Sue is driven by her passion to build lasting, sustainable opportunity for all so that everyone has access to the resources they need to thrive and prosper. She is committed to creating good-paying jobs that help residents enjoy a high quality of life in the same communities they work, play, and learn.

Throughout her career, Sue has fought for smart infrastructure investments that will not only spur short-term economic growth, but will pay off for years to come. As former Chair of the County Board of Commissioners in one of the state’s most populated counties, she has an in-depth understanding of the capacities and limitations of our local governments, and leverages her many years’ experience on our behalf in Lansing. In the Senate, Sue continues to lead the conversation on economic mobility for our region and be a relentless advocate on the urgent needs to fix our outdated roads and bridges, transition to clean energy, close the digital divide, and expand workforce development opportunities for residents regardless of zip code.

She understands the contribution the arts and creative industries to our state’s economy and increased investment in this important sector.

The pandemic further exposed the stark economic inequities that leave too many of our neighbors to fend for themselves and feeling forgotten. That’s why Sue led the way to strategically deploy pandemic relief to our most vulnerable communities, led the creation of college savings accounts for public school students in Washtenaw County, and championed countywide broadband expansion as Chair of the Washtenaw Board of County Commissioners, among the first counties in the state of Michigan to do so, to get high speed internet to every home and close the gap when it comes to virtual learning, remote work, or telehealth visits. She takes that same forward-focused vision and commitment to the people to the State Senate on our behalf.

Sue works for the people and in recognition of that, does not accept money from corporate PACs.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the source of most job growth in our local economies. As our economy bounces back, it is critical that leaders remember the significant and lasting impact of the last two years on our small businesses. Concentrated federal, state and local support efforts have helped, but small businesses continue to face significant challenges, including staff retention, supply chain constraints, and rising operating costs.

Just as she has throughout her career, Sue works with community partners to support our local businesses and provide more opportunities for people to start and grow strong, healthy businesses. She served on the board of economic development incubator Ann Arbor SPARK! and is committed to connecting existing and newer businesses with technical support, networking resources, grant opportunities, and other tools to succeed. Sue is a reliable voice for small businesses because she knows that when entrepreneurs have a chance to innovate, create jobs, and serve, the possibilities by which we can strengthen our communities are truly limitless.

Across the state, too many of our neighbors hesitate to go to a doctor when they are sick or access the mental and behavioral health care they need for fear of not being able to afford treatment. Families these days are feeling squeezed by rising costs, including life-saving prescription drugs while greedy pharmaceutical companies are enjoying profits that are higher than ever. Meanwhile, rural clinics in communities across the state are closing, leaving too many Michiganders to drive long distances just to get important preventative care. This is woefully unacceptable.

Sue firmly believes that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. As a County Commissioner, she led the charge to expand access to mental, behavioral and physical healthcare so that every resident could get the care they need, and takes that same fight to Lansing on our behalf because she knows more must be done. Comprehensive access to quality physical and mental and behavioral health services — regardless of zip code — is more important than ever.

As a mom who has helped teenagers battling mental health challenges, Sue is also laser focused on reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, ensuring adequate funding for our local health and mental health, elevating awareness for existing programs, and expanding services that can help Michigan families and senior citizens address their healthcare and human services needs. Sue will never stop working so every Michigander has access to high-quality, affordable physical and mental healthcare they need when they need it.

Sue understands the challenges facing families because she has lived them. These days, our neighbors are feeling increasingly pinched as the cost of living and everyday necessities — from gas and groceries, to housing and childcare — continue to rise. Meanwhile, corporate profits are higher than ever. We have to make living more affordable for working families.

Sue is working fight inflation by keeping down the costs of prescription drugs, working to keep auto insurance rates down and increasing housing that residents can afford.

Housing is a key facet of economic security and stability, and creating pathways to affordable home ownership for every Michigander is a top priority for Sue, as she has championed this work, as well as increasing affordable housing stock, at the County Commission. It is unacceptable that we are headed to a future where children cannot afford to purchase the home in which they grew up, let alone one that might be more expensive. Similarly, as many residents reach retirement age, they are forced to look elsewhere for housing they can afford to live in comfortably and with dignity in their golden years.

We must not only raise wages to keep up with inflation, but also meet the needs of our population. By expanding entry level homeownership opportunities and preserving housing for seniors and legacy residents, we can begin tackling our housing affordability crisis.

Michigan’s labor movement created the modern American middle class, and it was our region’s innovators who put the world on wheels. As the product of a proud union family, Sue will forever be grateful for the impact that her mom’s union had on ensuring their family escaped poverty.

Just as she has been throughout her career, Sue is a reliable voice for workers and organized labor, the backbone of the middle class, in the Senate. She believes firmly in the right to organize and collectively bargain for a living wage, a safe workplace, and a secure retirement. As a Commissioner, Sue passed responsible contractor policies, increased union representation on boards and commissions, championed a living wage ordinance for county employees, passed a resolution supporting the PRO Act, and served on the County Employees Retirement Commission.

Sue is a proven champion for labor and working people. She knows personally not only the important part labor unions play in their members’, families’, and retirees’ economic security, but also the vital role that unions played in building this state and are key to our continued economic success – and is proud of the work she and her colleagues have done to support workers and will keep on fighting for working families.

For decades, Sue has been on the frontlines of the pro-choice and equality movements, defending reproductive health, LGBTQ+ rights, and our democracy. In the face of extremist efforts to roll back our rights, Sue continues to be a steadfast protector of reproductive freedom because politicians and the government have no role to play in one’s personal medical decisions.

Throughout her many years of service as a local official and County Commissioner, Sue’s commitment to building an inclusive community in which everyone – regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or gender orientation is welcome and safe – is unmatched. She has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBTQ+ community. Sue has provided extensive Pro Bono legal services to members of the LGBTQ+ community and has passed resolutions as a County Commissioner supporting Pride Month, Transgender Day of Visibility and gender affirming language for Washtenaw County government.

Sue is an unapologetic fighter for all people to be treated with grace, dignity, and respect to Lansing as our State Senator.

A mom of three kids, Sue knows the power of education as the key to unlocking every door. She believes it is critical that we properly fund our public schools equitably and fairly. To guarantee that every Michigan child can get a quality education, we must prioritize smart investments in our schools, including in the arts and vocational education, and ensure that every student, educator, and parent have the resources they need, in the classroom and beyond.

On the County Commission, Sue worked with schools to support students and teachers— and knows there is more work ahead. Sue is a proud public school graduate and will continue to be a strong voice for public education in Lansing. She believes it is long past time to boost per-pupil funding, increase teacher pay, address the teacher shortage, support the arts and vocational education, and ensure equitable technology access, regardless of zip code. By equipping our schools for the challenges of today and tomorrow, we can keep our schools moving in the right direction.

A longtime sustainability leader, Sue has participated in successfully protecting over 18,000 acres of open space and advocated for a just transition to clean energy and lower energy costs for every Michigan family.

On the County Commission, Sue spearheaded Washtenaw’s climate action planning process, which will provide a path to carbon neutrality for the organization by 2030 and for County residents and businesses by 2035. Additionally, she led the allocation of $1.4 million of American Rescue Plan Funds to weatherize homes of low-income residents as a way to address the dangers of the climate crisis, increase health and comfort, and reduce carbon dioxide and other pollutant emissions. Sue also serves on the Northfield Township Land Preservation Committee (2017-present), raising awareness of the importance of preserving land for future generations.

In collaboration with the Washtenaw County Conservation District, Sue successfully got a conservation millage on the ballot and passed, resulting in more carbon sequestered in Washtenaw and more native species planted. From developing and passing a dark skies ordinance and transfer of development rights ordinance as a Northfield Township Trustee, to mapping out potential Superior Township Greenway for Superior Land Conservancy (1996), Sue has been walking the walk for decades.

In Lansing, Sue advocate for a just, inclusive transition to an economy powered by renewable resources that prioritizes justice for communities most impacted by poverty, pollution, and catastrophic weather, and that creates good-paying union jobs. She successfully shepherded legislation vital to our climate action package, now signed into law, that will result in 100% clean energy standards by 2040.

Everyone who calls our state home should have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe — period. An attorney with a masters in resource use and planning from U of M, Sue has worked on sustainability and water quality issues for 30 years and is committed to protecting our natural resources and vibrant ecosystems, so that every family can live healthily and happily, today and for many years to come.

Through her work with League of Women Voters (1991-2001), Sue successfully achieved cessation of the xylene, a dangerous pesticide, spraying of elms, raised awareness of water quality issues, and introduced sustainability practices. She also authored the brief that resulted in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) requiring actual proof of community benefits of private wastewater systems instead of treating benefits as a presumption.

Despite electoral-year promises from Lansing politicians that they would hold polluters accountable, no community across the state has escaped the impact of industry unscathed. As a County Commissioner and then Chair of the Board of Commissioners, Sue fought to get the Gelman dioxane plume cleaned up properly and hastily, worked to ensure our natural areas are conserved for future generations, and successfully led land conservation efforts against big developers, and served on the Washtenaw County Brownfields Authority.

She took that same resolve to the Capitol on our behalf to take on the big polluters, preserve our natural resources, and fight for every Michigan family to enjoy a high quality of life. She is currently part of an effort to get laws passed to hold polluters accountable and support those impacted by exposure to pollution.

As both a farmer and a conservationist, Sue is a proven leader on land preservation and conservation efforts, and a strong voice for our rural communities and farmers. She and her husband, Tom, were among the first in the area to pursue a conservation easement as a tool for preserving land at their farm where they raised their family. Sue successfully led development and implementation of a grassroots campaign to preserve the farmland and open space in Northfield Township. That work carried through to Sue’s climate mitigation leadership as chair of the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Committee (ALPAC), on the Huron River Watershed Council, and on the Washtenaw County Food Policy Council. She was instrumental in getting the Natural Areas Preservation Program millage on the ballot and passed — a 10-year millage generating approximately $8.5 million a year to invest in natural areas and agricultural conservation easements, leveraging extensive township, land-trust, and federal investments.

Sue is passionate about our agricultural communities, and actively connects family farmers in the area to both technical and financial resources as a way to promote greater conservation efforts. In the State Senate, Sue prioritizes smart investments in industry research, workforce development and diagnostics, as well as continued support for essential services that the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARDpresently provides to farmers. She understands that access to local farmland is important for food security, and is a proponent of appropriate education in the schools for those who will be our future farmers.

By empowering small- and mid-size farms and expanding the pathway to land ownership, we can promote more responsible environmental stewardship, minimize potential pollution risks, keep our community healthily fed, and grow —pun intended— our local agriculture economy.