Priorities for Senate District 5
Protecting and Renewing the Things that Make This Community Special
My wife and I are so proud to call Plymouth home.
We’re proud of our excellent public schools. Our vibrant downtowns. Our abundant green space. Our world-class doctors. That’s not everything you need to raise a family with a great quality of life – but it’s a good start. It’s my job to preserve and renew these points of pride so that as many people as possible can access and enjoy them for years to come.
Strengthening Michigan Education
As a teacher, I saw the impact that food insecurity could have on a student’s performance in school. I was proud to support our state budget this year that would allow us to continue offering free breakfast and lunch to students in public schools regardless of any burdensome merit testing. As chair of the education committee, I will fight to make universal school meals a permanent fixture in Michigan’s K-12 system.
I sponsored HB 4752, which allows retired teachers to return to the classroom sooner to help us address the teacher and coach shortage we’re experiencing in Michigan. We have cut the previous 9 month sit-out down to 6 months and those returning could earn up to $15,000 in those first 6 months without jeopardizing their pension benefits.
Protecting Families of Police and Firefighters
Watch my testimony on this bill here. PA 127 (2021) was my first bill signed into law, and it ensures any child of a fallen police officer or firefighter can go to college in Michigan tuition-free. These brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe, and this is the least we can do to support them.
Michigan’s Working Families
I understand just how important our community’s small businesses are to the local economy and to the families that run them. In this district, we value families over corporations, and that’s why I’ve fought hard for them as their representative, and will continue to do so if elected.
Downtown Business Coalition
I created the Downtown Business Coalition to give a bullhorn to local businesses and the families that run them. It gives them a direct line of communication to the governor to make sure Michiganders are heard before massive corporations.
Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday
My bill HB 4223 would suspend Michigan’s sales tax for one day in August for back to school shopping. This would help both parents of school-aged children and teachers who need to buy supplies for the upcoming school year.
Protecting Michigan's Environment
I’ve always been a staunch advocate for protecting our state’s most valuable natural resource: our water. That’s why I’ve fought so hard to make sure Arbor Hills Landfill follows the rules (and is punished when they don’t). It’s also why I’m strongly opposed to the continued reckless transfer of oil underneath the Mackinac bridge.
Landfill Regulation
In the three years since Rep. Koleszar has been elected, the Arbor Hills Landfill and its operators have settled multiple lawsuits at the state and federal level and have paid millions in fines with legal requirements to mitigate air pollution.
Oil Under Mackinac Bridge
The last Enbridge oil spill was near Kalamazoo, MI in 2010. It took 5 years to clean up, and was the second largest inland oil spill in US History. That pipeline is 18 years younger and 800 miles shorter than Line 5. Michigan can’t afford another Enbridge catastrophe.