Your Priorities - My Plan

When I started exploring a run for State Senate, I didn’t begin with a platform. I began with people. After dozens of conversations and a growing response to my Community Listening Survey, clear themes emerged — themes that cut across towns, backgrounds, and politics.

This agenda is built directly from what you shared: the challenges you face, the hopes you carry, and the changes you want to see in Lansing.

And it’s still growing. If you haven’t added your voice yet, I’d love to hear from you through my Community Listening Survey.

Affordability

“We’re all feeling the stretch.”

Goal: Help Michigan families get ahead by lowering everyday costs and making it easier to build a stable life.

Working hard should be enough to build a good life. Families shouldn't have to choose between groceries and medicine, fixing the car or paying the utility bill. Government should focus on lowering the everyday costs that matter most.

How I’ll Fight for Affordability in Lansing

1) Lowering food and grocery costs

Support and expand small and medium local farming to keep grocery prices down
Strengthen local food access so families have healthier, more affordable options
Expand programs that connect Michigan seniors and families directly with local farmers — lowering food costs while putting more dollars into Michigan farms.

2) Reducing health care costs
A child's access to quality healthcare shouldn't depend on how good Mom or Dad's job happens to be.

Guarantee access to basic, affordable health coverage for every Michigander.
Establish affordable baseline coverage with reasonable limits on insurance company profits, so basic healthcare remains affordable and accessible.
Make insurance companies compete through better service, faster approvals and payments, and stronger relationships with doctors and patients — not by limiting which doctors you can see.
Use state purchasing power to negotiate lower prescription drug and healthcare costs.
Expand affordable preventive care and telehealth options.

3) Lowering insurance rates

Enforce stronger consumer protections
Crack down on discriminatory auto and home insurance practices
Cap unreasonable rate increases

4) Keeping utilities fair and affordable

Hold utilities accountable for reliability and customer service before asking families to pay higher rates.
Strengthen oversight of utility rate increases and political influence in Lansing.
Require fair and timely compensation for customers experiencing extended outages.
Expand energy freedom by making it easier for families and communities to produce, store, and manage their own energy.

5) Making housing attainable again

Cut red tape for building and remodeling starter homes
Fight predatory “buy-to-rent” schemes by big investment firms
Create fair rental policies to ensure renters are not getting pushed out of their homes
Close tax loopholes that benefit a handful at the expense of working families
Support grants and funding for low income home repairs and community safety programs

6) Fixing a broken property tax system

Lower property taxes for low- and middle-income primary homeowners
Rethink how schools and public services are funded so families aren’t crushed by millages.

7) Senior Care

Expand and preserve senior services like community centers, transportation, and assistance programs.
Incentivize non-profit senior care centers
Expand protections and care standards for senior care centers.
Expand programs that help lower-income seniors afford fresh, locally produced food while supporting Michigan farmers.

Affordability isn't just about making life cheaper—it's about making opportunity more attainable for every Michigan family.

Education

“Investments in education only pay off when done correctly.”

Goal: Prepare every student for success by supporting great teachers, strong schools, and multiple pathways after graduation.

Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, but success doesn't look the same for everyone. Whether the next step is college, skilled trades, military service, farming, entrepreneurship, or entering the workforce, our education system should prepare students for the future they choose.

How I’ll Fight to improve education in Lansing

1) Supporting Teachers

Improve starting teacher pay
Provide state-sponsored education programs to keep teachers up to date on evidence-based education practices.

2) Lower Elementary

Improve in class support to reduce educator to student ratios.
Continue to support Great Start Readiness programs for all 4-year-olds
Continue to support early identification for struggling students and provide them with the support they need.

3) Middle and High School

Improve counselor to student ratios to allow stronger relationships with each student and ensure each student has a plan for after high school
Expand Peer to Peer mentorship programs to foster strong student body relationships
Empower teachers and students to create learning environments that meet the needs and demands for tomorrow
Ensure life skills are taught. Financial literacy, media literacy, debate, interviewing, group collaboration are skills needed for a successful future.

4) Accountability

Raise standards of service and transparency
Empower Department of Education to ensure best practices are being followed in teaching practices, special education, student nutrition, and student safety.
Hold DOE and school districts accountable when there are shortfalls.
Emergency Event Action: Any time an emergency event happens that results in a severe student injury or casualty will automatically start an independent investigation into the causes of the event.

5) Post-Secondary and Adult Education

Ensure all students have a post-secondary plan and present multiple options such as college, entrepreneurship, skills/trades, military, farming, etc.
5 year Michigan Plan: Provide paths for low interest loans that can be reduced given that person works in that field for 5 years in Michigan.
Work with public colleges and universities to provide low cost senior education options to keep challenging their minds.

The best investment we can make isn't simply spending more on education—it's making sure every investment helps students thrive.

Power To The People

Trust in government is at an all-time low

Goal: Restore trust in government by making it more transparent, accountable, and responsive to the people it serves.

Public office should be a public service. Government works best when people understand how decisions are made, can hold leaders accountable, and know their voices matter more than political insiders or special interests.

Below is how I’ll work to give the power back to you in Lansing.

1) Political Division & Trust in Government

Goal: Restore honesty, transparency, and accountability so people feel represented again.

Require bipartisan plain-language summaries for all major bills and budgets so people actually know what Lansing is voting on.
Create a Constituent Right-to-Know dashboard that publicly tracks votes, funding decisions, and conflicts of interest.
Enforce — and tighten — ethics laws around lobbying, gifts, and back-room dealmaking.
Bring leaders together across the aisle through community-based problem-solving.
Strengthen open meetings and public notice rules.
Expand FOIA to the Legislature and Governor.
Require regular district listening sessions so representatives stay connected and accountable.

2) Protecting Personal Liberties & Civil Freedoms

Goal: Empower citizens, protect free expression, and ensure government stays in its lane.

Protect free speech in schools, libraries, and public spaces — encouraging open discussion, not censorship.
Protect the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and ensure no Michigander faces discrimination.
Strengthen privacy protections around personal data, including clear limits on how government agencies collect, store, share, and access data gathered through surveillance technology.
Expand FOIA access and reduce cost barriers.
Keep local boards and civic spaces open and accessible for public comment.
Protect lawful gun ownership while promoting common-sense safety practices, background checks, and community violence-prevention.

3) Government Spending & Taxes

Goal: Make government live within its means and ensure taxpayers get real value.

Require performance audits for major state programs and cut what isn’t working.
Work across party lines to identify and eliminate wasteful spending.
Restructure taxes and spending to lower burden on the working and middle class.
Cap runaway administrative spending and redirect savings into frontline services like schools, infrastructure, and public safety.
Increase transparency in contract bidding so politically connected vendors don’t get sweetheart deals.
Strengthen budget accountability rules so agencies must justify increases.
Simplify and modernize the tax code to make it fairer and more predictable.
Use independent oversight to ensure budget remains balanced without surprise tax hikes.

4) Get Money Out of Politics

Goal: Restore trust in government by reducing the influence of money in our elections and ensuring elected officials answer to the people—not their biggest donors.

Support state efforts like those being explored in Hawaii and Montana that redefine corporate charters to limit corporate election spending and challenge the growing influence of unlimited outside money.
Increase transparency by requiring all political spending—including "dark money" organizations—to disclose who is funding campaigns in a way that is easy for the public to search and understand.
Explore small-donor matching programs so everyday citizens have a stronger voice and candidates spend more time talking to voters than wealthy donors.
Require a cooling-off period before former legislators, department directors, and other senior public officials can become paid lobbyists.
Strengthen ethics rules by requiring legislators to disclose potential conflicts of interest before voting on legislation.
Create a public online dashboard that tracks campaign contributions, lobbying activity, and gifts to elected officials in one searchable location.

5) Local Control & Responsible Development

Goal: Make sure major development strengthens communities instead of leaving residents with the costs.

Protect the ability of local communities to set reasonable standards for development.
Require major developments to account for their impact on roads, utilities, water, public safety, fire and emergency services.
Set clear, enforceable statewide standards for noise, water, environmental impacts and public safety for large-scale developments.
Make sure taxpayers aren't left paying for infrastructure upgrades primarily needed by private developments.

Public office should be a public service. Trust in government begins when elected officials answer to the people—not the biggest checkbook.

Lifting Up the Working and Middle Class

A stronger economy starts with the people who actually keep it running.

Goal: Build an economy where hard work leads to opportunity, financial stability, and a better future for every Michigander.

A strong economy isn't measured by how well the stock market performs—it's measured by how well working people are doing. When families, small businesses, skilled trades, and local farms succeed, Michigan succeeds.

Below is how I’ll Fight for Working Families and the People Who Keep Michigan Running

1) Better Jobs, Better Pay, and Real Career Pathways

Goal: Help more people move into stable, good-paying careers — not just jobs.

Strengthen skilled trades, apprenticeships, and technical education so young people and career-changers can step into good-paying work.
Partner with local employers, unions, and schools to connect people directly to in-demand careers.
Support programs that help workers move from low-wage jobs to stable middle-class careers.
Build interest in skill and trade work in high school.

2) Standing Up for Working Families

Goal: Make it easier for families to raise kids, care for loved ones, and make ends meet without falling behind.

Protect workplace rights, fair wages, and safe working conditions.
Strengthen unions.
Support paid family leave and reasonable work protections so families don’t have to choose between caring for loved ones and keeping a job.
Make childcare and early education more accessible and affordable so parents can choose to work without going broke.

3) Supporting Small Businesses, Local Workers, and Family Farms

Goal: Strengthen Michigan's economy by helping Michigan-based businesses grow, supporting local workers, and keeping family farms thriving.

Prioritize supporting and growing Michigan-based businesses and helping them compete, expand, and create jobs here at home.
Cut unnecessary red tape for small and mid-sized businesses so they can grow, hire, and stay rooted in our communities.
Strengthen support and protections for family farms — the backbone of many of our towns and food supply.
Encourage local ownership and entrepreneurship instead of allowing large outside corporations to squeeze out Michigan businesses.

4) Building an Economy That Works For Us — Not Just the Powerful

Goal: Level the playing field so workers, consumers, and small businesses aren’t pushed aside by corporate power.

Promote responsible capitalism where success is celebrated — but fairness, competition, and accountability matter.
Crack down on predatory corporate practices that drive up prices, push out small businesses, or exploit workers.
Ensure economic development actually benefits local people — not just wealthy investors.
Tie taxpayer-funded business incentives to measurable results — jobs created, wages paid, local investment and promises kept — with clawbacks when companies fail to deliver.
Build safeguards into incentive programs so companies can't simply raise prices because taxpayer subsidies are available.

5) Make Sure Families Can Build a Secure, Stable Life Here in Michigan

Goal: Help more Michigan families build stability, opportunity, and a future they can count on.

Strengthen retirement security and protect pensions people earned.
Support policies that help families save, invest, and build generational stability.
Make Michigan a place where young people want to stay — and where their parents can retire with dignity.
Make Michigan a destination for education and teachers.

Economic growth should create opportunity for everyone, not just those at the top.
Government should reward work, encourage innovation, and help every Michigander build a life they're proud of.

PROTECTING WHAT’S OURS

Your data. Your community. Your voice. Your Michigan.

Goal: Protect our rights, strengthen our communities, and preserve the things that make Michigan home as our state grows and changes.

New technology, new development, and new opportunities can move Michigan forward — but progress shouldn’t require us to give up our privacy, our voice, or control over the communities we call home. We can embrace what’s next while setting clear expectations, protecting our natural resources, and making sure people remain at the center of the decisions that shape our future.

How I’ll fight to protect you, your community, and what makes Michigan home.

1) YOUR DATA

Goal: Protect your privacy while allowing responsible technology to help keep our communities safe.

Protect your constitutional privacy from unreasonable government search and surveillance.
Put clear guardrails around AI and surveillance technology, including appropriate legal authorization and local control of government-collected data.
Give you control over your personal information — what companies collect, how it's used, who it's shared or sold to, and the ability to opt out.
Stop companies from using personal data to unfairly manipulate prices or opportunities based on what an algorithm thinks you're willing or able to pay.
Strengthen protections against identity theft, data breaches and AI-powered scams, with meaningful accountability when companies fail to protect sensitive information.

2) YOUR COMMUNITY

Goal: Keep our communities safe, strong, and in control of the decisions that shape where we live.

Set strong statewide minimum protections for major developments like data centers, High Demand Energy Facilities, and mining operations that protect Michiganders' health, wealth, property values, natural resources, and quality of life.
Protect local control. State standards should be the floor, not the ceiling — communities should be able to adopt stronger protections based on their own needs.
Give local leaders access to independent expertise when evaluating complex developments, so communities aren't forced to rely solely on information provided by developers.
Make developers responsible for their impact. Residents shouldn't be left paying for infrastructure, utilities, monitoring, emergency response, environmental damage, or cleanup created by major projects.
Bring major development into the sunlight. Prohibit NDAs that prevent elected officials from sharing information the public needs to evaluate projects affecting their community, while protecting legitimately confidential information.
Make public safety about safer communities, not just punishment. Invest in prevention, treatment, problem-solving courts, rehabilitation, education, and programs proven to reduce repeat offenses.
Hold people accountable while creating a path back. After serving their sentence, people should have a fair opportunity to work, find housing, contribute, and rebuild their lives.

3) Your Voice

Goal: Protect your right to vote and make sure your voice matters in Lansing long after Election Day.

Protect secure and accessible elections so every eligible Michigander can exercise their right to vote. Michigan currently guarantees early in-person voting and no-excuse absentee voting, among other options.
Support our local clerks with the resources, training, and tools needed to administer secure and efficient elections.
Keep listening after Election Day. Hold regular town halls, listening sessions, and community conversations throughout District 23.
Make government easier to see and understand with greater transparency around votes, spending, lobbying, and major decisions.
Keep big money from drowning out your voice. Continue refusing corporate PAC money and support stronger campaign-finance transparency. Michigan already requires candidate committees to disclose campaign financial activity publicly.
Put people before politics. Represent the district by listening to residents, explaining decisions, and being accessible even when we don't agree.

4) Your Michigan

Goal: Protect Michigan's land, water, and natural resources while building a healthy and sustainable future.

Protect Michigan's water. Safeguard our Great Lakes, rivers, groundwater, drinking water, and private wells from pollution, contamination, and irresponsible development.
Make polluters pay for the damage they cause — not taxpayers or the communities left behind.
Support Michigan farmers as environmental partners through soil health, conservation, responsible water use, and reducing harmful runoff.
Grow cleaner Michigan-made energy while keeping reliability and affordability at the center.
Protect the places that make Michigan home — our parks, forests, wetlands, lakes, rivers, farmland, and outdoor spaces.
Think beyond the next election. Decisions about Michigan's natural resources should consider what we're leaving the next generation.

Protecting what’s ours means embracing progress without giving up our privacy, our communities, our voice, or the Michigan we love.

This Plan Isn’t Finished

And it shouldn’t be.

The best ideas don’t come from one person—they come from a community.

I’ll keep listening, keep learning, and keep refining this based on what I hear from you.

Let’s Build This Together

What did I get right?
What did I miss?

Your input matters—and it always will.