Issues

Having a safe, affordable place to call home is the foundation for building a strong local economy. When housing costs are too high, everything else becomes harder—food, transportation, childcare, and basic quality of life. The difference between surviving and actually living becomes painfully clear.

Housing shortages hold back the entire economy, and hamstring citizens’ financial security. It is critical that young people have an on-ramp to home ownership: it’s the primary source of most workers’ long-term financial stability.

Our system for developing new housing stock has been stymied at every turn for over twenty years. Small tools won’t fix the problem. We need bigger, bolder action.

• Modernize building and zone regulations. Communities should allow more “by-right” development so builders don’t face endless delays. Outdated bureaucracy that drives up costs should be reviewed or removed. And landowners should have the freedom to zone for the housing types and price points their communities actually need, not be limited by outdated bureaucratic regulations.
• Allow seniors to keep their favorable property tax rate when they downsize. This will make it easier for empty nesters to move to more manageable properties while giving younger families the opportunity to buy the homes they need.
• Rebuild the trades workforce. We can’t build more houses without skilled tradespeople. A statewide recruitment showing that these jobs are well-paid, high demand career choices is a start; public support for trade schools and apprenticeships is also needed. This can’t start with high school graduation; support for ISD’s trade schools needs to include outreach to intermediate students. Our state needs a clear road map for any student who wants to join the skilled trades so that we can onboard as many future workers as possible.
• Invest in Infrastructure. Water, sewer, and roads are all needed for new housing stock to be viable. The state and counties should share in the cost of fees and hookups to make building more affordable. Allowing a portion of tourism assessment fees to be used on infrastructure would take some pressure off of communities and make it easier to expand local housing stock that workers need.

It’s not a hoax: things are less affordable than they used to be. No matter how hard you work, your paycheck isn’t buying as much as it used to.

Tariffs are impacting the auto industry, construction projects, and small businesses. Our farmers are being hit in both directions: the trade war with China makes it harder for them to sell their crops, and the hot war in Iran is making fertilizer more expensive.

Consumers feel all of this through higher prices for food, energy and housing. We all know the price of gas is just the most obvious price increase. Insurance and car repair are more expensive, too. And that’s just for the car. You’re paying more for health insurance and medicine, and know that all of it is out of reach for many of us.

These are national problems, but they have an especially big impact on Michigan. When our state’s economy suffers, its citizens suffer as well. State government can’t fix problems caused by the federal government, but it can make things better for Michigan citizens.

• Expand access to affordable healthcare. Affordable health care is a critical issue for many of us, especially those of us caring for children and seniors. We will not, as a state, be able to dodge all the effects resulting from the federal budget, particularly in the rural areas of our state. But I will work to advocate for and develop resources for our public health system, so we can strengthen the support for Michigan workers and their dependents.

  It’s not just good for Michigan workers: it’s also good for Michigan business. Healthy workers are productive workers, and businesses need relief from high health care costs just like private citizens do.

• Streamline permitting processes for businesses. Reducing health care costs will help business; so will streamlining the regulatory process. Permitting and licensure can be simplified so entrepreneurs spend their time growing their businesses, not filling out forms.

• Tax relief for working families and seniors. There is a lot of chatter about eliminating property and other taxes. This idea isn’t based in reality, and at its core it’s a damn lie.

  That doesn’t mean that we can’t ease the tax burden on working families and seniors with limited income. Eliminating the state sales tax on personal care products like toilet paper and diapers is a start. So is offering state tax credits for replacing old appliances and windows with more energy efficient ones. Offering free school breakfast and lunch to all public school students will ease the grocery bill for working families and make it easier for parents to get everyone out the door to work and school.

  We can also allow seniors to keep their favorable property tax rate when they downsize. This will make it easier for empty nesters to move to more manageable properties while giving younger families the opportunity to buy the homes they need.

• Increase high-paying career opportunities.

  From 1999 to 2024 Michigan wages dropped from 16th highest in the nation to 40th. We are no longer a high average wage state. We are a low average wage state. Some politicians want to continue this slide, all in the name of competitiveness. But I think it’s a race to the bottom with a bad outcome for Michigan workers.

  Bringing more high paying jobs to Michigan will require a one-two punch of policy changes.

  One, make our state regulations friendly to new, high paying industries. This means reviewing state-level policies, and providing an Investment Advocate to help entrepreneurs navigate local rules.

  Two, we need to develop the workforce and infrastructure these high paying jobs need. We’re losing opportunities in this state because we don’t have the skill set or the physical infrastructure they need.

  This workforce development starts with pre K, and ends with every high school graduate being either career or college ready. Fast tracking current workers into upskilling programs is also critical. Community colleges, trade schools, apprenticeships, and four year colleges are all important.

  Michigan built the last century. Let’s make it ready to build the next one.

  Fix revenue sharing from the state. Here’s the math: every municipality in the 31st State Senate district receives 31% less from state revenue sharing than it should. When this money doesn’t come through, the local government has to fill the gaps in essential services funding. That means your local taxes go up. As your senator I will pick up the work begun from 2022-24 to make sure each city, town , village and township receives what they are due, which means you won’t be relied upon to make up the difference. This doesn’t fix everything, but it’s a solid start to get some breathing room to discuss other things we need to do.

Michigan is successful when all citizens are safe, secure, and confident that their rights are respected.

We want our children to have good, safe schools. We want our seniors to be able to stay in their homes safely, and be able to downsize to more manageable housing when they need to do so. Should they need to move to assisted living, their families should know that the facilities are safe and fully staffed. We want people of all ages, skills, and abilities to live with dignity.

• Support for public safety measures. Give our local law enforcement the tools they need to protect our communities.

  Public safety shouldn’t mean surrendering our personal freedoms. I will investigate the use of FLOCK cameras to be sure that this governmental surveillance is reasonable and justifiable.

  A mental health crisis shouldn’t mean a night in jail. It’s not fair to our police officers, it’s expensive for taxpayers, and it doesn’t solve the problem of a person in crisis. I will advocate for close legislative oversight of the new Community Mental Health system to make sure it serves the interest of all citizens and as well as the communities that support them.

• Fight policies that impose unequal burdens on Michigan citizens. ID requirements should be met by a no-cost document that is easily accessible to every citizen. Requiring a paper trail of every marriage, divorce and name change in order to vote amounts to a poll tax on part of the population. Simply put, women shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to prove their right to vote when men do not.

  I will work to stop legislation that removes or blocks rights for any part of the population.

• Stop insurance companies from putting profits over people, and require accessible coverage for both physical and mental health conditions.

  At a time when affordable access to counseling is already difficult, insurance companies are making it even harder for families to get the care they need. I’ll work to force insurers to cover effective, accessible mental health care. Easy access to care is critical to keep manageable situations from becoming crisis situations.

  I will advocate for stronger action investigation and oversight into disparities within our insurance providers regarding payments to providers for mental health problems. I will also work to realign our community mental health system with our new funding realities.

• Require the Legislature to be part of the discussion when the Department of Health and Human Services tries to reorganize the state’s Community Mental Health System. This change is too important to be buried behind bureaucracy; Michigan citizens should have an elected advocate in the room when these vital services are restructured.

• Keep public money in public schools and out of schools that cannot or will not serve all prospective students. I will push for the reestablishment of and increasing pre-K programming, continued access to free breakfast and lunch for all, access to support for those who need it, whether it’s delivered through an IEP or through educator intervention, and making sure funds designated for public education stay in that domain and are not filtered out into charter and private schools. Working class families shouldn’t be asked to subsidize private prep schools.

For as long as people have lived in Michigan we have embraced and depended upon our abundant natural resources. Recent cuts at the federal level threaten the safety of these resources. Programs that manage our natural areas, environmental clean-up funds, the eternal effort to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes – all are endangered or even gone.

I will work to have the State of Michigan protect that which is Pure Michigan.

Our shared stewardship of this great state includes protecting our natural resources and the integrity of infrastructure like water, sewer and gas lines. I will work to prioritize and fund what our state needs in order to pass the legacy of safe and beautiful natural areas to our children and grandchildren.

• Six month moratorium on data center constructions. Let’s take a minute to see what building data centers will do for our state in the long term. We need to ensure that Michigan isn’t left with higher electricity and water bills because we built too much, too fast.

• Increased funding for invasive species monitoring and removal. In the water, and on land, invasive species are a threat to our state.

  Recreational and commercial fishing is threatened by the decline of fish populations.

  Important agricultural crops like fruit and ornamental plants are under attack from new pests and diseases.

  Federal funding to control these threats is unreliable at best. Michigan needs to protect itself, and work with the other Great Lakes states and provinces to control invasive plants and animals.

• Work across party lines to evaluate PA233 (renewable energy storage and siting) and improve transparency in the permitting process. We need more transparency and space on this issue.