Michigan Primary 2024 Voter Guide: State House candidates running in metro Detroit

Name: Layla Taha

Age: 31

Current job: Program director, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib

Education: B.A. in International Studies in Global Health from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor; Master of Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University

Tell us about yourself in 200 words or less.

I’m the proud daughter of a Lebanese immigrant and was raised by a single mother in Wayne who struggled to make ends meet. We relied on the social safety nets of food stamps and Medicaid throughout my childhood, and this experience molded me into the fierce advocate for our community I am today. I went on to pursue a BA in Global Health from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University. After several years working as a Medicare policy analyst evaluating nursing home quality, I began organizing for voting rights and reproductive freedom in Michigan. In 2022 I was one of the Catholic voices working with the Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All campaign to enshrine abortion as a right in Michigan’s Constitution. I also served as the program director for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s Youth Civic Engagement Fellowship where I coordinated organizing training and instruction on social justice issues to empower the youth in our community. I’ve spent nearly a decade as a public health advocate and community organizer, and I believe in a more just and equitable world. We deserve a representative in Lansing who will fight for human dignity for all of us.

Why are you running for the Michigan House of Representatives District 25 seat?

This is my community. I have lived most of my life in Wayne and Westland, and the
majority of my family also lives right next door in Canton, where I spent so much time
with my grandmother and cousins growing up. This community has shaped me into someone who has great pride in being part of the working class and who cares deeply about the health and well-being of my neighbors. I am a graduate of the University of Michigan, where I studied global health. I also earned my Master of Public Health with a Certificate in Health Policy from Columbia University. I’ve spent nearly a decade as a public health advocate and community organizer, and I am invested in fighting for a more just and equitable world for all of us. My passion for people and commitment to public health started at home many years ago, where I witnessed several environmentally hazardous explosions, attempts to dump toxic waste, and pollution that has made our rivers and wetlands uninhabitable for native species. My hometown of Wayne serves as a prime example of environmental injustice, and it is no surprise to me that we rank in the highest percentiles for asthma, heart disease, and low life expectancy across the state of Michigan. We need more progressive voices in Lansing who aren’t afraid to stand up to corporate polluters and are willing to fight for the public health of our community, which includes ensuring the basic human right to quality and affordable health care. In 2024 it is critical for Michigan to maintain its trifecta of Democratic leadership in Lansing and elect representatives who are committed to fighting for the working class. I’m focused on securing quality, affordable health care for all Michiganders, fighting for a livable wage for working families, and delivering environmental justice to ensure residents have access to clean water and air. My commitment to protecting public health is driven by my belief in prioritizing people over profits. That is why I am running.

What are the top three priority issues that the state of Michigan faces and what actions would you, as a state representative, take regarding each of them?

1. Health care. Health care is a fundamental human right that should be accessible for all Michiganders. Yet in Westland 7.4% of residents under the age of 65 are uninsured while 8.6% are uninsured in Wayne. The rates of uninsured folks in HD25 are considerably higher than the rest of the state (6%). If elected I would work to legislate a single payer health care system in Michigan to guarantee this basic human right. I want to change minds in Lansing and show them that the concept of universal health care is not only popular but necessary.
2. Economy/jobs. Wages have remained stagnant for decades while the cost of living has increased significantly. Working families in HD 25 and across Michigan are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table. This is especially true in the city of Wayne where the community is still recovering from the financial crisis in 2008 that devastated families and local government. If elected I would work to increase the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour and create a standard that increases the minimum wage with inflation on an annual basis. I would also fight
   to hold corporations accountable for paying their workers a fair wage and prevent them from implementing the union-busting tactics we see happening across the country. Michigan workers deserve dignity and should not be exploited by corporations for their labor. They have a right to earn an honest wage that affords them quality housing, utilities, food, and health care.
3. DTE accountability. I believe in a Michigan that provides reliable, clean, affordable energy to all of its citizens. Yet the current state of our power grid has led to severe power outages and damages that have left people in the dark for days. These outages are due to increasingly intense weather coupled with a lack of reliable infrastructure because DTE refuses to properly invest in making overdue updates to the grid despite raking in record profits. Michigan residents are paying some of the highest electric bills in the nation while suffering some of the worst service. DTE has continued to defer maintenance on our power grid while increasing their rates. Instead of replacing transformers, trimming more trees, and burying power lines, DTE pays out their Wall Street shareholders with the money we pay to them for our utility bills. During times of severe outages the majority of legislators in Lansing remain silent about DTE’s role in the devastation because most of them are accepting campaign contributions from DTE. In fact, 93% of state legislators in Michigan accepted campaign contributions from DTE in 2021. Therefore, it is not surprising that no legislation has been passed to hold DTE accountable and push them to invest in our power grid. If elected, I will fight to pass legislation that will force DTE to pay customers for every hour they are without power, as well as laws that prohibit DTE and other
   utilities from donating money to politicians and PACs. Corporate influence in our politics gets in the way of good governance. That is why I have pledged to never accept a dime of corporate money and am running a campaign fueled by small donations from working people. Passing Pay to Play Laws in Michigan would be a step in the right direction regarding taking back our power and ensuring residents have the affordable, reliable electricity they deserve. I also fully support efforts to establish more publicly owned power utilities to expand on the current publicly
   owned power grids in the state of Michigan in cities like Lansing, Wyandotte, and Holland.

What is your stance on gun reform in the U.S.?

Gun violence is a public health epidemic in our country, and both gun ownership and gun violence are on the rise in Michigan. In the wake of the horrific tragedies at Oxford High School and Michigan State University, as well as the everyday gun violence that occurs in our communities, it is clear that we must be brave and bold enough to take the necessary action to keep our communities safe. I am heartened that the Democrats in the state legislature took swift action to pass a suite of bills that will go a long way to ensure community safety by requiring the safe storage of firearms in houses with children, preventing people who are a danger to themselves and others from obtaining firearms, and expanding background checks to include all sales.

We must build on this important work to address other critical pieces of community safety, including: allowing extreme risk protection orders that allow law enforcement to remove firearms from those in crisis, funding community violence intervention programs that are crucial to preventing the violence at the start, increasing protection for victims of domestic violence by making it easier to remove firearms from those who have committed violence against a partner, requiring state licensing for arms dealers, and banning the sale and distribution of assault weapons.

What is your stance on abortion rights?

Abortion access is health care, and it is important to continuously support efforts to codify unrestricted access to abortion care to all those who need it. I believe that everyone regardless of age/race/socioeconomic status/religion has the right to make their own choices about their reproductive health care. In fact, I was one of the few Catholic voices advocating and organizing for the Reproductive Freedom for All Campaign to pass Proposal 3 in 2022. My faith calls on me to follow my conscience in all of my moral decision-making and also to respect my neighbor’s right to do the same. Health care decisions should be made based on what an individual needs to keep them safe, healthy, and alive. I also believe we must eliminate 24-hour waiting periods for abortion services. Such policies are medically unnecessary and only aim to limit abortion access. Furthermore, the 24-hour waiting period disproportionately impacts working class folks who cannot afford to take multiple days off of work in order to receive the care they need. This makes accessing abortion more difficult, dangerous, and expensive.

Moreover, disparities in people’s health outcomes are directly influenced by their inability to access safe, affordable, medically/scientifically accurate, and evidence-based sexual reproductive health care. These unfair, unnecessary and avoidable disparities are rooted in historical and contemporary injustices and discrimination — including racism. To address these disparities, we must work on reinvestment of attention, resources, and deliberate corrective policies and legislation in Lansing. I support state Medicaid funding of abortions for low-income women. Abortion is health care, and healthcare is a human right. A person’s ability to access such care should not be limited due to their socioeconomic status. Providing state Medicaid funding for abortion will eliminate one of the greatest barriers to care that low-income women
face. This work will ensure that every Michigander is able to maintain their personal bodily autonomy and make informed and empowered decisions when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health care. I will continue to support legislation and policies that will protect safe and legal abortions for all.

What is your solution to fight the current inflation crisis in the U.S.?

While the causes of inflation can be myriad and complex, and thus difficult to tackle with any one solution, the bottom line is higher prices and skyrocketing interest rates are creating immense pain for working people across the country. The main reason the price of gas, groceries, utilities, and other basic necessities is many times higher than in recent years is because of price gouging and corporate greed — also known as “Greedflation”. There have been multiple studies of the causes of the increase in the price of consumer goods and services, and extensive reporting on CEOs openly admitting that price increases were implemented not because of the increased cost of doing business, but because the “consumer will tolerate the higher price.” This is just another example of the wealthy and corporations taking advantage of working families.

As state representative, my ability to tackle inflation and its impacts are limited to the ways I can fight to put money back in the pockets of hardworking Michiganders and through efforts to ensure the Attorney General has the authority to regulate companies that operate in Michigan and hold them accountable.

What actions/decisions by your challenger(s) have you disagreed with and how would you do things differently?

My main opponent, Peter Herzberg, has taken numerous actions to prove he is the wrong choice for HD 25 and cannot be trusted to protect women’s health and fight for our fundamental rights. Just over one month ago Herzberg was the sole Democrat to vote against a bill that was part of the public health expert-backed maternal health package to expand access to lifesaving donor breast milk that is critical to the health of thousands of infants. HB 4728 will increase our state’s supply of donor breast milk, which provides vital nutrition to newborns and infants whose mothers are unable to produce enough milk to feed them. This bill applies the latest scientifically-backed guidance for how often donor milk needs to be screened to be safe for consumption, while balancing the need for increased supply. Breastfeeding is difficult for many new mothers, and an inability to get their child to properly latch or to produce enough milk can cause stress, anxiety, and other adverse mental health effects at a time when mothers are already vulnerable. Donor milk is also crucial for premature and sick infants, offering essential nutrients, antibodies, and bioactive factors that support growth and immune function. Not only was Herzberg the only Democrat to oppose this vital legislation backed by public health experts and maternal and child health advocates, he was outvoted 103-6, and was joined only by five extremist male Republicans.

In contrast to my opponent, I believe in science and will listen to those with the wisdom and data when discerning whether to support legislation. During my two years studying for my Master in Public Health (MPH) at Columbia University, my home department was Population and Family Health. This meant an extensive study of maternal and child health, as well as sexual and reproductive health, from the policy level all the way to on-the-ground programming that delivers reproductive health care in humanitarian crises and complex emergencies. As a public health professional I understand how improving the accessibility of breast milk is critical to also improving health outcomes for women and their children. I will never stop fighting to protect our reproductive freedoms and I will continue to support legislation and policies that will protect maternal and child health at every step.