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 Drinking Water — Clean Water, Aging Infrastructure, and Water Affordability Residents in House District 1 deserve access to safe, affordable drinking water. Aging water infrastructure, flooding concerns, and rising utility costs continue to impact working families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Water is a basic human need, and no one should have to choose between paying for water and other necessities.
2. Air Quality — Environmental Justice and Public Health Many communities in and around Detroit have historically experienced disproportionate exposure to pollution, poor air quality, industrial waste, and environmental hazards. These issues often have the greatest impact on low-income families, communities of color, seniors, disabled residents, and those already facing health disparities. Environmental justice means ensuring every community has the same opportunity to live in a healthy environment.
3. Climate — Resilience, Emergency Preparedness, and Accessible Infrastructure Extreme weather, flooding, power outages, and aging infrastructure affect everyone, but they can create life-threatening situations for people with disabilities, Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, seniors, and those who rely on medical equipment. Michigan must invest in resilient infrastructure while ensuring emergency communication and preparedness efforts are fully accessible to all residents.
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 support Michigan's transition to clean energy while ensuring affordability, reliability, and workforce development opportunities. Clean energy investments can create jobs, improve public health, reduce pollution, and help protect future generations while maintaining a stable energy grid for residents and businesses.
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 ensure that data center development is transparent, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to local communities. Before approval, projects should undergo reviews of energy demand, water usage, environmental impacts, and effects on utility costs. Communities should have meaningful opportunities to participate in the decision-making process, and all public hearings and materials should be accessible to people with disabilities, Deaf and Hard of Hearing residents, and individuals with language access needs. Developers should also be required to contribute to local infrastructure improvements and workforce development opportunities.
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 efforts while securing funding for water infrastructure improvements and holding polluters accountable. Residents deserve transparency, timely action, and access to information in accessible formats so every community understands potential risks and available resources.
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
Environmental decisions should consider the cumulative impacts on communities that have already experienced generations of environmental burdens. Residents deserve a voice in decisions affecting their health, and those conversations must include accessible communication to information and resources for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, disabled, and limited-English-proficient community members.
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?
Michigan residents are facing increasing costs while continuing to experience outages and service interruptions. Elected officials should advocate for greater transparency, accountability, reliability, and affordability. For many disabled individuals, seniors, and residents who rely on medical equipment, reliable utility service is not simply a convenience, it is essential for health and safety.
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?
The Great Lakes are one of Michigan's greatest natural resources and a critical source of drinking water. Any decision regarding Line 5 must prioritize environmental protection, public safety, tribal consultation, and long-term stewardship of our freshwater resources. Decisions should be based on science, risk assessment, and protecting future generations.
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 water is a basic necessity. I support policies that help low-income households, seniors, and people with disabilities maintain access to safe drinking water. No family should lose access to water because they are experiencing financial hardship.
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 environmental contamination should be responsible for cleanup whenever possible. Taxpayers should not bear the burden of environmental damage caused by polluters. Strong accountability protects public health, preserves natural resources, and helps ensure safer communities for future generations.