Accountability and Transparency in Government

Campaign Finance Laws

Corporations, unions, and interest groups should be required to publicly disclose any money they spend to influence elections, including issue ads, in a simple format. I believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant, and if someone wants to influence the public discourse, they should have to do it publicly. Otherwise, our public servants are liable to the lobbyists and outside groups who fund them, not the constituents who elected them. That must change.

Legislature-to-Lobbyist Pipeline

Term limits in our state legislature have our elected officials focused on the next step of their careers rather than driving Michigan forward. Instead of continuing to serve their community, term-limited politicians take large sums of money to become lobbyists. I believe we must seal the Legislature-to-Lobbyist Pipeline and impose a mandatory three-year waiting period for retiring legislators.

Election Security

The Intelligence Community of the United States of America has issued report after report outlining that our elections are insecure, so I pledge to work with the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to make our elections system safe from tampering. Our democratic process works because Michiganders believe in its integrity. We must take necessary steps to maintain that integrity, which includes conducting thorough audits of election results and upgrading voter technology.

Ethics and Transparency

While Governor Gretchen Whitmer has used her power to expand the reach of the Freedom of Information Act, this is not enough. A directive issued by the governor can just as easily be rescinded by a future governor. I believe that the Michigan Legislature should pass a bill entrenching transparency for both the executive branch and the legislative branch. The permanence of such a bill would be among the first steps in restoring Michiganders' trust in our government in the wake of crises like the Flint Water Crisis and political gerrymandering.