There’s national attention on Michigan’s 7th Congressional race as progressive Democrat William Lawrence attempts to unseat first-term Republican Congressman Tom Barrett.
Both candidates have hit the campaign trail running with Barrett hosting a virtual town hall for his constituents with nearly 15,000 attendees last Tuesday. Lawrence has spent the week on a “Ask Me Anything” tour across mid-Michigan.
The AMA tour brought Lawrence to Charlotte, Barrett’s hometown, on Thursday.
There, he answered voters’ questions about veterans’ rights, AI usage in government, the war in Iran and other issues.
Lawrence also weighed in on some of Barrett’s recent actions in Congress.
Barrett introduced two bills last week that he said would protect local communities from data center overreach.
One, the Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act, would prevent the federal government from interfering with local government decisions regarding data centers.
The other, No Data Center NDAs Act, would prohibit Congress members from signing non-disclosure agreements about data centers. It would not prohibit local government officials from signing NDAs with data center developers.
Lawrence said at the Charlotte AMA event that the Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act would instead remove the ability for local communities to be protected.
“What we've seen around the state is that local communities are unable to exercise control because the power imbalance with the trillion-dollar tech companies is so great,” Lawrence said. “I support a federal moratorium because we need to put a pause to this reckless and abusive push into our communities by these big tech corporations on a playing field that is utterly imbalanced.”
Lawrence said he was in support of the No Data Center NDAs Act.
No one who asked questions during the AMA expressed disagreement with Lawrence’s opinions or policies.
Sally Wilson has been a Charlotte resident for 40 years. She said she knew going into the event that she would be voting for Lawrence.
“Barrett does a lot of politically correct things with military families, so he's very good with that,” she said. “But in terms of environmental, social, and all other aspects, he's disappointing to me.”
In comparison, Wilson said she sees Lawrence as a “comprehensive” candidate.
“He's not a one-issue candidate, and that's very attractive to me,” Wilson said.
Duane Kleinhardt, an Eaton Rapids resident, said he served alongside Barrett, an Army veteran, in Guantanamo Bay.
“He lived in the house across the street from me, and we used to go over there and, you know, see each other, party,” he said. “He’s a great guy.”
Despite this, Kleinhardt said Barrett did not have his vote.
“I'm not sure I can trust his policies for veterans because of his affiliation with Trump and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party,” he said.
Kleinhardt specifically asked Lawrence about his take on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, a collection of 60 bills that would provide health care and Veterans Affairs benefits for veterans and families.
Barrett introduced eight of the 60 bills in June and co-sponsored another: the Major Richard Star Act.
The Major Richard Star Act would provide full military retirement pay to veterans who were combat-injured and forced to retire early. However, to fund the Major Richard Star Act, disability compensation for conditions like tinnitus and sleep apnea could be slashed for some veterans.
Lawrence said he is skeptical of using one disability fund to pay for another.
“That sounds like a recipe for people to lose out on the support that they need,” he said. "I think that there's a promise that we make to our veterans when they enlist, and we need to keep that promise by continuing to deliver excellent services through the VA.”
The Republican-led House Committee on Veterans' Affairs said in a social media post "no veteran who is currently rated for tinnitus or sleep apnea would lose their current benefits" and "no veteran with diagnosed sleep apnea today or tomorrow loses access to the healthcare support or benefits they need" under the bill package.
When WKAR News asked about the voters who attended the AMA all appearing to lean liberal, Lawrence said it “feels great.”
“I've noticed on the campaign trail some of the people who have known Tom [Barrett] for the longest have the most unkind things to say about him,” Lawrence said. “Because he's always been the self-serving, self-interested politician that he is now.”
Lawrence said that he would continue hosting townhalls and AMA-style events if he were elected.
