Occupation / Current Position
Representative in State Legislature
Education
New York University, M.A.; Wayne State University, B.F.A.
Qualifications and Experience
Incumbent state legislator, 2023-Present; Harper Woods City Council member 2015-2022; member of caucuses incl.: Detroit, Legislative Disability, Progressive Women, Poverty & Homelessness.
Michigan's education ranks about 40th in the U.S. Last year, I hosted a "Town Hall on the Future of Early Childhood Education". Recruiting/retaining educators is difficult. With that in mind: I've supported permitting certain topics in school collective bargaining negotiations and changing default retirement plans to pension system, increased school foundation funding, lowering healthcare costs for teachers, teacher evaluation reform. I voted to support literacy teacher training and provide extensions for temporary teaching credentials. Providing in-house mental health services, and increases safety for school employees is also important.
Minimum wages increased this year. I support increased wages for home healthcare workers, firefighters, police and corrections officers. I have cosponsored bills addressing prevailing wage and wage discrimination. I sponsored HB 4294 regarding fair paycheck workplace certification, and HB 4253 about employee accrued leave. I am working on cooperative housing (affordability) legislation; alternative energy savings; limit the frequency of utility rate hikes, and cap the increases. I support free breakfasts and lunches for public school students, saving a family over $800/year. I also support subsidizing child care.
I believe alternative energy sources including solar siting for lower energy rates, subsidized affordable home solar, and home "plug in" solar which could power home appliances and save consumers hundreds of dollars annually. Solar energy is environmentally mindful. Data centers use tremendous amounts of energy and water. I believe they should be highly regulated, include recirculating water; I don't believe in tax incentives, but believe there should be "clawback" options for violations or not honoring commitments; they should 100% fund their infrastructure and ongoing infrastructure maintenance, and pay the same water rates as residents.
Protecting essential personal freedoms of *all* residents is acutely important. I am the sponsor of House Bill 4858 that would prohibit government from disclosing information used to obtain warrants to enforce federal immigration law in certain circumstances (seizure). I've co-signed a letter to the Detroit ICE field director, was a panelist in a forum for residents, including refugees, who have been negatively impacted by ICE brutality, and joined 5 colleagues in meeting with women detainees at the North Lake "Processing Center" in Baldwin. I believe substantive due process in Michigan could be further reviewed and perhaps legislated.
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Occupation / Current Position
Surgical Technologist in Labor and Delivery
Education
Community college surgical tech
Qualifications and Experience
Healthcare worker from a working class family
Education should be a human right given to all. Working class families shouldn't have to choose between poorly funded local schools or having to commute to better schools. Our education system should be evaluated by the quality of the education given to the most disenfranchised. Funding schools should be a top priority for this country but the upper class would rather cut our schools funding to fund the destruction of schools in other countries through exorbitant military spending. The money for schools needs to be taken back by the working class.
All the wealth is there for everyone to make a living wage. The working class has made it themselves and deserves to see its fruits. The only way for that to be possible is for the working class to form its own party and control the economy for the benefit of all. The working class party thinks that a fight is needed to impose automatic and immediate wage, pension and disability check increases whenever prices increase.
Energy must not be supplied based on a drive for more profit. The growing push for more data centers is in direct opposition to workers needs. Data centers are another attack on a workers quality of life. They bring less reliable energy, more expensive electric bills, noise pollution, and are detrimental to Michigan's fresh water. Energy for profit must be stopped by a working class fight.
The systems of due process, First Amendment, and Fourth Amendment rights have been corrupted and cannot be reformed. These rights are being bent to the will of the upper class. All people should be able to move freely and without punishment. The way for these rights to be guaranteed is for workers to be in control of their reinforcement. “If this country is to judge people righteously then judge in front of everybody!” (Mother- Maxim Gorky).
