TRAVERSE CITY — Newly minted U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, made her first major visit as senator to northern Michigan on Saturday to meet with key stakeholders in the local community.
Along the way, she talked with veterans, Coast Guard aviators, mental health professionals and several elected officials from the area.
During a press interview break, Slotkin decried the Trump administration’s new 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, calling them “not good for Michigan” because of their “harmful impact” on Michigan farmers, automakers and parts manufacturers.
“The No. 1 export market for Michigan farmers is Canada,” said Slotkin, who now sits on the Senate agriculture committee. “I understand the push for ‘Made in America,’ but this is going to hurt our autoworkers and farmers.
“Tariffs should be a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” she added. “When (Trump) previously imposed tariffs on China, U.S. farmers lost market share to Brazil and Argentina, which never came back.”
Slotkin, 48, said the new “blanket tariffs” will result in higher costs for automobiles and other vehicles, and she urged the Trump administration to “work through” the issues without causing “more suffering” for ordinary Americans.
Noting that many voters in northern Michigan counties vote majority Republican, Slotkin said she is “more than willing” to compromise on key issues such as veterans’ benefits, agriculture and broadband access for rural areas.
At the same time, she said she won’t compromise on democracy and fundamental rights established by the U.S. Constitution.
“I’m keenly aware that I was elected on the same ballot as Donald Trump (in November 2024),” she added. “My responsibility is to represent the interests of Michiganders to the best of my ability.”
HELPING RURAL COUNTIES
The new junior senator said one of her top priorities going forward is to help rural areas in Michigan get access to the federal funding they need.
“While I love our cities, I know that rural communities often get the short end of the stick,” Slotkin said. “That means dollars, support and advocacy in Washington.”
Her office now includes a full-time staffer who is tasked with helping Michigan residents, local governments and organizations navigate the available grants and funding available from the federal government.
Key issues of concern include housing affordability, homelessness and medical care access in rural areas, including the Grand Traverse region, she said.
During a roundtable discussion at the new Grand Traverse Mental Health Crisis and Access Center, Laura Appel of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association cited the severe shortage of child psychiatrists in the state.
“Only two out of 83 Michigan counties have enough child psychiatrists right now, and plenty of those counties have zero,” Appel said. “The entire U.P has only one – and I’m not sure if he’s retired or still practicing.”
Efforts to expand childhood mental health care through online telehealth meetings are “useful, but not the same thing as in-person visits,” she added.
On the housing front, Slotkin said the affordability crisis is “obviously a statewide problem” that needs solutions.
“The state of Michigan needs teachers, nurses, police, firefighters and psychiatrists,” she continued. “These are the professions that keep communities going.”
However, the affordability challenge is acute, particularly in Northwest Michigan, said panel member Nick Ceglarek, superintendent for Northwest Education Services.
The median selling home price in Grand Traverse County was $437,100 in December, he said, citing industry statistics. This represented a 7.6% increase over the previous year.
Finding answers to the crisis sometimes means looking far and wide for solutions that work, Slotkin said.
Boston, Massachusetts, is one such city facing a critical shortage of affordable housing for those frontline workers because many of them can’t afford to live in the community they serve, she noted.
In response, Boston leaders are “thinking creatively” to find solutions and provide incentives for that essential workforce, Slotkin said.
Examples include targeted low-interest loans, zoning changes to allow accessory dwellings on private lots, tax incentives for public-private partnerships, down payment assistance, and rental subsidies.
Boston also operates a “Housing Innovation Lab” that tests new housing models and works with partners to increase affordability.
“Housing is also a huge issue in Michigan that we must do something about it at an emergency level,” she said.
John Van Wagoner, superintendent of Traverse City Area Public Schools, explained new local efforts to build up to 72 new housing units for educators and support staff.
He also told Slotkin that about 500 TCAPS students can now be classified as homeless. “They’re couch-surfing from place to place, living in a car or in a tent. Travelers to this area think about Front Street and all the nice stores, but the fact is we have two schools where 100 percent of the students qualify for free lunch due to household poverty.”
NEW IDEA FOR SERVICE
Slotkin, who worked for the CIA, noted that the nation’s military academies offer four years of free education in return for a five-year commitment to serve.
She suggested that Michigan could offer students free education in key areas, like nursing, law enforcement and medicine, in return for a five-year commitment to work in underserved communities.
This approach would not only help rural communities and clinics, it would offer a pathway for students who are concerned about graduating with massive student loan debt.
Slotkin encourages area residents to contact her office with their concerns, as well as any new ideas for improving public policy.
“I do my best when I hear from you,” she told the roundtable group Saturday. “The best legislation comes from the ground up. Let’s find out what we can to to change federal regulations and laws so they work better for all of us.”
Some of the others participating Saturday included Scott Sieffert, who chairs the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners; Traverse City Mayor Amy Shamroe; Traverse City Manager Liz Vogel; Munson COO Laura Glenn; MHA Executive Vice President Laura Appel; and Kelsey Ostergren, director of health policy initiatives for MHA.
FROM NYC TO HOLLY
Elissa Slotkin was born in New York City, but spent her early life on family farm in Holly, Michigan.
The farm was part of Hygrade Meat Company, founded by her great-grandfather Samuel Slotkin, who emigrated from Minsk, Belarus, in 1900.
Hygrade was the original producer of Ball Park Franks.
Slotkin earned a bachelor of arts in sociology from Cornell University in 1998 and a master of international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2003, records show.
A longtime Democrat, Slotkin previously served as a U.S. representative for Michigan’s 7th district from 2019 to 2025.
She replaced outgoing Sen. Debbie Stabenow when she narrowly defeated Republican nominee Mike Rogers by fewer than 22,000 votes in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.
Before entering politics, Slotkin previously served as a CIA intelligence analyst and for the U.S. Defense Department. This is her first term in the U.S. Senate.