U.S. Sen Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, met with officials from Bay City, Bay County and the surrounding area for a closed meeting to hear their concerns on a number of issues impacting the region.
Some of the topics discussed were infrastructure, housing, education and healthcare. Members of the media were not allowed to attend the formal meeting.
Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham brought up a need for more mental health resources that could reduce the number of people incarcerated.
“I like talking and we've been working on like different options to help those people and give them the treatment they need so that they can stay in society,” he said.
Bay City Mayor Christoper Girad said the city’s bridges, sewer systems and roads could be improved through federal assistance.
“We only have finite resources coming in and we're limited on what the state allows us,” he said.
State Sen. Chedrick Greene, D-Saginaw, was in attendance and said housing in his district needs to be addressed.
“I live in this community,” he said. “We see the housing issue consistently over and over again in the 35th District. We are tackling the best we can.”
Slotkin has hosted a number of roundtables over the past year to meet with local officials and hear their concerns.
She said it’s her job to “come to communities, hear from people, and then figure out what am I going to fight for when I go back.”
The U.S. Senate returns from its August recess on Sept. 14, and the Democratic senator is hoping for a busy end of the year in Congress.
“You're going to see a raft of legislation,” she said. “You're going to see a raft of things we're going to fight for in terms of money, appropriations and speaking out on the issues that people care about the most.”
