Richard Mack, a labor and civil rights attorney, is running as a Democrat for the Wayne State University Board of Governors in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Ten candidates are competing for two eight-year terms, according to the Michigan Department of State’s official candidate list. Voters may choose up to two candidates.
Mack responded to the Dearborn Dispatch candidate questionnaire on Oct. 6. Unless otherwise noted, the information and responses below come from that questionnaire.
Asked why he is running, Mack emphasized Wayne State’s role in helping students improve their lives and strengthening Michigan’s communities.
“I am passionate about enhancing the southeastern community, and the state of Michigan as a whole,” he said. “Wayne State University offers that chance.”
His campaign website identifies affordability, safety, fair compensation for employees and stronger connections across Michigan as priorities.
Candidate information
Party: Democratic.
Education: Mack reported graduating from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with degrees in economics and political science before attending Wayne State University Law School.
He said he founded the Black Economics Society while at Michigan and helped establish Wayne State’s Journal of Law in Society.
Occupation: Mack is a partner at the Detroit law firm Miller Cohen. He said he has worked as a labor, employment and civil rights attorney for 28 years.
Family: Mack said he is married and has a son in his first year of college, studying mechanical engineering while participating in track on a scholarship.
Family in politics or government: Mack said no family member works in politics or government.
Experience and public service
Mack said his legal career has involved negotiating union contracts, reviewing financial records and representing workers in employment and civil rights disputes.
He served as chief counsel for a coalition of Detroit unions before and during the city’s bankruptcy. He said the coalition worked with health insurers to propose $80 million in health care savings for the city.
His campaign website describes those savings as proposed, rather than money already realized.
Mack also reported previously serving as an elected member of the Detroit Charter Commission, where he helped draft proposed changes to the city charter. He said he currently holds no elected office.
Asked what accomplishments prepare him for the university board, Mack pointed to negotiations that required understanding different interests and finding workable solutions.
“Negotiating union contracts requires finding common ground, and pushing past rhetoric and achieving results,” he said.
On the issues
Graduation and student support: Mack identified helping more students complete their degrees as a central challenge.
He said Wayne State must support students who are balancing education with employment, family responsibilities and financial pressures. He wants the university to continue improving graduation outcomes while providing resources that help students remain enrolled.
Affordability and enrollment: Mack said attracting more students would help the university increase revenue.
“Wayne State needs to attract more students and thereby grow its revenue,” he said.
He supports promoting the university beyond southeastern Michigan to reach more prospective students elsewhere in the state.
Budget oversight: Mack said his economics education and experience examining public institutions’ finances would inform his approach to university spending.
He said the board should look for ways to increase revenue and reduce costs while maintaining educational quality.
His campaign website also emphasizes balancing student affordability with fair compensation for the faculty and staff who deliver university programs.
Civil rights and free expression: Mack said protecting students’, instructors’ and community members’ First Amendment rights would be a priority.
He described his civil rights work as experience he would bring to decisions affecting the university community.
Collaboration: Mack said he approaches disagreements by asking why people hold their positions and looking for shared interests.
“I always ask ‘Why’ someone takes the position that they have,” he said. “This helps me find a way where our interests may align.”
Endorsements
Mack is endorsed by the Michigan AFL-CIO and AFSCME Michigan, according to the organizations’ published endorsement lists.
Other candidates
The other candidates are Democrat Shereef Akeel; Republicans Andy Anuzis and Christa Murphy; Libertarians Alex Avery and Jami Van Alstine; U.S. Taxpayers candidate Jeff McDonald; Natural Law candidate Kathleen Oakford; Green candidate Paul M. Ragan; and Working Class candidate Suzanne Roehrig, according to the official candidate list.
Advice that guides him
“People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” Mack wrote, identifying his pastor, Marvin Winans, as the person who shared the advice with him.
He said that principle guides his approach to representing workers and others seeking legal help.
This profile draws primarily on Richard Mack’s responses to the Dearborn Dispatch candidate questionnaire, with additional information from official election records, his campaign website, his law firm’s biography and organizational endorsement lists. Responses have been excerpted and paraphrased; direct quotations retain his wording.
