Well I interrupt the regularly scheduled programming with a post in response to the events that transpired on Tuesday, November 8th.

This was my first time voting in a national election in Michigan. This was my first time voting in Detroit. And on Tuesday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find a long line at the polls at 7:05 am – a line so long that I had to leave without voting to make it to my 8:00 am meeting downtown. When I returned at 6:30 pm, I found my place in an even longer line, but I waited patiently to cast my ballot. I know I went right home, but the rest of the evening is a blur. It’s hard to describe the emotions I experienced in the next few hours.

Although I am incredibly disappointed in the results of the national election and America’s choice for the 45th President of the United States, I am equally disturbed by the results of the local proposals, specifically the millage for regional transit. After experiencing many of the seven stages of grief in response to all election results, I came to a conclusion: I am an outsider here in southeast Michigan. I reside in a region where my values do not align with the values of the majority of the voting population. For the 27th time, a proposal for regional transit failed in the Detroit Metropolitan Region of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties.

“It leaves southeast Michigan as the only large region in the nation (and one of a few in the world) without a functioning regional rapid transit system.  That means residents still will lack a convenient transit connection to jobs, communities will remain unconnected to one another, economic development will be more difficult and seniors and people with disabilities will lack the greater independence a fully functional transit system would provide.” Source: RTA

I firmly believe that cities and regions that do not change will not succeed; they will not become thriving urban areas. And the residents of this region are choosing to fail. The proposal might not have been perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.

Without regional transit, it is unlikely that Michigan and its southeast region will grow, attract young diverse residents, or become a thriving urban region.

I value public transit and I prefer to live in a region where my values align with my community, city, region, and state. I am disheartened and the failure of this local proposal has made me question the longevity of my residency in southeast Michigan.

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