Occupation / Current Position
Physician/Troy City Council/Self Employed
Education
Medical Degree
Qualifications and Experience
Troy City Council since 2019, Troy Nature Society-Former Board Member, LCSA-Board Member, Troy ERS and RHC-Board Member
Michigan's education system has real strengths, but we are not living up to our potential and our kids are paying the price. Literacy outcomes remain low, funding is unevenly distributed, and our teacher pipeline is thinning.
My first priority is fully implementing Michigan's 2024 literacy and dyslexia screening laws. Those laws don't take effect until 2027-28, and the gap between passage and implementation is where kids get lost. I'll also fight for equitable funding and competitive teacher pay.
Affordability is the throughline of everything I'm running on. Michigan families are working hard and still falling behind. I support raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation, boosting the Working Families Tax Credit to make child care accessible, expanding the Homestead Property Tax Credit, lowering prescription drug costs, and fighting for first-time homebuyer incentives. As a physician and mother of three, I know these aren't separate issues. When families can't make ends meet, their health suffers, and their children's outcomes suffer. This is an economic strategy Michigan cannot afford to keep putting off.
Michigan must lead on energy in a way that works for families, not just utilities. I support a clean energy transition that is responsible and affordable, because rate increases that squeeze working families are not progress.
Reliability means investing in modern grid infrastructure. Environmental protection means holding polluters accountable and ensuring vulnerable communities aren't bearing a disproportionate burden. Affordability means keeping families at the center of every energy decision.
As a physician, I see clean energy as not just an environmental issue; it's a public health issue I'll fight for in Lansing.
Constitutional rights are not conditional. Due process, free speech, and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures apply to every person on Michigan soil, regardless of citizenship status. When we carve out exceptions based on where someone was born, we undermine the framework that protects all of us.
I would support legislation that limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement absent a judicial warrant, strengthens state-level search-and-seizure protections, and ensures every person has meaningful access to due process. Michigan should lead by example, and I will fight to make sure it does.
Occupation / Current Position
Oakland County Commissioner- District 4
Education
BA in International Relations from Michigan State University and a MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University
Qualifications and Experience
Before joining the County Board, he served as a political analyst in Spain with the U.S. State Department, as a national security analyst for Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, and recently also served as
Education has always been of utmost importance to me, and our district feels the same as I do! These are some of the best school districts in the state, and are a major reason folks choose to live in our communities. As Chief of Staff to State Rep. Samantha Steckloff, I worked on the budgets for both K-12 and particularly higher education for many years. Michigan is dealing with about four and a half of active disinvestment in education, and the cracks have been showing for years now; I know the importance of reversing that trend and investing in our children and educators. When it comes to testing, it’s true that we need meaningful measure
I support policies that help workers earn higher wages through collective bargaining, workforce development, and targeted economic growth that creates good-paying jobs. At the same time, addressing affordability requires aggressively increasing housing supply, investing in infrastructure including transit options, and keeping essential costs like healthcare, energy, and childcare manageable. Michigan families need both stronger paychecks and a lower cost of living to achieve lasting economic security.
I support an all-of-the-above approach that balances reliability, affordability, and environmental stewardship. Michigan should continue investing in clean energy, grid modernization, and energy efficiency while ensuring sufficient generation capacity to keep the lights on and rates affordable. Our green energy transition must be practical, protect consumers, and create good-paying Michigan jobs while urgently reducing emissions and safeguarding our natural resources. Home to over 20% of the world’s accessible fresh water, I also support safeguarding international water law, defending the Great Lakes from invasive species, and ensuring long-t
Free speech is a bedrock right in our country, famously protected in the Bill of Rights. As an elected official I do everything I can to ensure that this right is protected, and I oppose any legislation that would infringe on our right to free speech, including reasonable (not posing grave security threats) protest and demonstration regardless of citizenship status. When I think of what the “soul of America” is, Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” on the base of the Statue of Liberty is what I see. While we often fail to live up to that strident, aspirational ideal, deep in our souls, we have to hold up being a welcoming harbor to the “temp
Occupation / Current Position
Attorney
Education
Juris Doctorate
Qualifications and Experience
Ren Nushaj is an attorney, author, and public servant with more than 16 years of legal experience. He serves as City Attorney and Prosecutor for the City of Clawson and is a founding partner of the Tr
Michigan's public schools are nowhere close to my expectations as a parent and someone seeking office. Our NAEP reading rankings slid downwards and we still haven't recovered from the pandemic, even though District 9 outperforms the state. I'll defend the per-pupil funding, but more dollars won't fix special education, which the state underfunds while Troy and Rochester cover the gap. We're losing nearly 8,000 teachers a year, so I'd tie real raises to funding and invest in retention, not just recruitment. We have made the job harder for teachers and I would rely on their wisdom and experience as opposed to that of out of touch legislators.
Hard work should pay for a life you can afford. Michigan's minimum wage is on track to hit $15 in 2027 but I believe in a living wage and so I would index it. We need to work to lower our auto insurance rates, cap predatory payday loans, expand childcare, and fight utility hikes. On housing, I would eliminate onerous bureaucratic regulations that impede new construction in order to increase the housing supply at lower costs. I would fight for infill development. I believe healthcare is a human right and would fight for it as it would be the single most meaningful contribution to addressing the affordability crisis in Michigan.
We pay some of the highest bills in the country and get abysmal service. Michigan ranks dead last among states for the length of power outages. That's unacceptable to me. I'd tie rate hikes to reliability, not executive perks, and strengthen the watchdog commission so families aren't hit with a new increase every year. I back the 2040 clean energy goal because cheaper renewables protect our finances and our environment. And I'll fight to get PFAS out of our drinking water and keep planting trees, protecting the Michigan we hand our kids.
The Constitution says "persons," not "citizens", due process and the First and Fourth Amendments protect everyone in this Country. As an immigration attorney, I've seen what happens when those rights get ignored, and I fought against it my entire career. I'd require a judicial warrant, not just a federal request, before local police detain or transfer anyone, protect the right to speak and worship without fear, and keep courthouses, schools, and hospitals as places people can safely use. A right isn't a right if it can be lost at the moment a new administration reinterprets the law. I am running because we need to strengthen our institutions.
Occupation / Current Position
State Senator
Education
BA in International Relations from Michigan State University
Qualifications and Experience
State Senator, former State Representative, former Rochester Hills City Councilman. Licensed P&C Insurance agent since 2010.
Michigan’s education system is not delivering the results our students deserve. Despite increased spending, Michigan ranks near the bottom nationally in education outcomes. Three out of four students are not reading at grade level or proficient in math.
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their ZIP code. That starts with making sure students can read proficiently by the end of third grade, because reading is the foundation for success in every other subject. I support a read-by-third-grade guarantee and ensuring teachers have access to proven, science-based literacy training and curriculum.
As your state senator, I’ve supported efforts to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security income, end surprise medical billing, expand access to early childhood education and increase affordable childcare options for working families. I’ve also supported programs such as Going PRO and the Michigan Achievement Scholarship to help students and workers gain the skills they need to succeed in today’s economy.
I’ll keep working to reduce the tax burden, remove unnecessary red tape that drives up housing costs and repeal costly mandates that increase utility bills.
I support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes renewable energy, natural gas, nuclear power and other reliable sources. We should continue investing in grid modernization, encourage innovation and ensure dependable power is available when families need it most.
The energy mandates adopted in 2023 require Michigan to begin phasing out natural gas and rely entirely on “green” energy sources, such as wind and solar, by 2040. These mandates threaten grid reliability and are expected to increase our energy bills by more than $2,700 a year. I support the repeal of this costly mandate.
Due process, free speech and protections against unreasonable government intrusion are core American values, and government has a responsibility to respect those rights.
At the same time, we must take border security and immigration enforcement seriously. That means enforcing the law, preventing crime and ensuring the legal immigration process works as intended.
While immigration policy is primarily a federal responsibility, our laws should be enforced in a manner consistent with the Constitution and the principles that have guided our country for generations.
