When Michigan politicians ferried from the mainland to Mackinac Island for the annual three-day Mackinac Policy Conference this week, they were surrounded by corporate sponsors and lobbyists all vying for their attention.
The Mackinac Policy Conference is sold as Michigan’s marquee ideas summit. But it’s also one of the state’s most influential access events, where corporate sponsors, lobbyists, and lawmakers mingle in a setting built around private conversations, high-dollar tickets, and hard-to-track influence.
Amazon, Google and Meta are sponsors, as are lobby firm Clark Hill Public Strategies, DTE, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Dow, and Enbridge, among others.
Representatives from those sponsors, from the fields of banking to data centers to utility providers, will be staying in hotels on the island, having paid anywhere from $3,500 to $5,200 for tickets to this elite event that essentially gathers Michigan politicians—who attend for free—and offers unprecedented access to them.
In a May 17 appearance on the Click On Detroit news segment Flashpoint, Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah jokingly described the nearly 50-year-old conference: “1,500 of Michigan’s top leaders—philanthropic leaders, university leaders, business leaders, political leaders—on an island, held captive, no cars, very, very sketchy cell phone reception in some parts of the island and we get to talk policy and we get to network and we get to focus on Michigan’s future; it is truly unique.”
While most of the sessions and keynotes can be livestreamed from the Grand Hotel, it’s the private conversations happening at the Mackinac Policy Conference that many voters take issue with.
During a time when more voters are paying attention to who funds politicians, who gives them perks, and which interests get access before big legislative and campaign fights, the conference offers a place for those relationships to blossom away from the public’s eye.
Opposition to the inherent mix of attendees was the subject of a 2025 poll by advocacy group Progress Michigan, which showed that 44% of the 622 participants strongly opposed having their politicians travel to the event, while 27% said they somewhat opposed it. This year’s poll showed 18% of respondents saying they strongly opposed having politicians attend while 23% said they were unsure, according to Levi Teitel, communications director for the organization.
“Corporate money shouldn’t be controlling politics, and the Mackinac Policy Conference is the perfect example for supporting this argument,” Teitel told The ‘Gander.
“Regardless of political affiliation, Michiganders aren’t exactly thrilled by the idea of lawmakers mucking it up with corporations and their lobbyists at an expensive, secluded resort. When you consider the most powerful corporations in the state, including DTE and Consumers Energy, are main sponsors of the event, it’s not a good look to have key decisions being made about our state’s future in this kind of setting.”
A report from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters showed DTE and Consumers Energy donated $156,000 to state lawmakers between Jan. 1 through April 20 this year alone, in what some describe as a calculated move to skirt consequences for its poor delivery of services to consumers. That money’s gone directly to the people who regulate their rates and reliability standards, and decide whether they face consequences for chronic outages and billing problems.
It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that a ballot initiative that would ban these kinds of donations to lawmakers has gained incredible popularity in Michigan—86%, according to campaigners.
Considering the all-access pass corporate donors are paying for this week, their lobbyists have the opportunity to brief legislative leaders, party chairs, and major PACs on efforts to challenge or weaken the petition or its signatures, or promote alternatives that keep loopholes intact.
Similarly, in a state where 55% of respondents said they strongly opposed the building of data centers in their area, according to an Emerson College poll, there’s a session at the conference titled “Data Centers as Community Assets.” It includes panelist Lisa Schwab, head of Google’s Data Center Market Development and Policy.
The Mackinac Policy Conference’s origins began as a project of the Republican-leaning Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and associated business leaders, and was initially dominated by Republican lawmakers. It’s been running annually since 1981 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Today, politicians from both major political parties attend.
Keynote speakers this year include former Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. One event is titled “A Conversation With Mike Rogers,” and is sponsored by Consumers Energy. Rogers is the leading Republican candidate for the US Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Gary Peters. Enbridge Energy is sponsoring Wednesday refreshments, Comcast Business is backing a Bloody Mary bar, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is hosting “Media Row.”
