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Agenda

Universal Childcare

Moonshot: Stacking Success for Our Children

A moonshot doesn’t just happen—it’s built. To achieve a radical vision like starting free school at 6 months, we have to stack success. This means grounding our long-term goals in practical milestones that provide immediate relief to Detroit families while we build the new machine.

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We aren't just dreaming; we are designing the infrastructure to get there.

The Roadmap: Radical
Vision, Practical Steps

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Phase 1
Stabilizing the Foundation
(Immediate Action)

We start by fixing the immediate cost-burdens that keep families from thriving.

  • Universal Full-Day Pre-K
    Ensure every 3- and 4-year-old on the East Side, in Hamtramck, and in Highland Park has a guaranteed seat. No more lotteries, no more waitlists.
     

  • Capping Childcare Costs
    Implement direct subsidies so no working family in the Livernois 6-Mile area or beyond pays more than a manageable percentage of their income for daycare.

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Phase 2
Building the Infrastructure
(The Bridge)

We can't scale to 6 months without the space and the people to lead it.

  • Neighborhood Education Hubs Repurpose underutilized public assets—including Detroit Public Schools and community centers—into high-quality early childhood centers.
     

  • Educator's Living Wage
    We will not build this system on the backs of underpaid labor. We will set a floor for early childhood educator wages and benefits to stabilize the workforce and ensure the highest quality of care.

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Phase 3
Launching the
6-month Moonshot
(The Goal)

The final stack is the realization of a system where education is a public good from infancy.

  • Universal 6-Month Enrollment
    Transition from a "childcare market" to a comprehensive public education system that starts at 6 months.

     

  • Integrated Support
    Scale these hubs to include health screenings and nutritional support, ensuring the system supports the whole child and the entire family   from day one.

Affordable Housing

Redesigning the Machine

Economic justice in Detroit isn't about fixing a broken machine; it’s about acknowledging the machine was built to produce displacement and choosing to build a new one. We are moving beyond navigating a "rigged" housing market and starting to redesign it from the ground up.

The Radical Vision: Publicly Owned Housing & Radical Affordability

Housing is a human right, not a speculative asset. Our goal is a city where "affordable" actually matches the incomes of the East Side, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and the Livernois 6-Mile area.

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A New Era of

Publicly Owned Housing

We are bringing back the "Public" in public housing, leading an aggressive investment in publicly owned, high-quality residential developments.

  • Non-Market Housing
    By keeping ownership in the public trust, we create housing that is permanently shielded from the speculative market.
     

  • Community-Led Design
    Building modern, sustainable, and dignified homes held as a collective asset for the people of Detroit.

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Driving Costs Down: Detroit Manufactured Housing Factory

To build fast and affordably, we must control the means of production. We are advocating for a state-of-the-art housing factory located here in Detroit.

  • Employing Our People
    A local factory creates a pipeline for Detroiters to build Detroit, providing stable, skilled labor opportunities in the 21st-century construction trades.
     

  • Radical Cost Reduction
    By eliminating shipping costs & building at scale within city limits,
    we drive the price of high-quality housing lower.
     

  • Empower Our Black Developers
    This factory will serve as a primary resource for local Black developers, giving them the tools and inventory to lead the revitalization of our neighborhoods without being held hostage by soaring material costs.

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Rebalancing
the Tax Burden:
A State-Led Solution

Our high property tax rates make us less competitive. To promote growth, we must equip Detroit with tools used by thriving cities to balance the tax burden.

  • State-Enabled Empowerment
    This is a state issue. We will fight in Lansing to give Detroit’s leadership the legislative authority to implement innovative tax structures—like land value taxation or local-option excise taxes—to balance the budget without leaning on the backs of homeowners.
     

  • Eliminate the Ownership Burden Our ultimate goal is eliminating residential property taxes for primary residences. No Detroiter should lose their family home due to rising assessments in a neighborhood they helped stabilize.
     

  • Tax Speculators, Not Neighbors We will redesign the tax code to shift the burden away from residents and toward the speculative entities that treat our land like a stock market.
    By giving the Mayor & Council the power to tax land value rather than improvements, we incentivize development & penalize those who leave lots to rot.

Free Public Transit

Independence & Opportunity

You can’t truly be a part of a community if you can’t move around and experience it. Economic justice isn’t just about the money in your pocket—it’s about the freedom to use it.
 

When our buses don't show up or cost too much, the system is essentially putting residents on house arrest. We are redesigning our transit to ensure every Detroiter has the independence to connect with their neighbors and the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The Radical Vision:
Independence Through Mobility

Transportation is the lifeblood of a thriving city. Our goal is a seamless, state-of-the-art regional system that treats mobility as a utility, not a luxury.

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Phase 1

A Direct Stimulus

Through Free Transit 

Put money directly back into the hands of Detroiters. I am fully committed to making DDOT buses fare-free for all, creating a direct economic stimulus.

  • The $8.5 Million Investment
    We know the cost to clear the paywall—roughly $8.5 million annually in farebox revenue. I am making it my mission to raise this through a coalition of public-private partnerships and the philanthropic community.
     

  • Direct Stimulus to Riders
    For a daily rider, this policy is a direct annual stimulus of $600 to $1,200. This is cash that stays in your pocket for groceries, housing, and savings.
     

  • Streamlined Efficiency
    By eliminating the farebox, we cut the costs of collection and speed up boarding times. Every second saved at the curb is a second gained for a parent getting home to their kids.

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Phase 2

A Regional System:

Woodward to Pontiac 

Our lives don't stop at 8 Mile Road.

We need a transit system that reflects the reality of how we live and work in Southeast Michigan.

  • Finishing the QLine
    We will push to extend the QLine all the way to Pontiac, as it was originally intended. We are done with "starter lines" that only serve the downtown core. Woodward Avenue should be a continuous artery of opportunity connecting Detroit, the northern suburbs, and Pontiac.
     

  • Access to the Whole Region
    We will push for a fully integrated regional authority that dissolves the borders between DDOT and SMART.
     

  • Connecting People to Purpose
    We will prioritize high-frequency routes that link the East Side and the Livernois 6-Mile area directly to regional employment hubs. If there is a job in the region, a Detroiter should be able to get to it reliably without needing a car.

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Phase 3

Reliability: The

Foundation of Community

A bus that's late is a broken promise. To build a system people can depend upon, we have to invest in the people who run it and the tech that moves it.

  • Priority Infrastructure
    We will advocate for dedicated bus lanes and signal priority to ensure our transit isn't stuck in gridlock.
     

  • Supporting Our Drivers To have a reliable system, we need a stable workforce. We will prioritize living wages and safety for transit operators to solve the driver shortage.

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Justice & Accountability​

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  • Jury Trial Integrity
    Protecting the constitutional right to a jury trial against "tort reform" and corporate-backed restrictions that limit courtroom access for everyday Michiganders.

  • Representative Juries
    Strengthening the juror selection process to ensure juries actually reflect the community, because a fair trial is only possible with a representative peer group.

  • Practitioner-Led Policy
    Turning to those in the "trenches"—local judges and trial lawyers—to understand how laws impact real people beyond the technical text of a bill.

  • Holding the Powerful Accountable
    Ensuring the civil justice system forces insurance companies and corporations to be as responsive to citizens as the government should be.

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Environmental Eq​uity

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  • Lead-Free Neighborhoods
    Moving beyond "managing" risks to the aggressive, state-funded replacement of lead service lines and remediation of lead paint in legacy housing.

  • Stopping the Utility Squeeze
    Fighting for income-based utility caps and a modern, resilient grid that prioritizes our oldest neighborhoods instead of corporate profits.

  • Green Investment as Wealth Building
    Scaling grant programs for energy-efficient upgrades to lower the utility burden and keep legacy residents in their homes.

  • Neighborhood Voices
    Giving communities a real seat at the table during the permitting process and overturning preemptions that prevent cities from setting higher environmental standards.

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Community Violence Intervention

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  • Supporting the Frontlines
    Funding organizations that use "credible messengers" with lived experience to de-escalate conflicts and provide the essential equipment for a stable block.

  • Expanding the Menu of Options
    Scaling proven models like Flip the Script to provide immediate paths to GEDs, trade skills, and living-wage jobs.

  • Breaking the Retaliation Cycle
    Investing in hospital-based intervention to meet victims and families in the ER, providing wraparound services before a conflict turns into a funeral.

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Supporting Veterans

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  • Making Michigan the Premier State for Veteran Services
    Redesigning state systems to ensure Michigan is the best place to live and work by making earned benefits a standard guarantee, not a bureaucratic hurdle.

  • Ending Veteran Suicide
    Prioritizing mental health by funding peer-to-peer support and immediate, no-barrier crisis intervention to ensure no veteran navigates their darkest hour alone.

  • Accessible & Efficient Support
    Eliminating the systemic barriers that delay care and proactively reaching veterans on the East Side, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.

  • Family-Centered Readiness
    Ensuring support systems are equally accessible to spouses and children, recognizing that when a member wears the uniform, the entire family serves.

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Skilled Trades For All

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  • Normalizing the Trades
    Integrating skilled trades into the core curriculum starting in elementary school so hands-on technical skills are a foundational part of every student's education.

  • The K-12 Pipeline
    Creating a seamless transition from classroom exposure to specialized high school training and high-paying apprenticeships.

  • Scaling Apprenticeships
    Partnering with labor and industry to ensure the path to a master certification is as supported and accessible as a four-year degree.

  • Labor-Led Training
    Investing in union-led training centers to guarantee every Detroiter has a direct line to the workforce building and owning our community.

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