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.
Lead and chemical contamination of drinking water and air pollution: My grandmother, my mother, my brother, and I all have asthma — a cough that is all too common for anyone who grew up in the shadow of our city's smokestacks and factories. Our district is the poster child for communities in need of real environmental justice. We have lead in our water and some of the most polluted air in the country. No one should have to raise a family wondering if the water coming out of their tap will poison their children or if the air they breathe will damage their lungs. The stranglehold of monopoly utility corporations like DTE and Consumers Energy: These corporations have built a system where they raise our utility prices year after year, make record profits, and block the clean energy transition to protect their fossil fuel business model. They've bought our politicians' inaction for decades. We need to break their monopoly power and transition to 100% clean, renewable energy that will lower costs and protect our community's health. The absence of accessible, affordable public transit: We pay some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country because corporations have refused to invest in the public transit systems working families need. Without real transit options, it’s harder for folks to get to work and maintain gainful employment. A Green New Deal that invests in buses, rail, and clean transportation infrastructure would give our community real freedom and mobility while creating good-paying union jobs.
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?
Maintain the current law and timeline
More than two dozen Michigan communities are considering or have approved large-scale data center developments. What role should state government play in overseeing data center development, and what guardrails should the state legislature enact?
State and federal governments must establish real guardrails before approving these projects. That means requiring full transparency on energy and water usage; ensuring data centers pay their fair share of infrastructure costs through taxes and fees rather than receiving corporate handouts; and giving communities a genuine voice in siting decisions. I also support energy-efficiency and renewable-energy requirements. And we need workforce agreements ensuring these operations create good union jobs, not just low-wage temporary gigs. Communities shouldn't have to sacrifice their environment and water supplies so tech billionaires can increase profits.
PFAS contamination has been detected across Michigan. What is the single most important step the officeholder in this position should take on PFAS in the next term?
Pass and enforce comprehensive polluter-pay legislation requiring corporations that created PFAS contamination to fund full cleanup, remediation, and health monitoring in affected communities — with no cost to taxpayers. PFAS contamination is the result of corporate negligence and decades of corporations prioritizing profits over people's health. Communities across Michigan, including right here in Wayne County, have been waiting years for action while contamination spreads. In Congress, I will make sure the federal government stops letting polluters off the hook and holds them fully accountable for the damage they've caused. And I will fight for federal investment in testing, health monitoring, and long-term medical support for families affected by PFAS exposure.
Do you support requiring Michigan regulators to assess cumulative environmental and health impacts on overburdened communities before approving new permits for polluting facilities?
Yes
Should elected officials play a greater role in holding utility companies accountable for rate hikes and rising energy costs?
Yes
What is your position on Line 5?
Line 5 poses an unacceptable environmental and economic risk to Michigan. A spill in the Straits would be catastrophic for the Great Lakes, our fishing and tourism industries, and our drinking water — threatening communities across Michigan. I support shutting down Line 5 and investing in the clean energy infrastructure and grid modernization that make us resilient and create good union jobs. We cannot leave our workers behind and need to ensure their smooth transition to other jobs in green energy.
Would you support legislation to cap water bills for low-income Michiganders and add certain shut-off protections?
Yes
Do you support or oppose legislation to hold polluters accountable for cleanup costs?
Support
Please explain your position on polluter accountability.
I support strong polluter-pay legislation requiring strict liability, mandatory remediation, and financial assurance, even decades after pollution occurred. Corporations made billions off the back of environmental destruction; they should pay to fix it. Cleanup funding should prioritize the most overburdened communities first, and every remediation project should create union jobs for local workers. This is how we rebuild trust and ensure environmental justice.