Michigan House of Representatives District 15 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Michigan, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 15 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 15

Erin Byrnes defeated Steven J. Mackie in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 15 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erin Byrnes (D)	61.6	17,864
	Submit photo	Steven J. Mackie (R)	38.4	11,119

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,983
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Erin Byrnes (D)

Education impacts every facet of our lives as individuals and communities. Having served as a teacher in New York City public schools, a girls’ empowerment program planner in Southwest Detroit and now an educator at the University of Michigan, I am incredibly passionate about supporting our students of all ages. Per pupil funding is a key element of educational equity, as is providing literacy instruction support at all grade levels. While a common goal is to have children reading well and independently by the end of third grade, this is too often not the case, and older students are left without the structured support they need. Staffing and training for our educators to provide literacy support throughout K-12 is a necessity.

Dearborn Heights and Dearborn experienced catastrophic flooding in 2021. Both cities have worked to mitigate future impact on the local level in the past year, and funding at all levels of government will be necessary to create long term protection for our residents. Green infrastructure including water retention systems and urban forestry will offset some impacts of climate change, and funding for flood mitigation along Ecorse Creek and the Rouge River will be critical.

Reproductive rights are under attack from the highest levels of our government. The fight to protect a woman’s right to choose now lies within State Legislatures and I am prepared to stand strong for reproductive rights and specifically the right to have an abortion, in Michigan. Abortion is a medical procedure and one that must remain fully accessible and legal in Michigan and across our country. I will fight like hell to repeal Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban that would criminalize women and medical providers and I strongly support the right to choose being enshrined in our state constitution.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Erin Byrnes (D)

I am passionate about reproductive rights, environmental justice and education policy, among other areas.

I am committed to ensuring that people who can give birth have the right to bodily autonomy and are free to make decisions in the best interest of their overall health well-being. As a Dearborn city Council member, I have been proactive regarding environmental justice, having worked with my colleagues to pass air quality and bulk solid waste storage ordinances. Clean air, water and land are essential to the health of our communities and Michigan is a resource-rich state where our environment must be protected for future generations.

As a long-time educator, I know first-hand how important hands-on resources are for our students and teachers. Literacy support services throughout K-12 are also critical as we know that many of our students would benefit from on-going instruction in this area. I will always have our teachers' backs and will advocate for students of all ages to have the resources they need to thrive.

See also

More about these elections:

• Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

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