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Ex-Detroit health director campaigns for governor in northern Mich.

Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan

A Democrat running for governor in Michigan is touting his experience leading the city of Detroit’s health department in the aftermath of the city’s bankruptcy. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is campaigning in northern Michigan this week.

“We rebuilt a department,” El-Sayed said in an interview with IPR News Radio. “It is now a department that has five different campuses doing great work for the people of Detroit.”

El-Sayed led public health efforts in Detroit for less than two years before leaving his job to run for governor. The 32-year-old medical doctor would be one of the youngest governors in Michigan’s history if elected. He would also be the nation’s first Muslim governor.

El-Sayed spoke to a crowd of Grand Traverse Democrats at an event in Traverse City Monday night. 

El-Sayed said he would focus on campaign finance reform and government transparency in his first days in office.

“Right now we have too many lawmakers who are bought and sold because we have some of the worst transparency in the country,” El-Sayed said. “Campaign finance is among the least transparent. We have a system of gerrymandering that means that some voters are worth more than others.”