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.
Data Centers: These centers will produce pollution of air, water, sound and light. It will be detrimental to all aspects of the environment. Water: Livingston county sits on 3 different aquifers so we need to make sure that water pollution is minimized.
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
The great lakes hold approximately 84% of the fresh water in the United States. Because of that, Michigan needs to be extra sensitive to pollution.
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?
First, there needs to be a moratorium on data centers to more thoroughly investigate the ramifications of these data centers. Second, the companies that want to build these data centers need to be open about what they are doing and not release redacted contracts to the public and require local public servants to sign non-disclosure agreements. The guarantees that they will put into place need to address: pollution (water, air, sound, heat, soil), water consumption and changes in technologies that may make the data center obsolete. The tax payers should not bear the burdens of these issues.
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?
Cleanup of these micro-plastics will be significant and may take many years. We need to do more research on how to more effectively eliminate these chemicals, and start the cleanup as quickly as 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
We need to put people before corporations and profits.
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. They have been making record profits while continuing to increase the costs. Because they are a monopoly, profits should be set by the government and any rate increases should be tied to better service to the general consumers rather than the data centers.
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 am against 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. Michigan sits on more water than any other state, so we should all have affordable clean water.
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
The companies that have created this pollution should be held accountable for their actions. The taxpayers should not have to bear the brunt of issues created by corporations.