By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
With the newly formed 6th Congressional District in place, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell will be on the ballot with Republican challenger Whittney Williams of Canton Township.
The new 6th District includes parts of Wayne County, including the Downriver communities of Riverview, Trenton, Brownstown Township, Grosse Ile Township, Woodhaven and Gibraltar, and the western Wayne County communities of Belleville, Plymouth and Canton Township; all of Washtenaw County; and Novi, which is in Oakland County.
Debbie Dingell
1. Please list your education, experience and skills which make you a qualified candidate.
I have a B.S.F.S. in Foreign Services and an M.S. in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. For the last eight years, I have served as United States Representative for the 12th Congressional District of Michigan. With more than three decades of experience working in the auto industry, I know how to bring multiple stakeholders to the table to find common ground and bring real solutions to our community. Before being elected, from 2007-2014, I served on the board of Wayne State University.
2. Why are you seeking re-election and why should people vote for you?
Every day I’m home in Michigan, I am in my community at farmers markets, parades, festivals, concerts and anywhere else where I can hear directly from the people I serve. You can find me volunteering with local organizations to keep our neighborhoods clean or providing support to people in need. What I love most about this job is the connection to my neighbors and that will never change. To the voters of the 6th District, I promise that I will always listen to them, hear them and fight for them.
3. If re-elected, what are your top three priorities and how will you address them?
If I am re-elected, I will fight to lower costs, create jobs and protect the environment. Too many families are facing impossible financial decisions today and that’s why I have fought to bring down energy, housing, food and health care costs. As a car girl, I have led efforts in Congress and in the Administration to invest in a new era of mobility with electric vehicles that people can afford, an equitable, accessible EV infrastructure and the retooling of existing manufacturing plants so EVs are built right here in Michigan. Finally, I fight every single day to ensure our communities have clean air, water and soil by getting rid of lead pipes, banning dangerous PFAS chemicals and protecting our precious resources like the Great Lakes.
Whittney Williams
Whittney, 40, of Canton Township, has declined to comment to most media outlets throughout the campaign. She is a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan who arrived in the U.S. when she was 10 years old.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Ballet Performance from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in Strategic Communications, with an emphasis in Public Relations, from Purdue University. She has worked in the automotive and marketing industries.