Planet Detroit Candidate Survey
What are the three most pressing environmental issues facing the communities you seek to serve? Please rank them in order of priority and briefly explain why you chose each.
1. Clean Water — Environmental Justice and Public Health
Many communities across the district have been disproportionately impacted by pollution, poor air quality, industrial development, and a lack of environmental protections. I support stronger environmental justice policies that ensure all communities have clean air, clean water, and an active voice in the environmental impacts.
2. Clean Drinking Water — Aging Water Infrastructure and Water Affordability
Reliable access to safe and affordable water are human rights. Whether it’s aging infrastructure, flooding, and rising water costs, our families across our region are burdened. I will advocate for investments in water infrastructure, stronger protections against water shutoffs, and policies that help ensure residents have access to safe drinking water regardless of income.
3. Climate Change — Climate Resilience and Extreme Weather
Communities are increasingly experiencing extreme heat, severe storms, flooding, and power outages. These events disproportionately affect seniors, low-income families, and residents without reliable transportation. I support investments in climate resilience, energy efficiency, stormwater management, and modernizing our energy grid to better protect residents from the impacts of climate change.
Michigan law requires utilities to reach 100% clean energy by 2040. If elected, would you support maintaining this law, or would you support revising or repealing it? Please explain your position.
Maintain the current law and timeline
Climate change is already impacting our communities through extreme heat, flooding, severe storms, and power outages, and we cannot afford to delay action.
More than two dozen Michigan communities are considering or have approved large-scale data center developments. These facilities can consume as much electricity as a small city and place significant demands on local water and energy infrastructure. What role should state government play in overseeing data center development, and what guardrails should the state legislature enact to protect communities where data centers are proposed?
State government should ensure that data center development does not come at the expense of local communities or natural resources. Data centers promise to create economic opportunities but they can also place significant demands on electricity, water, and local infrastructure.
I support requiring environmental and community impact assessments, transparency around projected energy and water use, and meaningful community input before projects are approved. Developers should help pay for infrastructure improvements and meet required energy efficiency standards.
Any state incentives should be tied to clear public benefits, including good paying jobs, responsible resource use, and alignment with Michigan’s clean energy timeline. We must ensure that economic development strengthens communities rather than placing new burdens on them.
PFAS contamination has been detected in drinking water, groundwater, and surface water across Michigan. Cleanup efforts are underway, but many affected communities are still waiting for action. What is the single most important step the officeholder in this position should take on PFAS in the next term?
The most important step Michigan should take is to strengthen and fully fund the “polluter pays” principle so that the companies responsible for PFAS contamination are held accountable. We deserve clean, safe drinking water, and those who caused the contamination should be responsible for long-term monitoring and protecting public health. Holding polluters accountable will help accelerate cleanup efforts while ensuring affected communities receive the resources they need.
Michigan residents in some communities face disproportionate exposure to air pollution, contaminated water, and industrial waste. Do you support requiring Michigan regulators to assess cumulative environmental and health impacts on overburdened communities before approving new permits for polluting facilities?
Yes
Utility rate cases directly affect what Michigan residents pay for electricity and gas. DTE and Consumers Energy have requested frequent significant rate increases in recent years. Should elected officials play a greater role in holding utility companies accountable for rate hikes and rising energy costs?
Yes, elected officials should play a greater role in holding utility companies accountable for rate hikes and rising energy costs.
Michigan families deserve reliable and affordable energy. Before utilities are granted rate increases, there should be strong oversight, transparency, and clear evidence that the increases are necessary and will improve service. I support strengthening consumer protections, increasing accountability for outages and poor performance. We need to make sure that utility profits do not come at the expense of working families.
Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline runs through the Straits of Mackinac and carries crude oil and natural gas liquids between Wisconsin and Ontario. A proposed tunnel beneath the lakebed to house a replacement pipeline has faced legal and regulatory challenges for years. What is your position on the future of Line 5?
I support decommissioning Line 5 and protecting the Great Lakes from the risk of a something catastrophic. Our Great Lakes are one of Michigan’s greatest assets, providing drinking water and sustaining communities across the state. Rather than investing in aging fossil fuel infrastructure, we should be investing in clean energy, environmental protection, and a just transition for workers. We can meet our energy needs without putting our water and future generations at risk.
Drinking water is becoming increasingly unaffordable for Michiganders in both rural and urban areas, leading to water shutoffs. Would you support legislation that caps water bills for low-income Michiganders and adds shutoff protections?
Yes, I fully support legislation that caps water costs for low-income households and strengthens protections against water shutoffs.
Access to clean, safe, and affordable water is a basic human right. No family should lose access to water because they cannot afford a bill. I support income-based affordability programs, shutoff protections, and investments that help keep water service accessible while ensuring our water systems remain strong and sustainable for the future.
Michigan is home to more than 18,000 contaminated sites. Do you support or oppose legislation to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up these sites?
Support
Polluters should be held accountable because the costs of contamination should not fall on taxpayers or the communities harmed by it. Strong accountability helps ensure contaminated sites are cleaned up, protects public health and drinking water, and encourages responsible business practices. Those who cause environmental damage should be responsible for fixing it.