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. Data Centers — Being proposed in Allen Park. This project is threatening to add to the need of producing non-renewable energy to keep up with statewide demands, as well as their need for 3 million gallons of water a year, impacting our watershed.
2. Marathon Refinery Pollution — Marathon Refinery Pollution. Many residents in the city of Melvindale live near this plant and have reported issues with respitory issues, and this impacts our community directly.
3. The City of — The City of Lincoln Park is losing 40% of water from GLWA due to unknown leaks in the system. This is a waste of millions of gallons of water a year.
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 beleive 2040 is too far in the future, and would like to see industry move faster on these initiatives. If there are moves to move this time table forward, I will work to make it law.
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?
We are dealing with this directly in our district. I have been a leading voice against these projects. The City of Allen Park is in a difficult position, being unable to impose a moratorium, so we need to provide support from the state level. We need to pass an indefinite moratorium pending a long list of markers and answers that need to be provided.
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?
State legislators have the unique opportunity to first make contaminators accountable for the cleanup of PFAS and requiring then to invest in these cleanup efforts. We need to ensure soil testing is done and regularly test and filter these harmful chemicals out of our drinking water. I will work with environmental groups to move these initiatives forward in the state.
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
Our communities are dealing with this directly. Many corporations try to put their unsightly waste and operations in lower income communites. I will fight these projects at every turn.
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?
This is a top issue of my campaign and the residents of our community. Rate hikes are out of control here in the state of Michigan. DTE has been awarded 3/4 of $1 billion in rate increases in the last year. I want to propose and work with other lawmakers for a five-year rate hike freeze, and during that freeze, we need to work on legislation to expand, elect and reform the MPSC.
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 poses a great existential threat to our Great Lakes. I understand our need for crude oil while we work towards a cleaner and greener future. However, I do not think we should continue the line 5 project. I would support initiatives to move us away from dependence on oil. Putting an end to this threat to our lakes is a must for protecting our water.
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 would fully support capping Great Lakes Water Authority rates and moving into a future of municipal water sources funded by taxes rather than bills. I believe water is essential to human life, and your income level should not dictate your access to this file resource.
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
Corporations have been provided with too many sweetheart deals for their bad behavior. I will support any and all accountability that we can put on corporations that put their profits above people and hide their contamination.