MACKINAC ISLAND — Leaders of metro Detroit’s five largest political jurisdictions gathered this morning at the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference to discuss how to revitalize Michigan.

The high-profile discussion, previously called the “Big Four” and broadcast live on 760 WJR-AM, once included the mayor of the city of Detroit and executive leaders from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

This year, for the first time, the discussion was renamed ‘’Fab Five” to represent the inclusion of Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners chairman Conan Smith.

The hour-long discussion covered a variety of topics. Here are some highlights from each political leader:

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Chairman Conan Smith:

He said the Ann Arbor area is a powerhouse of talent that can help revive the southeast Michigan economy.

“The University of Michigan itself — I cannot say enough about the strength of that institution and the ability of the university itself to set the frame for innovation in the state of Michigan,” he said. “If you look at Washtenaw County, what our role is in the region is we are exporters of talent. We take that raw material, we transform it into great individuals and we export it.”

But too often the talent is leaving Michigan, he said. For example, some 11 percent of the state’s top college grads move to Chicago, according to research by Ann Arbor-based Michigan Future.

“They’re leaving us,” Smith said. “They’re going to Chicago or Atlanta or L.A. And we want them to stay right here in the city of Detroit. Ann Arbor doesn’t want to be Detroit. We want a strong Detroit. We want to keep those young people here.”

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing:

Bing said that a regional transportation network is a critical component to sparking an economic renewal in southeast Michigan. He said that governments can’t get on track without pension reform and health care reform “from a statewide standpoint.”

“If we don’t pay attention to those two areas, the rest of it won’t matter,” Bing said.

Bing said Detroit is “awaiting feverishly” for Lansing lawmakers to reach a deal to authorize a public-private partnership that would build a new bridge spanning the Detroit River to Canada.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson:

Patterson said the regional governments can collaborate to share services in areas like information technology systems, which Oakland County has adopted very successfully. And he suggested that Oakland County’s three-year rolling budget is something other entities should consider.

“It ain’t rocket science,” he said. “We can teach people how to do it.”

And Patterson said the entire region has an interest in the revitalization of Detroit. He said that in a recent visit to New York City, credit rating agencies Moody’s and S&P told him that if Detroit slips into receivership or is appointed an emergency financial manager, Oakland County would lose its AAA bond rating.

“That means I lose bragging rights, but my taxpayers get hit with a $2 million or $3 million hit in the expense of doing government,” he said. “After that meeting, I called Dave up and I said, ‘Dave, this is Brooks. I’m your new best friend.’”

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano:

Ficano said efforts to market the “Aerotropolis” region surrounding Detroit Metro Airport and Willow Run Airport are ramping up. He described it as an “international attraction” effort to convince companies to expand into the area to take advantage of the transportation and shipping resources.

Ficano suggested that if Michigan doesn’t authorize a new public-private bridge over the Detroit River, trucking traffic will eventually shift toward Buffalo, NY.

“If we dilly-dally around with this, it will eventually go down through New York,” he said.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel:

Hackel said he supports Gov. Rick Snyder’s stated focus on “relentless positive action,” though he suggested that he would rather call it “forward positive action.” But he said it’s time for Michigan residents to rally around Detroit be positive ambassadors for the region.

“Anywhere I go and people ask me where I’m from, I tell them I’m from Detroit, Michigan,” Hackel said.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.