Joining Mark and Jeff this week: one of the top leaders in the U.S. House, Flint Congressman Dan Kildee.

Kildee was first elected to the U.S. House in 2012 when succeeded his uncle – Dale Kildee – who had represented the Genesee Valley in Congress for 36 years. Previously he was Genesee County treasurer where he became nationally known for starting the Genesee County Land Bank in 2002. It was a first-of-its-kind-in-the-nation governmental authority dedicated to urban decay in cities such as Flint. The land bank has helped to clean up vacant and abandoned structures in the community.

The U.S. government, nonprofit organizations and think tanks have approached Kildee to expand his work to 50 cities identified by the Brookings Institution, focused mostly in the Rust Belt and northeastern United States, including Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, which have many vacant and abandoned properties.

In Congress he serves on the two most powerful committees: Ways and Means, and Budget. And, as Chief Deputy Whip, he sits near the top of the House leadership ladder. Kildee’s  top legislative accomplishment was guiding federal assistance for Flint in the wake of the Flint Water Disaster. He has long been viewed as a rising star in Michigan politics, but resisted efforts to get him to run for Governor in both 2010 and 2018.