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AFFORDABILITY • MICHIGAN'S 88TH DISTRICT

Lower Utility Bills

People in the 88th are doing everything right. Working hard, paying their bills, raising their kids - and still feel like they're falling behind. That's not a personal failure. That's a policy failure. Here's where I start fixing it.

Your Utility Bill Shouldn't Fund Their Politics

Since 2020, state regulators have approved nearly $800 million in rate hikes for Consumers Energy - and just seven days after the latest increase was approved, the company filed for $456 million more.

Meanwhile, utilities spend millions on the politicians who are supposed to hold them accountable. I don't take a dime of corporate money. I work for the people paying the bills, not the companies sending them.

Every month, your utility bill goes up. And every year, the companies sending those bills post record profits.

Here’s how it works: utility companies in Michigan are monopolies. You can’t shop around. The only thing standing between you and unlimited rate hikes is the state – and the utilities have figured out that the cheapest investment they can make is in the politicians who oversee them. Roughly 80% of Michigan’s Legislature has taken money from utility companies. Then we act surprised when the rate hikes keep getting approved.

Since 2020, regulators have signed off on nearly $800 million in annual rate increases for Consumers Energy alone. This spring, residential electric rates jumped another 8.9%. Seven days – seven days – after that increase was approved, Consumers filed for another $456 million.

In West Michigan, we live our values. That’s why I don’t take corporate money. Not from utilities, not from anyone. When I’m your State Representative, I answer to exactly one group of people: you.

My plan:

Cap the Rate Hikes

I’ll introduce legislation capping utility rate increases for the next three years, giving Michigan families the breathing room they need while we fix the broken system that got us here.

End the Handouts

I’ll work to eliminate subsidies for utility companies. Businesses making over a billion dollars in profit don’t need a handout from hardworking Michiganders.

This November, there are two easy things you can do to lower your energy bill:

Vote YES on the Money Out of Politics ballot initiative: the citizen-led proposal that bans utility monopolies from bankrolling Michigan politicians. Over 562,000 of your neighbors signed to put it on the ballot.

And vote for me.