Meet Anthony Eid: Candidate for Michigan House District 9

Attorney Todd Perkins sits down with Anthony Eid, a Detroit policy advocate, community leader, former commissioner and chairman of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, and candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives in District 9. 

Anthony discusses his path into public service, why he decided to run for state representative, and the experiences that have shaped his approach to leadership. The conversation examines the issues affecting Detroit families and neighborhoods, including housing affordability, healthcare access, transportation, education, economic opportunity, community development, and government accountability.

In this episode:

•  Why Anthony Eid is running for Michigan House District 9 
•  His experience in public policy and community advocacy 
•  Housing affordability and neighborhood development 
•  Access to healthcare, transportation, and education 
•  Lessons from Michigan’s independent redistricting process 
•  Building coalitions and moving legislation through Lansing 
•  What accountable representation should look like for Detroit residents 

What issue should the next representative for House District 9 address first? Join the conversation in the comments, share the episode, and subscribe to Perkins for the People for more discussions with the people shaping Detroit and Michigan.

Websites

Learn more about Anthony Eid and his campaign:
www.voteanthonyeid.com

Learn more about Attorney Todd Perkins and Perkins Law Group:
www.perkinslawgroup.net

#AnthonyEid #MichiganHouseDistrict9 #ToddPerkins #PerkinsForThePeople #DetroitPolitics #DetroitCommunity #MichiganPolitics

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I think for anything that we can do to lower taxes for everyday and shift that tax burden to speculators or two large-scale corporations who I think need to pay more of their fair share. I think that's the way it has to go about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Well, we are back for uh another session of Perkins for the People. And today I have a special guest. You know, a lot of times people say special guest, and this is a guy that I met who is, I mean, his resume, we're gonna go through that. I want to introduce him to our community. Um, Anthony Eed is here today, and he is running for office, he is, but I think even more than that is what he's met in the community. That's how I met him, and I met him in that space, he's still in that space, and even when he is successful in his um candidacy, I still expect him to be operating in that space and working for the people. Um, but good good morning to you, Anthony. Good morning, Ms. It's a pleasure to be on. Yes, well, thank you for coming out, and I know you're busy, it's it's the height of campaign season. And um, you know, but let's talk about um let's talk about your history. You're you're you're from our community, you're from uh Southeast Michigan. Absolutely. Um you're a Detroiter today, correct? Oh, for the past uh 15 or so years.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Oh well you're a Detroiter then, okay. So I mean you're your whole adult life has been spent here in Detroit.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

So you're you're a Detroiter. So we have a Detroiter here, but you you were born um in Oakland or Wayne County?

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Oakland. So I grew up uh in the suburbs in West Bloomfield.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Uh, you know, went to West Bloomfield High School, a product of public schools here in our state. Um and then I moved here for Detroit to Detroit to attend college at Wayne State. Okay. Um I went there, got three degrees, was a student body president for a number of years, uh, finished that up, and I've been here ever since.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

So you've been working for communities, you were just working for the Wayne State community, and now you're working for our community. Absolutely. So, you know, today, you know, I I I met you as I I consider you an activist, um, someone who works um who knows how to get laws passed, who has who knows how to explain policy and laws to the people and people who are not lawyers, because those are most of people that you serve. Um so where are you working today? Tell us tell about tell us about that.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

So these days I hold uh a few different community positions. Okay, I'm the senior director of public policy with CDAD, Community Development Advocates of Detroit. It's a pl it's a nonprofit that acts as an intermediary, an intermediary between uh groups like block clubs, small-scale developers, uh neighborhood organizations. We really try to provide support for them when it comes to getting their goals and advocating for their needs. I also do the policy work for COTS, the homelessness organization here in our city. And uh, you know, I don't have to tell you, but we really see the effects coming down on Michigan from Washington, D.C. and how it's affecting our homeless community here in the city of Detroit.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

So let me go back to is it you said C C DAP. CDAP. CDAP, uh C D A D. You got it. Okay. So you're in that position and you're doing what is it to do policy? Tell, tell, you know, because we have, you know, a lot of non-lawyers. Yeah. Um, you know, so let us know what you policy, what does that mean? Like, what are you doing, and right how does that help that particular organization?

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Because I I think it's focused on housing and it's focused on really the neighborhoods, the really the people, right? That's what it comes down to. The people and people are organized in neighborhoods, and neighborhoods often have to advocate back to the city, and they often don't get heard. So for me, policy, first off, as a membership organization, we have to survey our members and see what they want. Then after seeing what they want, we create that into a policy agenda and advocate for that policy agenda. Okay. For example, probably the number one thing I work on is affordable housing. And we see this word affordable, right? But affordable for who is the question.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Uh we have an AMI here in Wayne County, but that's what this was AMI. So the uh average median income for individuals here in Wayne County.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

But we know Wayne County has a lot of communities that aren't Detroit, and the Detroit AMI is quite a bit lower than the Wayne County AMI because our income levels just happen to be lower for a multitude of reasons. Um, so focusing on what really is affordable for Detroiters here in our city, the metrics that we like to use is between 30 to 50% AMI when it comes to affordable housing developments. Whereas most places uh you see that number be 80 to 120%, which might be affordable to some folks, but really is not affordable to Detroiters. Um that's one aspect. Another big aspect of what we do is centered around the building of affordable of different housing structures through things like community land trusts, shared ownership models, um, and the sort. We have a vast amount of land here in Detroit that I don't think a lot of people realize. We have a land bank that has about 60,000 pieces of land. The next biggest in the entire country is down in Baltimore. They have 15,000. So we have four times as much land as the next urban city uh in the entire country. And we need to figure out ways to use that land and bring it back to productive use for the citizens here in Detroit. So I I look at that as opportunity. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

If done properly. And it takes uh organizations like yours, policymakers like you, to make sure that it's done properly. When I say properly, it's done for the good of the general populace, not for the few and the elite.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Absolutely. And historically, that has been a problem that we've seen with the land bank, the favoritism of um, you know, large developers instead of the small-scale folks who might be trying to uh you know make a new development for us off. A lot of that land doesn't have any structure on it currently because of one of the demos that have taken place over the past 15 years in our city, which probably were necessary at the time, but now we're at the opportunity stage, or we can turn that land into good opportunity if we get it into the hands of the people. And the land's there, we have the chance to get it into the hands of the people. It's a question on how do you do it.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Great, great.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Now, what is it that you're doing with costs? So I do their policy as well. Okay. Our policy is focused around housing and homelessness, education and transportation. Those are really the three main pillars of issues that we see in the community of people experiencing homelessness. And really, like people think of these issues as separate issues when they're not. You know, back I I never thought I'd be in policy and in politics. I actually studied medicine back in the day, and we had a term for these issues. They're called socioeconomic determinants of health. They're all of the things in our society that end up leading back to the health of our community. Socioeconomic determinants. Yep, determinants of health, the things in the systemic issues in society that really determine your health. Now I'll never forget, back in my first class in med school, it was anatomy lab. We uh, you know, we were dissecting cadavers, and what I took most from that class was the number one thing that determined how long you were gonna live. It wasn't your race, it wasn't your weight, it wasn't any sort of health issues that you had. You know what it was? It was your zip code. Wow. That was the number one determinant of how long a life your life expectancy would be uh here in our city. And that tells you, more so than anything else, to determine the health of our communities, it's the systemic factors, the things you eat, the roof over your head, the air you breathe, the water you drink. We're talking about air quality.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

If we look outside, it looks uh it's getting a little better today, but not good for and probably not good for the rest of the summer.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Absolutely, not good for the rest of the summer, and we already have some of the highest rates of asthma in the entire country. We already have the highest rates of maternal mortality in the country. We have more mothers dying in childbirth here in Detroit than any other place in the whole country. I didn't know that. And uh, you know, that's why I'm in this race. Yeah. So back to homelessness, though, those three issues housing, having a roof over your head, education, and transportation are really our main focus. And um we're at a time right now where homeless folks are really being demonized. Uh, from a federal level, we're seeing laws passed all across across the country that are actually criminalizing homelessness. Just two weeks ago, we had a meeting with our continuum of care here in Detroit that um essentially takes all of the funding from HRD. HRD. HRD, Housing Uh Revitalization Department with the City of Detroit. Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

I just want I want our, you know, because you're so in, you're in the jargon. I hate it. If nothing else, you know what our audience is getting? You're in it. We're in it. And you love what you do. I I'm getting that right now. I mean, I could tell that you did when I met you last year, but you know, you're in it. But you know, you're I want them to understand and grasp what you're doing because it's important work. Um, you know, the gravity of what you're doing can get lost by how much you're doing, you know, and then you know, and I know you might want to finish that up, but I gotta go here. You're doing all this stuff, great stuff. And you're finding the time to run for office. I mean, you know, yeah, it is, you know, and I I was interested to know, I didn't realize we don't have any Chaldean American representation in our legislature.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

There's not one. I did not know that. There's not one currently, in fact. So, you know, I'm Chaldean American. Yes. I'm blessed to be a first generation American. I love America. You know, my family, we're we thank God every single day that we ended up here. But they came to this country, my mom from Iraq, my dad from Lebanon. Okay. Um, like most Chaldeans, after experiencing religious prosecution, we're we're Catholic.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

And um, you know, they've been here ever since. And then me and my siblings came along, and uh, it's a very large community of about 200,000 Michiganders that make up the Chaldean community. Most of them aren't in Detroit. There's a lot in Sterling Heights, there's a lot in West Boonfield. However, there are quite a few Chaldean business owners here in the city. Absolutely. Absolutely. And to have no representation for almost 200,000 folks is uh is a travesty, really. Especially, you know, we have a lot of representation on a whole bunch of different uh ethnic communities. But this one's missing. In fact, if I were to win this race, which we will, I'd actually be the first ever Keldean American elected as a Democrat. So that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

As a Democrat, there we go.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

And honestly, it'll it'd only be the second overall. There was only one previously. He was a Republican, Clint Cesto. And pretty much well-liked legislator, kind of more moderate, um, you know, very pragmatic lawmaker. Oh, yeah, and a good lawyer. Very good lawyer, very good lawyer.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

No, I I I've seen I've seen his ascendancy, and it continues to grow. So more so than the House District 9.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Okay, go ahead. Uh it used to be uh former Speaker Tate's district. Okay. So it comes, it's still there now, but he's finishing out and he decided not to run again this time around. Okay. So it's an open seat. It represents downtown, midtown, new center, Corktown, Woodbridge, where I live. And then it runs up through the east side, through Jefferson, through Belle Isle, uh, including all of the historic village communities here in the city, and ends right at the border of Detroit and Gross Point.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

It's pretty big, pretty substantial. It's it's a big square. It is, it is really that is. I didn't realize how these lines were drawn at this point, but uh no, that's um that's a lot of ground to cover. It is. It is. And uh, so what is your plan for this? I mean, you you've got a diverse um constituency. You know, you've got the east side and then you've got Woodbridge. And I see you live in Woodbridge, you didn't go too far from Wayne State, huh? No, you're still there. You're all still there.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Well, you know, I'd love to be uh a homeowner one day. Currently I'm a renter, but that's why we got to get these housing prices down, not not only for me, right, but for everyday Michiganders. You know, I'm blessed to have you know a good job. I I had a good education. If it's hard for me to buy a home, I think of you know the everyday working class people here in our state, right, and how hard it must be for them to buy homes.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Well, you know, I I think when you do the work that you do, it's a common state, and I'm sure as a young person, you know this. When you talk to people, you've got what they call street cred. You're like, hey, I'm in it with you. And I understand, and even I even have a good job, and I'm still you know not able to get to that point. So I want to make it for everyone that they can all have a home ownership and just a home over their head. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

That's what we need.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Yeah, so let me say, so you have you understand the difficulty you have as a legislator for this particular area, is all the needs that are different from because you know, you see a probably a more affluent um community in downtown and midtown and in Woodbridge, whereas you go out to the east side, you you see maybe not as much affluence, but yet it's still a growing community, and it's and I see thriving, even though there still needs to be a lot more development in there. What how would you um you know what do you intend to do for actually more so that side of the community?

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Well, so you're right. The the different parts of the district do have different uh needs. Right. On the east side, for example, right now there's a big environmental issue around the canals and Jefferson Chalmers. Yes, huge issue that we need to get figured out. You know, they their basements shouldn't be flooding every time it rains here in the city.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

And that's a state. I I think that the state needs to, I understand it's a city pro those are city properties, Detroit. But I still think you're I think you're right in that regard. It's gonna take legislation from the state to help in that as massive as a project that would be.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Exactly. It's an environmental issue. A lot of environmental issues come from the state at the end of the day. And it's gonna require partnership between the state and the city too, which is something that we need to promote more. Um, that's one issue. The property tax issue is a huge issue that I see. Bringing it back to again home ownership and owning property in the city. You know, we have some of the highest property tax rates in the whole country here in the city of Detroit. And there are ways we can lower that. In the last Detroit budget, actually, it was just reduced by one millage, which is nice, um, but that's not enough. We need to continue to work with our partners in the city to find innovative ways to reduce that. Now, that could come in the form of, you know, we've heard we've heard a bunch of different things. We've heard a land value tax that the former mayor wanted to do. We've heard a uh a potential dollar tax on sporting event tickets, we've heard a potential city-based uh tax. But for me, I think anything that we can do to lower taxes for everyday Detroiters and shift that tax burden to speculators, to large-scale corporations who I think need to pay more of their fair share, I think that's the way we need to go about it.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

So um so basically getting a reduction, but not taking away the needed revenue for the city to operate itself.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Well, the city, yeah. I mean, we need the revenue here. Right. So we it's not about reducing the revenue in the budget, it's about shifting who's paying for it. And um, you know, others other cities do it. We're not unique in that way. And we uh maybe have to take a look at what some of the other major urban cities in our country are doing and institute some of uh those values here in Detroit. I mean, I mean we know I do think there's progress being made. Like I said, the last budget did have that one millage reduction in property tax, but we know budgets really are moral documents, and there's more that there's more that we can do.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

You said budgets are moral documents. Absolutely. I I love that. Yeah, I love that. So could you explain that, you know? I understand what you mean by that, but just I think you, you know, when you say something like that, you have to explain that. That that that is well platform building.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

When the city makes a budget, especially a budget like how we have here in the city of Detroit, where it's a strong mayor system. The mayor has a heck of a lot of power. Mayor creates the budget, it goes to the city council. The city council can change some things, but they can't change everything in the budget. They can allocate a certain amount of discret discretionary funds in different places. But it's a moral document because that tells the citizens where the priorities of the city administration lie. Is it with billionaire large-scale developers, or is it with the citizens of the city? We're having this argument right now, for example, over the right to counsel ordinance. Right. An ordinance that provides folks who may be behind on their rent the right to a lawyer before they can get evicted. And uh currently it's was funded through ARPA dollars, the American Rescue Plan Act dollars, uh, passed by the Biden administration. But those funds are by and large gone now. And the city is saying they can't fund it because then in the budget it'd be playing favorites for citizens. Uh that's what the legislative law department has essentially said. Now I don't think that's right. I think we should fight right to we should fund right to counsel, and we should um, you know, give folks a chance who might be falling behind, who might need a little bit of help, a chance to stay in their homes. Because the alternative is they they become homeless. And I don't think anybody wants that.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

That's uh that moral document, I'm still not. I mean, I agree with what you're saying. Um, and you know, we're we're we're we're floating along the same pathway right now.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Now, let's get into your I'll tell you one more thing. It's not only the city budget, the state budget's a moral document.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

I took that on all levels.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

The federal government budget is probably the biggest moral document that we've had, and we're seeing so many problems here in Michigan due to the president's HR 1 bill, the big, beautiful budget bill that they passed. Um and you know, Michigan had a $2 billion reduction in funding due to that bill. Most people don't realize it. So the state is in a deficit right now, and we're seeing that deficit have an effect on all of our communities here. And the people getting hit the most are the folks with the least means.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

But that's kind of like the usual, you know, the boy with the gold is king. Yep. And you know, those who are without almost are they by some of these methods are are are gonna stay without, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

So it's unfortunate that that's uh well it's not gonna change until, like you said, we get people in there who are actually doing the work on the ground. Right. And that's why I'm running in this race. That's why uh you know I hope to become a lawmaker in Lansing to really tackle these issues that I see here in our city every single day.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

What um you got a lot of competition in that in that race? Um I think uh your name rings loudly. Um I think there's some other names uh that um at least one other name. I had all the names here. I I do know Willie Burton, um, but uh the others I'm not as familiar with. How are you um how are you hitting the streets? How how can people get in touch with you? How can people who want to help talk to you? And what I'll say this, before you say that, you know, I like to my show is for anyone who really has done some things that are substantial in the community, and I find that even if you weren't running for office, people need to know what you're doing for the community. Um, and you made a call to me, you know, you you you simply reached out, and I would encourage if other one others want to reach out. I I'd gladly allow people on here, but you know, this is your show, and you know, this is your time to tell the people how can I get in touch with a guy like this who's fighting for me, and um and I you know probably doesn't even know that how much work you're putting into making sure that they have a voice at the table when when deals are cut.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Absolutely. Well, I'm very easily accessible. Um, you know, I live here in the city, I'm out every single day on our streets, putting in the work in order to win this race. You know, they say legislative races like this are one on two things doors and dollars, and we're hitting both of those two aspects very hard. We've knocked on over 10,000 doors uh so far in this campaign. I myself have knocked just by myself uh over 5,000 doors. Um we're hitting the ground, we're uh we're knocking on doors, we're getting the word out there. I'm also very accessible online. Um probably the most online candidate in this race. So if folks want to search me up on social media, it's at A N T H E I D Anthony E or at Vot Anthony E. And that's my website, voanthonye.com. And go there, learn more about me, learn more about my race, and get involved.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Yeah, so the and and a lot of people would have to understand this race is the primary. You know, you understand, because a lot of people think that everybody's gonna vote in November, and what I need I need the audience to understand August 4th, Tuesday, is this vote, right? It is, absolutely. Because it's a heavily democratic area, and these are um is it eight or nine of you in this race? There's nine folks. Nine people are determined out of that will determine who's going to win, who's gonna sit in the seat and represent you in Lansing. So the vote, people, Tuesday, August 4th. Don't worry about November. I want you to vote then, but if you're gonna have a have a say in this race, in any legislative race in the city of Detroit or in the in our in our listening audience, vote in the primary. Absolutely. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

You know, I used to serve on the redistricting commission. I was the the chairman.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

I did, yeah, I saw that in your resume.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Yeah, I was the chairman during our redraw where we fixed a lot of the Detroit districts back about two or three years ago. I remember that. And one of the things I took from that experience that I didn't know coming in was just how important the primary is. This race gets decided in the primary because the November election, it's about a 90 plus percent Democratic district. Right. So whoever wins on August 4th, not they don't have a guaranteed chance to win in November, but they're pretty much gonna win in November no matter what. You're just being kind.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

It is a guarantee, August 4th, they're they're whoever you vote for. And today, Anthony E is working hard for your vote. And again, tell them how they can get in touch with you. And we'll we'll put it on the on the on our below on our screen. Yeah, but tell them again, please. I can't stress that enough.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Absolutely. So I'd say go to my website, www.voteanthonye.com. That's v-o-t-e-an-t-h e-i-d dot com. Uh, you can email me at anthony at voteanthonye.com, or you could just shoot me a message on social media. If you just put my name in Google, all my social media will come up. Uh, I'm on there a lot. We're getting the word out there online and hoping people resonate with this campaign. And I'll tell you, people are resonating. We've uh we've had a few endorsements from the grassroots. Uh, I've been endorsed by the Michigan Democratic Party Grassroots Caucus. Okay. I've received the Voters Not Politicians seal of approval for my work in voting rights, which is a major part of my campaign. We haven't gotten into it yet, but they're trying to take away the vote from people that look like you and me.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Oh, yeah, absolutely. No, that's going on, you know, throughout the country, but even hitting home right now. Hitting home right now.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

You, I mean, you're a lawyer, you've seen the recent Louisiana versus Calais case that completely decimating the decimated the Voting Rights Act here in our country. Yeah. Uh I myself have fought in court on trial as a witness to defend the voting rights act during that redistricting process four different times. And I really think we need folks in Lansing that understand these attacks on our voting rights. We need folks who understand how to get it fixed. Two years ago, when the Democrats had a trifecta, the Senate passed a Michigan version of the Voting Rights Act. It didn't get a vote in the House. And I was very saddened to see that it never got a vote. It was one of those things that uh died during the lame duck session.

SPEAKER_00 25:28

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

I want to come in there to Lansing and help get that piece of legislation passed in particular. In addition to a whole bunch of legislation that died. You had the maternal health bill that didn't go through, you had the Freedom of Information Act bill that didn't go through, um, you had the water affordability bill that didn't go through. These are all bills that once Democrats get the trifecta again, which you know I should say is only possible because of that independent redistricting commission that we had. We had the first Democratic trifecta in 40 years because of that. And uh in 2024, more folks voted for Republicans. So, you know, we drew fair maps for both sides, not just Democrats. But uh now in this race in 2026, if Democrats get the trifecta, we need to get folks in Lansing to get the job done. I'm a big believer in not only talking about legislation, but I believe I have the experience of actually passing legislation in order to get some of these initiatives done, especially around voting rights, because uh it's just it's crazy what's going on. We're going backwards as a country.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

No, I I I agree, and that's why I want Perkins for the people to be a voice to the people. And and you are a person who clearly works for the people, I mean, tirelessly. Um and uh I wish you well in this. And uh, you know, August 4th, Anthony E, he's he's asking for your vote in the 9th district.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

House District 9, downtown, midtown, New Center, Corktown, the whole downtown area. You know, if you're if you're a part of the university community, if you're a part of the hospital community, and then up through the east side, if you're a part of any of our historic villages, Indian Village, East English Village, East Indian Village, Jefferson Chalmers, Riverside, Island View. If you're in any of those neighborhoods, you're a voter in this district. You have a candidate in me who is on your side and who wants to see good thing good policy things happen in our city.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Thank you so much. Thanks for coming out. I very much appreciate it. God bless.