Priorities
Six years on the Forest Hills Board taught me what strong schools look like and what threatens them. Here's what I'll fight for:
Stop raiding the school aid fund. Over $6 billion has been diverted from K-12 education over the last 30 years. That money belongs in our classrooms.
Fix how funding reaches schools. Too much funding is locked in categorical grants that well-resourced districts can navigate and under-resourced ones can't. Every school deserves a fair shot.
Protect every student. Every kid deserves to feel safe, supported, and valued in their school regardless of who they are or where they live.
Support our educators. Teachers, counselors, and support staff deserve fair pay, manageable workloads, and a real seat at the table.
Strategically review what we ask of educators. For decades, we've added requirements, programs, and mandates onto teachers' plates without ever going back to ask what's working and what isn't. I will fight to review what we require of our educators and remove what is redundant, outdated, or unfunded, so teachers can focus on what matters most: teaching.
Working families in District 80 are squeezed. Wages haven't kept pace with the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and childcare. Here's what I'll fight for:
Affordable childcare. You can't fully participate in the workforce if you can't afford childcare. This is an economic issue as much as a family issue.
Close the pay gap. Women in Michigan still earn 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. I support pay transparency laws and paid family leave so women aren't forced to choose between their careers and their families.
A living wage. Michigan's minimum wage falls far short of what it actually costs to live here. In Kent County alone, a single adult needs to earn around $20 an hour to meet basic needs. I support raising the minimum wage to reflect the actual cost of living and indexing it to inflation, ensuring it never falls behind again.
Healthcare affordability and access. Healthcare costs are unsustainable for Michigan families and small businesses. People stay in jobs they hate just to keep their insurance, and too many go without care because they can't afford it. I support moving Michigan toward universal healthcare coverage and will fight to protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare, which continues to face attacks. Healthcare decisions belong to patients and their doctors, not politicians.
Invest in green jobs. Michigan's clean energy transition is an economic opportunity. I support policies that create good-paying jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean infrastructure right here in our communities.
Just cause protections. Workers shouldn't lose their jobs without a legitimate documented reason. I support extending just cause protections to more Michigan workers.
District 80 is a great place to live, but housing costs are rising, and too many development decisions benefit corporations more than communities. Here's what I'll fight for:
Housing affordability. Housing costs too much for too many working families. There are no simple fixes, but I will work with housing experts and local governments to find solutions that actually help families afford to live in the communities where they work, without sacrificing neighborhood character or shifting profits to developers at the expense of residents. I also support thoughtful development that prioritizes walkability and multi-use spaces that make communities more livable and less car-dependent.
Housing stability. There are organizations that help families get into a home, but far fewer that help them stay there once unexpected challenges arise. I will support expanding resources that help families maintain housing stability.
Clean water. Every family deserves safe water to drink. PFAS contamination has affected communities across Michigan, threatening both public health and economic vitality. I support aggressive identification and cleanup of PFAS contamination and will fight to hold polluters accountable rather than leaving the cost to taxpayers and families.
Protect our environment. I support the Michigan Green Amendment, which would establish clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment as constitutional rights for every Michigander.
Data centers and large development. Michigan should compete for new investment, and the jobs that come with it, but large developments must pay the full cost of the infrastructure they require, meet rigorous environmental standards to protect our air, water, and natural spaces, and must not shift their costs onto ratepayers and neighboring communities.
Energy affordability. Energy costs affect every family and every business. I support transitioning Michigan to clean energy sources like wind and solar that reduce our long-term dependence on fossil fuels, bring costs down over time, and create good jobs in our communities. Clean energy should be accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford rooftop solar, and Michigan's grid must be modernized to make that possible.