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. Energy Reliability — Ility For many families in District 15, the biggest environmental issue is also an economic one: the rising cost of keeping the lights on and the heat running. Residents are paying more while still dealing with outages and unreliable service. Any environmental policy must be realistic and cannot come at the expense of working families.
2. Clean Drinking Water — Should never be a luxury. Aging infrastructure, contamination concerns, and neglected maintenance continue to put communities at risk. We need serious investment in infrastructure upgrades and stronger accountability for those responsible for contamination.
3. Air Quality — Industrial pollution and site remediation Communities should not be forced to live near contaminated land, toxic runoff, or poor air quality because cleanup was delayed or ignored. We need stronger enforcement against polluters and faster remediation of contaminated sites.
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.
Revise or repeal portions of the law
I support cleaner energy and innovation, but mandates must be grounded in reality. If implementation threatens grid reliability or dramatically increases costs for working families and small businesses, the timeline and strategy should be revisited to ensure affordability, energy security, and practical execution.
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?
The state should play an active oversight role to ensure data center growth does not overwhelm local infrastructure or burden residents with higher utility costs. Guardrails should include grid capacity reviews, water usage transparency, infrastructure impact studies, and clear cost-allocation rules so existing residents are not subsidizing massive private developments. If a project profits privately, communities should not bear the hidden costs.
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 accelerating cleanup while ensuring polluters, not taxpayers, carry the financial responsibility wherever legally possible. We need faster testing, stronger remediation timelines, and transparent reporting so affected communities know what risks they face.
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?
It depends (please explain below)
I support considering cumulative impacts, especially in heavily burdened communities, but the process must be objective, science-based, and consistent. It should protect public health without becoming an arbitrary permitting tool that discourages responsible economic development.
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, especially when rate increases continue while service reliability remains inconsistent. Families should not be asked to pay more every year without measurable improvements in service, infrastructure, and transparency.
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?
Line 5 is a complex issue because it involves both environmental risk and energy security. I support maintaining reliable energy supply for Michigan while demanding the highest safety standards, rigorous oversight, and infrastructure improvements that minimize spill risk. Any long-term solution must balance environmental protection with affordability and reliability.
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 support targeted relief for low-income residents and reasonable shutoff protections, especially for vulnerable households such as seniors, disabled residents, and families with young children. Assistance should be structured carefully so essential utilities remain financially sustainable while protecting residents from crisis situations.
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
Those responsible for contamination should be held accountable for cleanup. Responsible businesses should not be punished for someone else’s negligence, but polluters should not be allowed to externalize cleanup costs onto taxpayers or surrounding communities.