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.
PFAs, environmentally safe fertilizers, land and water contamination by industries. PFAs seem to be everywhere contaminating well water, farmland, lakes, streams, etc. Farmers say they would gladly use environmentally safe fertilizers if they could provide abundant crops. And much of our land and water has been contaminated by irresponsible industries who refuse to clean-up the mess they made of our environment.
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
I think the laws as it stands is reasonable for now.
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 have a major role in oversight of data centers. At this time, I support a moratorium on constructing data centers until more facts can be obtained and details worked out. Strict adherence to established guidelines should be rigidly enforced by the state.
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?
This needs to be at least a three-prong approach of identification, clean-up and prevention. As an office holder my first step would be to familiarize myself with the work being done by the Michigan PFAs Action Response Team to identify ways to speed-up the program and clean up our environment.
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
Pollution is pollution. Clean air and pure water are essential to our survival and our planets.
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?
Either that or support efforts to create competition.
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?
Something has to be done about Line 5, it's old and in need of repairs. I understand that it has leaked nearly one million gallons of oil into our Great Lakes. We either have to replace it with something that offers more protection from leakage and deterioration or relocate it.
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?
I would support adding certain shut-off protections. Capping water bills for low-income Michiganders would require some investigation with perhaps usage controls to prevent abuse.
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
They made the mess; they should clean it up. I fully believe that many companies knew exactly what they were doing and continued to pollute because they thought they could get away with it, -- and for the most part they did.
Data center proposals have multiplied across Michigan since the spring, and it is by far the most common topic readers have asked candidates about. Would you support a pause on new hyperscale data center approvals until state guardrails on water use, noise, utility rate impacts, and local approval are in place? Please explain, including whether data centers should keep their state tax breaks, whether local communities should be able to reject them, and whether they should pay the full cost of the grid and water capacity they require.
Yes
I am very concerned about the effect data centers will have on our water supply, our grid capacity, the quality of life for the people living near them and the environment in general. I oppose tax breaks and support data centers paying the full cost of increased use of our grid and water supply. I also oppose non-disclosure agreements or contracts and strongly support enacting legislation to place restrictions on their operations, establishing a regulatory oversight committee and requiring restoration of property if the center ceases operation.
Communities near heavy industry see frequent air quality alerts, wildfire smoke now adds unhealthy-air days statewide, and EGLE has limited staff to inspect facilities and enforce permits. Do you support stronger air pollution enforcement, such as higher penalties for repeat violators or emission limits on unhealthy-air days? What specifically would you do to protect vulnerable residents, including those in the most polluted zip codes, on those days?
You only need to have lived in highly industrial areas in the 1960s and 1970s to appreciate the need for pollution controls. I support stronger air pollution enforcement with significant penalties for repeat violators.
My focus would be on preventing air pollution. The most cost-effective and permanent means of protecting the public is to provide greater oversight and stronger enforcement of existing air-quality protection laws. I would support more monitoring systems and increased public alerts. Encourage facilities such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes to install air filtration systems.
Michigan is already seeing more extreme heat, storms, and flooding, and households pay some of the highest electric rates in the Midwest for some of the least reliable service. What specific steps would you take in your first term toward the MI Healthy Climate Plan goals, and would you support community solar and expanded weatherization so residents can own or share in clean power and lower their bills?
I support renewal energy and the need to research and promote alternative clean energy sources. I'd look into the feasibility of solar energy installations for communities. I fully support weatherization programs and would offer tax breaks and/or low interest loans to homeowners who qualify for weatherization programs.
Federal cuts to EPA staffing, enforcement, and Great Lakes funding are shifting responsibility for air, water, and public health protection to the states. Should Michigan backfill that funding and enforcement, and how would you pay for it? What would you do to make Michigan's own environmental protections durable against future rollbacks?
Hopefully, we will get a federal administration that understand that clean air, water and the health of the people is more important than advancing their private coffers. But in lieu of that happening, Michigan has no choice but to backfill that funding and enforcement. The simplest way to pay for it, is to have the very wealthy residents and corporations to pay their fair share. In addition to that, we need to carefully look at the state budget and thoughtfully remove waste, including programs that have not been successful.
Future rollbacks could be avoided by enacting environmental protection laws, passing laws requiring justification for any proposed rollbacks and requiring periodic independent environmental reviews to create a record for future legislators to review before making any decision.
Michigan's forests, wetlands, and public lands support clean water, wildlife, outdoor recreation, and flood protection, yet the DNR estimates nearly a billion dollars in backlogged capital needs. What are your top priorities for protecting these lands over the next term, including wetland and floodplain protection, groundwater withdrawals by bottlers, and native habitat, and how would you fund them?
So many things could be done if those corporations and high-income individuals would simply pay their fair share in taxes. I will review the DNR's budget needs and support measures to increase its budget to provide for the most pressing capital needs. Wetland and floodplain protection, native habitat and limiting groundwater withdrawal by bottlers are all important to me.
Aside from promoting fair taxation, I might consider taxing bottled water suppliers.
Campaign Money
- Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters$3,000
- Montcalm County Democratic Party Party$1,700
- Kent County Democratic Party$500
- Bo The Plumber$500
- MI Rural PAC$500
Transactions reported to the Michigan Secretary of State through Aug 24, 2026 (Post-election 2026 campaign statement), summed for the 2025–26 cycle. Search the state database →