the second floor of the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids and is the latest stop in an aggressive schedule by the former Detroit mayor. He's doing three to six events in a span of roughly five to six days a week. Nearly all of them are private events or small groups. This public event was on the larger side, an equal mix of men and women. Lots of diversity.

It ran from 5 to 7 p.m. Attendees had pre-printed name tags. Veggie spring rolls, fruit cups, cheese, crackers, bottled water and cans of Coke were available to anyone who wanted them. Few partook.

They were there to see the man of the hour, the independent gubernatorial candidate, who spent the first half of an hour working the crowd. Pressing flesh. Personally greeting as many people as possible. Volunteers were at tables collecting signatures for his petitions. He needs at least 12,000 to make the ballot.

Duggan hopped on the stage around 5:30 p.m. He went to war with the overhead projector showing his PowerPoint. The venue staff eventually got him on the same page with his presentation.

For some in the room, the Duggan education plan was a rehash. Seven points:

1. The $1.3 billion in School Aid Fund that funds the General Fund is completely phased out in five years.

2. Transition K-12 funding to a fully weighted formula so schools with at-risk, English learners, career and technical education (CTE), and rural learners get more.

3. Suspend legislative pay if a K-12 budget isn't passed by July 1.

4. Create a Marshall Plan for early learning.

5. Create an A-F school measurement system with input from educators.

6. Drop $200 million into a revamped CTE system.

7. Create an Office of School Performance to crack down on administrators whose school buildings aren't improving.

Duggan went through each point in depth before getting to the questions and comments.

Kent ISD Superintendent Ron Gorman told Duggan he liked the idea of giving schools a choice of three A-F school measurement options. On the accountability piece, Gorman said, “I'm not worried about losing my job.”

“So, you actually like the plan?” Duggan asked.

“I do like it," Gorman responded.

Grand Haven School Board member Heather Herrygers started her comments by telling Duggan she liked his “listening and learning approach," but said she's not satisfied with getting the $1.3 billion back into the School Aid Fund after years of it going to fund universities and colleges. “I want my money back with interest,” she said.

Gideon Brewer of the Forest Hills school district asked Duggan if he'd heard of the “Alpha Plan” in teaching artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom. Duggan had not and asked Brewer to explain it to him, which he did.

A member of the Latino community asked Duggan how he planned to make sure the growing number of Latinx students feel comfortable maintaining their home language. Duggan asked him for suggestions.

“You probably haven't been to a governor's candidate night like this before, right?” Duggan said at one point, “They got answers for every question that could have been written by ChatGPT. That's not me. I'm more interested in learning than pretending like I have all the answers.”

Every time he holds one of these town hall meetings, he said he “enhances his plan.”

The attendees MIRS talked to after the fact found it refreshing.

“This is someone who wants to convene the best ideas,” said the executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan, Dan Behm, “It's not someone who's trying to sell his focus group-tested ideas. He's trying to pull people together and say, ‘What are the best ideas we can find from people around the state?’

“There's something authentic about that. It's different from someone who comes in with a polished set of talking points,” Behm said.

Tenell Hills, who sits on a local private school board, said, "I think he's bringing a real human aspect to it, separating the politics of it all. He talked earlier about how it's hard for anything to get done because, a lot of times, the candidates spend their time bad-talking to each other, so when it comes time to get the work done, nothing can get done . . . So, I appreciate him understanding that early on and stepping up.”

Duggan fielded some reporter questions after it was over.

How is he cutting $1.3 billion out of the General Fund? What does he think about Trump threatening to hold up the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge? What does he think of the federal scholarship tax credit? How will the rest of the state trust him in education when Detroit schools are among Michigan's worst?

He answered them all. Pressed some more flesh. Posed for some more pictures and the event was over.