LOWER COSTS

We are in a cost crisis, and the vast majority of families in our district do not have the luxury of waiting for things to improve. We must act now. 

Trump’s tariffs are crushing families and farmers, and crashing our economy, while Republicans in Lansing downplay, distract, and distance themselves from the real harm they are causing to real people.  

Drastic cuts to Medicaid and food assistance are devastating for families already running out of ways to make ends meet. Republicans’ tax cuts for the ultra-rich do nothing for the middle class and only put more burdens on low-income families. 

Putting more money back in the pockets of our working families and seniors is the best way to stabilize households struggling to get by and strengthen prospects to get ahead.

As your State Senator, my top priorities will be:

• Tax breaks for the working class, not the ultra-wealthy, including:
  • Further expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit— our state’s match of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit  
  • Establishing a Working Parents Tax Credit, so young parents can afford to work and have childcare

• Making free PreK universal in Michigan and protecting funding for free school meals

• Lower costs of prescription drugs, health care, and groceries by holding Big Pharma accountable and strengthening Michigan’s consumer protection and price gouging laws 

• Stronger hospital financial assistance programs and making sure medical debt doesn’t negatively impact your credit score
• Lower housing costs with legislation that keeps pace with market prices and cracks down on corporate investors who buy up housing stock and drive up prices
• Standing up to all corporate greed and special interests

JOB TRAINING & APPRENTICESHIPS – Through initial and re-training, we must prepare workers of all ages and experiences for the high-wage jobs we need for more families to build better lives here. I will expand job training, apprenticeships, and partnerships with skilled trades, colleges and employers to equip Michigan workers with in-demand skills.

LABOR RIGHTS & UNION JOBS – Good paying union jobs built Michigan’s middle class, but GOP policies hollowed out unions— hurting working families and our state economy.   Organized labor and other accessible pathways to the skilled trades are key to restoring opportunities for workers and for their families to get ahead.

The single greatest threat to labor in Michigan is a Republican winning this special election and ultimately, a Republican-controlled majority. As our next state Senator, I’ll make sure unions continue the comeback that started with Democrats’ repeal of the so-called ‘Right to Work’ and reinstatement of prevailing wage.

MAKE IT IN MICHIGAN – Decades of offshoring and outsourcing shipped good-paying jobs overseas with devastating impacts on middle class families. Trade deals and economic agreements must never sell out our workers. At the state level, and working with our federal counterparts, I will fight for every measure that makes sure workers profit from trade deals, not just corporations and shareholders. I will push for penalties on the companies that ship jobs overseas, and incentives for the businesses who keep and grow jobs here. 

When Democrats had the Trifecta, we secured thousands of good-paying jobs for mid-Michigan workers with employers including Hemlock Semiconductor, SK Siltron, and Corning, Inc. I will continue this work to bring more advanced manufacturing jobs and vital supply chains home to our region.

ATTRACTIVE SITES & COMMUNITIES – In addition to supporting infrastructure investments and other improvements to get more sites across our Great Lakes Bay Region ‘shovel ready’ for businesses, I will prioritize policies and grants that revitalize neglected communities so they are more attractive to the workers needed to fill those jobs. 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT –  Economic development agreements must deliver on promised jobs and wages, and ensure good returns on taxpayer investment that benefit our communities, not just the corporations.

CUTTING RED TAPE – I will look to eliminate unnecessary and burdensome bureaucracy so businesses can put more resources toward growing jobs and increasing wages.

PROTECTING OUR RIGHTS & DEMOCRACY

The Dobbs decision that overturned Roe, stripping Americans of a Constitutional protection for the first time in history, showed us that NOTHING IS SAFE. And now, we are in a 5-alarm fire with MAGA Republicans and extremist judges attacking our voting, privacy, free speech, LGBTQ+, disability, due process rights and more. 

If we don’t protect freedom for some, we will lose it for all. As your State Senator, I will always fight to make sure “liberty & justice for all” means all. I will push to enact state level protection for all our rights under attack. We did this in 2023, when Michigan enshrined abortion access into our state Constitution and expanded our Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community, race-based hair styles, and people who have abortions.

Voting is the bedrock right of our democracy. I wholeheartedly support the election and voting reforms Michiganders overwhelmingly passed in 2018 and 2022. I will fight to uphold those reforms and always ensure that voting is accessible and secure for all eligible citizens. Expanding access for eligible voters respects every citizen regardless of age and ability, and whether they go away to school, or work in the military or other jobs where it is difficult to take time off.

Beyond the economic policies I support to make raising a family more affordable and manageable, I will always stand up for Michiganders’ reproductive freedom and health. Women and families must have the freedom to decide when it comes to these deeply intimate issues. It is wrong for the government to force pregnancy, place burdensome restrictions or bans on legal contraception and IVF, or dictate what should be personal decisions about if, when, and how to start or grow one’s family. And doctors should never fear penalties or prosecution for sharing options when pregnancies develop into complex, heart-wrenching medical circumstances.  

This is about keeping people safe and empowering Michiganders to make informed decisions about their health and future. With other states making it more difficult to obtain abortion care, preventative screenings, birth control and IVF treatments, I will be your fighter in Lansing to keep contraception affordable and accessible, expand vital reproductive healthcare coverage, and protect your personal family planning rights and options including surrogacy and IVF.

I believe health care is a basic right that should be affordable, accessible, and available to all. Our current health care system is broken, but the way to fix it is NOT what Trump and Republicans at the federal level are doing. Their massive gutting of the ACA and Medicaid has blown a $2 billion hole in our State Budget. In exchange for tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans are making basic health care unaffordable for too many families in our 35th State Senate District.

Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders— our neighbors, friends, family, cancer fighters, seniors in nursing homes, new moms, veterans, kids, people of all ages with disabilities— are projected to lose their coverage, and many more will see their insurance premiums skyrocket.

In the wake of Republicans’ destabilizing federal cuts, I will fight to protect Medicaid expansion in our state and funding for our hospitals, healthcare workers and constituents. I will also support stronger hospital financial assistance programs and make sure medical debt doesn’t negatively impact your credit score. I’ll also work to strengthen Michigan’s consumer protection and price gouging laws throughout the health care sector.

Almost everyone in our district is personally impacted by extreme prescription drug costs, or has loved ones who are. I would strongly support a Prescription Drug Affordability Board that increases transparency and prevents price gouging throughout the drug supply chain. This would lower out-of-pocket costs for Michiganders who rely on these medications to survive, and reduce excessive spending in state-run health plans.

PUBLIC SAFETY

I’ve been a public safety professional for 27 years. I know what it takes to make communities safe for our kids, residents, and businesses. As a parent and Vice President of my local Crimestoppers, I am deeply committed to keeping our neighborhoods, schools, parks and places of worship safe from gun violence, illegal drug activity, theft and more.

As state Senator, I will prioritize properly funding public safety; mental health programs, and targeted, smart investments in violence intervention programs like HELP in Saginaw, which are crucial to breaking the pattern of violence. I will make sure law enforcement has strong tools to go after and prosecute criminals. 

Gun violence is the #1 killer of America’s kids, and our district is no exception to that. I am a law abiding gun owner who believes that common sense gun legislation is one of several tools we need to tackle this public health crisis. 

Public safety is more than law enforcement. I will make sure all public safety professionals— from police, corrections and conservation officers, to first responders & fire fighters like myself— have the staffing and resources to keep us safe and to be safe doing these vital jobs.