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 and Water Protection
Water is Michigan's greatest natural resource. Every family deserves safe drinking water free from contaminants like PFAS and microplastics, and we must protect our lakes, rivers, wetlands, and groundwater from pollution. Once these resources are damaged, the costs to communities can last for generations.
2. Sustainable Agriculture and Protecting Farmland
Agriculture is a cornerstone of our district and Michigan's economy. We need to help small and medium-sized farmers remain profitable while protecting soil health, water quality, and open space. Good environmental policy should work with farmers, not against them, because they are some of our best stewards of the land. Protecting farmland also strengthens local food systems and helps preserve Michigan's rural communities.
3. Energy Independence and Climate Change
Climate change is creating real challenges through stronger storms, changing growing seasons, increasing wildfire risk, and greater strain on infrastructure. Michigan should continue transitioning to cleaner energy while giving homeowners, farms, schools, and local communities more opportunities to generate and store their own power. Building a cleaner grid should also mean giving people more energy independence—not simply shifting dependence from one energy source to another.
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.
Other (please explain below)
I support maintaining the goal and would like to see Michigan reach it sooner if it can be done affordably and reliably. I also want to empower homeowners, farms, schools, and local communities to generate and store their own energy so they are less dependent on large utility companies.
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?
Data centers can bring jobs and investment, but they should never come at the expense of local communities. The state should establish clear statewide standards while preserving local control over whether and where these projects are built. Guardrails should include limits on noise, heat, water consumption, wastewater treatment, energy efficiency, emergency preparedness, and environmental monitoring. Companies should also be required to demonstrate how they will meet increased energy demand without shifting costs onto existing customers. Finally, violations should carry meaningful penalties that hold companies accountable rather than treating fines as simply the cost of doing business.
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 is identifying every affected community and creating a fully funded long-term plan to ensure every Michigan resident has access to clean drinking water free of PFAS. That includes testing, transparent reporting, cleanup, and holding polluters accountable whenever possible.
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
Yes. Communities that already bear higher levels of pollution deserve a full assessment of cumulative environmental and public health impacts before additional permits are approved. Every Michigan resident deserves clean air and clean water regardless of their ZIP code.
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. Michigan residents deserve greater oversight of utility rate increases. Because most customers have little or no choice of provider, lawmakers and independent experts should carefully evaluate whether proposed increases are necessary and justified before they are approved. I also believe we should invest in programs that help homeowners, businesses, schools, and communities generate and store their own energy, reducing dependence on large utility monopolies while lowering long-term costs. We should prioritize investments that benefit Michigan families—not simply increase profits for already highly profitable utility companies.
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 do not believe Line 5 is the long-term answer for Michigan. Our Great Lakes are too valuable to risk an oil spill. We need to transition to safer ways of meeting our energy needs while accelerating investments in cleaner energy and modern infrastructure that reduce our dependence on transporting oil and gas through one of the world's largest freshwater systems. Every decision should start with protecting our water and the communities and economy that depend on 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?
Yes. Access to clean water should be a human right.
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
One lesson I teach my kids is to leave a place better than you found it. Companies should not be allowed to profit from our communities while leaving taxpayers to clean up the damage. Polluters should be responsible for restoring contaminated sites so future generations inherit cleaner, healthier communities.