MY PRIORITIES
Education
Here in Michigan, we know how important education is. Every child deserves a high quality education, whether they’re four, fourteen, or forty. I’m committed to a system of lifelong learning that supports families, builds opportunities, and strengthens our economy. Every teacher deserves to be well respected, well resourced, and well compensated. A strong education system builds a skilled workforce, and an investment in education is an investment in us all.
I’m fighting to:
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Modernize our school funding system for K-12 and preschools to invest in our kids, and ensure students receive the support they need to succeed. This means taking a deep look at the foundation formula and categorical spending, and finding equitable ways to be flexible in those dollars.
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Empower educators by ensuring teachers are paid fairly, and by increasing funding for additional school counselors, mental health professionals, and other supplementary positions that support the education and well-being of our students. We should invest in things that let teachers be teachers, rather than piling on things we’re just not willing to fund.
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Permanently fund free school lunches, so that every child can eat while they’re at school, not just when the budget is passed by Democrats.
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Properly invest in higher education for both two year and four year institutions by supporting operational budgets, and by permanently funding the Michigan Achievement Scholarship.
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Increase access, affordability, and quality of Pre-k programs, including balancing innovative programs like Tri-Share with the need for better access to capital to build more seats.
The Environment
Michigan is the epicenter of innovation, manufacturing, and skilled trades. Whether it’s cleaner energy or cleaner water, we need bold solutions grounded in science and in common sense and we should be leading, not following. We don’t need to choose between environmental jobs and the economy: Tomorrow’s climate-forward jobs can actually drive a thriving Michigan through a green-green economy. If we don’t do this, other states and countries will. Michigan has the opportunity, we just need to seize it, and ensure appropriate guardrails that protect Michiganders, our climate, and allow for investment and innovation.
I’m fighting to:
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Invest in green jobs and infrastructure to utilize Michigan’s manufacturing prowess to generate electricity, clean up our environment, and drive the future of green innovation.
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Stop backroom deals for data centers and enact proper guardrails that minimize the effects on electric rates, and protect our environment and our water.
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Enact the Ratepayer Bill of Rights, including a right to fair compensation for outages, accountability for rates when service metrics are not met, and an expansion of the ability for Michiganders to generate their own energy.
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Protect our Great Lakes by investing in municipal water systems, incentivizing rain capture systems, and setting limits on water consumption for high-use industries and new housing developments.
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Ensure polluters pay for destruction to our environment, not Michiganders.
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Incentivize recycling by investing in infrastructure to reduce costs and fixing Michigan’s broken bottle bill.
Everyday Economics
Costs are rising on everything from groceries to healthcare to child care. Everyday economics means focusing on the kitchen table issues that affect all of us, from rent and childcare to health care and transit. If it impacts your monthly budget, it’s on my radar. Michigan can attack these issues head-on and reduce costs by increasing access, reducing inefficiencies, and investing in infrastructure. Republicans are looking out for the billionaire class, with tax cuts that only benefit the wealthy and drive up costs for everyone else. I’m focused with my fellow Democrats on investment in infrastructure and systems, like health care and child care, which drive down costs and increase affordability.
I’m fighting to:
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Invest in more child care and daycare centers, and create better access to funding for small and in-home child care centers to make child care more affordable.
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Lower health insurance costs by covering more Michiganders by spreading risk across more people, cutting out unnecessary middlemen, reducing bureaucratic burdens, ensuring rate reviews, financial solvency requirements, and other consumer protections.
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Invest in a better public insurance option so that no Michigander goes without healthcare, and decoupling healthcare from your job, which forces Michiganders to stay in jobs for their health care coverage.
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Invest in affordable housing by increasing housing stock, improving renter’s rights and eviction protections, and disincentivizing poor rental conditions and the large-scale corporate ownership of housing units.
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Improve public transportation options including local buses and light rail, and statewide high-speed rail.
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Strengthen and expand support for labor unions, including prioritizing contacts with PLAs, projects with Responsible Contracting, and removing barriers to organizing.
A Thriving Michigan for EVERYONE
Michigan must be a state where every person, regardless of who they are or where they’re from, has the freedom to thrive, the opportunity to contribute, and the dignity of being heard. I’m committed to improving Michigan for everyone.
I’m fighting to:
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Support women’s reproductive freedom as critical healthcare that is available to all.
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Invest more into under-served communities to improve equitable outcomes.
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Protect the LGBTQ+ community, and work across the state to remove the same-sex marriage ban from the Michigan Constitution.
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Continue to implement and strengthen gun safety regulations, including red flag and storage laws.
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Increase access to mental health services, by improving funding for local mental health providers and require coverage as part of insurance plans.
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Continue to move the minimum wage beyond $15/hr to a livable wage
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Implement at least three months of paid maternity leave, with one month of family leave for the non-birth parent, through a shared fund that employers can invest in.
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Get money out of politics to uplift the voices of all people, not just the wealthy.