Detroit Democrat takes pro-business stand

Bill McConico

Position: State Representative from Detroit

District: 5 (northeast Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck)

Committees: Vice-Chair, Energy & Technology; Commerce.

Background: Born and raised in Detroit, in the area he now represents. Graduated from University of Detroit Jesuit High School; BA from Morehouse College; JD from Case Western Reserve University Law School.

Professional Background: After law school, McConico worked as chief of staff for State Rep. Artina Tinsley Hardman (D-Detroit). Before his election to the House in 2000, he worked for the Highland Park School District as a special education teacher at Barber Focus School.

Memberships: State Bar of Michigan; National Bar Association; Metro Detroit Optimist Club; Morehouse Alumni Association; Detroit Branch NAACP; Trade Union Leadership Council; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; 14th Congressional Democratic Party; Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Board of Directors; Black Caucus Foundation of Michigan Board of Directors; co-chair of the Minority Caucus of the Young Democrats of America.

Q: How did you become involved in politics?
A: I started at the local level—really local. My parents were involved in our “block club,” and I became vice president of the club when I was 11. In high school, I worked on Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign. From then on I just kept going.

In college, I worked for a U.S. senator and a congressman. I had never worked for state government until I became chief of staff for Rep. Artina Tinsley Hardman. Seeing the potential influence that a state legislator could have, I knew I was going to run for office.
I ended up running the following summer. Just seeing the process made me want to get involved even earlier than I thought I would. That’s what brought me here at age 27.

Q: What are your legislative priorities?
A: Bringing economic development to Michigan overall and particularly to the cities of Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. Our older communities have a crumbling infrastructure and a dwindling tax base. If we don’t do something to revitalize the cities, they will continue to erode.

I’m trying to bring economic development to the city. That will help to bring people back to the city, which will help with the crime rate and with education to help the city become more livable.

Q: What role does retail play in the process of economic development?
A: Retail’s role is vital. A lot of retailers are coming back to the city right now and investing in the community. As we bring back the businesses, more people will live here. When they want to live in the community, they get involved in the school districts and community life.
It starts with business. That’s a different approach than a lot of Democrats have had in the past. I’m business-friendly, because new businesses spur all the other type of growth.

Q: What role does government play in encouraging retail?
A: We in government have to break down bureaucracy and other impediments to retailers and other businesses that want to come into the city. Traditionally, Detroit has been considered a place where a new business is going to have to jump through too many hoops.

The city and state can provide incentives to retailers and other businesses to make it more attractive. Once the businesses are there, they can work together with residents to make the community more livable.

Q: What do you think about item pricing?
A: A lot of people misunderstand this issue. We have to be careful—to make sure consumers are protected. But changing technologies have led to easier ways of protecting consumers.
Consumers will actually receive better services if a store employee is not putting a tag on every screw. Retailers could retrain existing workers to do more useful things, like assisting customers, rather than having them do an archaic task that current technology makes unnecessary.

I’m sensitive to the concerns of labor: we don’t want a massive amount of job loss, which hurts the economy. People may need to be shifted around or their tasks may need to change.
But we also want to make sure that we have an efficient job force and we want to make sure the consumers have the best service.

Q: What are your thoughts on sales tax fairness—collection on remote sales?
A: We at the Democratic Caucus have been very cautious about this. Of course, the state has to have revenue. But we want to make sure it’s done in the proper way; we don’t want to dissuade people from spending their money.

I’m still waiting to see all the proposals that are coming out. I don’t want to see people over-taxed. But I’m also concerned that they pay the amount of tax that they really owe.

Q: What do you think of the anti-spam legislation being discussed at the state level?
A: Spam hurts everyone. Businesses are suffering in terms of efficiency. People’s time is wasted deleting hundreds of unwanted e-mails every day. Companies have to spend money on firewall systems and other protections from spam.

So I’m a co-sponsor of the legislation to make sure we bring some protection to our companies as well as individuals.

I’m not interested in over-regulation, however. When it comes to prior business relationships, that’s not spam. I have been getting promotions from LL Bean for years, for example. They know I want to keep getting sales promotions, including e-mails. It’s the other junk none of us want that’s the problem.

Of course, Congress has a wider scope and can do more. At the state level, we aren’t going to stop all spam. But we can make a dent in it, and our laws can serve as a deterrent.

It is a very complex problem, but I don’t think the state should abdicate its authority and leave it completely up to the federal government.

Q: What has been the high point of your career as a state representative?
A: The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) recently named me one of the “100 new Democrats to watch,” and I’ve been selected to be on its executive board, which is a great honor.