Detroit Public Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, MD, resigned from his position Monday and declared his intent to run for governor of Michigan in 2018, according to Michigan Radio.
Dr. El-Sayed said he hopes to run on a campaign of inclusiveness and equality and focus on expanding the state's public sector. The 32-year-old said he will begin outlining concrete campaign goals and policy initiatives once he successfully transitions out of his role as the city's public health director.
"I am a public health doctor, an educator and a public servant," said Dr. El-Sayed. "The critical values underlying all of that work are that we care about the well-being of the most vulnerable, that we believe in equity as an end unto itself and that we believe in evidence and science as a smart way of making hard decisions as a society."