Michigan House of Representatives District 20 candidate surveys, 2022
From Ballotpedia
This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidates and election results
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Noah Arbit defeated Albert Mansour in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Noah Arbit (D)  | 56.6 | 27,824 |
 | Albert Mansour (R) | 43.4 | 21,303 | |
| Total votes: 49,127 | |||
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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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Noah Arbit (D)
Mental Health - I am committed to confronting Michigan’s mental health crisis and ensuring every kid, every senior, and every Michigander in between - from Keego Harbor to Copper Harbor - has access to the resources and treatments that will enable them to achieve their potential.
Hate Crimes - If elected, I will be laser-focused on tackling skyrocketing hate crimes and domestic extremism by strengthening and supplementing Michigan’s outdated, ineffective, and weak hate crimes statute and actually protecting our communities.
Democracy & Rights - There could scarcely be a more important issue than safeguarding our democracy and constitutional rights - including the freedom to choose, the freedom to vote, and the freedom to love. I will work fiercely to enshrine the right of every woman to bodily autonomy in Michigan law, as well as finally extend our state’s anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ Michiganders.
Hate Crimes - If elected, I will be laser-focused on tackling skyrocketing hate crimes and domestic extremism by strengthening and supplementing Michigan’s outdated, ineffective, and weak hate crimes statute and actually protecting our communities.
Democracy & Rights - There could scarcely be a more important issue than safeguarding our democracy and constitutional rights - including the freedom to choose, the freedom to vote, and the freedom to love. I will work fiercely to enshrine the right of every woman to bodily autonomy in Michigan law, as well as finally extend our state’s anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ Michiganders.
Albert Mansour (R)
As a Husband and Father I understand the issues facing families in our district.
With my business background I have a firm grasp of how businesses and communities can work together to form mutually beneficial relationships.
As a parent, I see, first hand, the concerns we have in raising our children when it comes to safety, society, and education.
With my business background I have a firm grasp of how businesses and communities can work together to form mutually beneficial relationships.
As a parent, I see, first hand, the concerns we have in raising our children when it comes to safety, society, and education.
Noah Arbit (D)
Hate Crimes - As a member of the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities, the issue of hate crimes is deeply personal to me. One of my foremost priorities if elected is to transform Michigan from national laggard to national leader in hate crimes prevention and prosecution. I will introduce a comprehensive bill package to reinvent the way Michigan contends with hate crimes, to overhaul the antiquated and insufficient 1960s-era ethnic intimidation statute. I will build a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, bicameral, bipartisan coalition of stakeholders, supporters, and legislators in support.
Mental Health - Addressing Michigan’s mental health crisis - especially among youth and seniors - is mission #1 for me. I know what it’s like to not be able to see through to getting out of bed and taking care of yourself because of depression, anxiety, or ADHD. I know what it’s like to feel like you aren’t living up to your potential; I also know the wonder of what it’s like to finally fulfill that potential. I had the resources and opportunities to ensure that my struggles with mental health weren’t sentences. But so many across our state do not have those resources. And I am no more worthy than any other kid who dreams just as big as I do, but doesn’t have the same resources I did. That is a policy choice that we make here in Michigan, and it’s time we made a different one. Affordability and access to mental health care is not just a moral issue, it’s an economic issue; it’s a public safety issue.
Albert Mansour (R)
Limiting Government and protecting against governmental overreach.
Protecting families and parental rights when it comes to education and raising our children.
Protecting our Constitutional rights from being infringed upon.
Noah Arbit (D)
I once heard one of my mentors say something that I will never forget. She said: “I believe you listen, learn, and lead – in that order.” I love that phrase, because it encapsulates my approach to the role of candidate and state representative. If elected, I won’t always know all the right answers; the key is knowing the right questions to ask, and to whom. This is a skill that is critical to being a legislator, as is building relationships and coalitions with community leaders, stakeholders, organizations, and other elected officials, to further collaboration towards a shared goal.
Noah Arbit (D)
I’m not running to BE something; I’m running to DO something. That principle will guide my approach to serving West Bloomfield, Commerce, and the Lakes in the State House. I am relentless and tenacious in pursuit of my goals; I care deeply about and love my community; but most importantly, I know how to take my work seriously, without taking myself too seriously. It is important to me that elected officials know how to laugh at themselves, take a joke, and just be human. People don’t expect perfection; all people really want is for their leaders to show up, listen, work hard, and actually give a damn about their struggles and try to make those struggles just a little less hard.
Noah Arbit (D)
I hope to be remembered as someone who actually gave a damn about people, and took the job seriously - but not himself - too seriously. I hope to be remembered as someone who works tirelessly, humbly, and inclusively, who always shows up, who advocates fearlessly, and who always keeps his word. I hope to be remembered as the legislator who fought to include his hometown in every policy conversation, and who, despite the tall hurdles arrayed before him, worked to fundamentally transform Michigan’s approach to hate crimes by passing a comprehensive package of innovative, effective statutes to protect all of our communities from hate-based violence and hold perpetrators accountable.
Noah Arbit (D)
My very first job was working as an assistant at the Lakes Discount Pharmacy at the Lakes Medical Building on Haggerty and Pontiac Trail in WB one summer during middle school! The owner at the time was a close family friend - I remember having a ball and learning so much!
Noah Arbit (D)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It has everything: suspenseful murder mystery, intoxicating romance, profound spirituality, provocative moral quandaries… I have always found Crime and Punishment to be a profoundly moving tribute to human nature; it argues persuasively that each of us contains the potential for both severe darkness as well as immense love and goodness - and that the path we go down is ultimately up to each of us and the choices we make. Our fate is in our own hands. I find that inspiring.
Noah Arbit (D)
Stronger by Kesha - a great anthem for keeping your head held high and powering through some of tough moments of a political campaign
Noah Arbit (D)
Michigan is facing an acute mental health crisis. This is personal to me, because I know what it’s like to battle depression, anxiety, and to cope with the challenges of ADHD. I know what it's like not to be able to see through to getting out of bed in the morning and taking care of myself because I could see no purpose for myself, and I had no reason to hope things would get better. And I also know what it's like to be firing on all cylinders, hitting my professional stride, single-handedly founding a non-profit organization and empowering people across my community. The difference between not getting out of bed and starting your own organization is the resources and opportunities that I had to ensure that my struggles with mental health weren’t sentences. There are countless people across our state - from Keego Harbor to Copper Harbor - who grapple with the same challenges I did, but don’t have access to the treatment or resources to navigate them. That is outrageous to me. Because I am no more worthy than any kid who dreams just as big as I do, but isn't able to ensure that their struggles aren’t sentences. And that is a policy choice that we make as Michiganders. And it's time to make a different one. For me this is mission number one. That's why I'm running. Because when you boil it down, my campaign is about one thing: potential. How can we, as individuals, as a community, as a state - live up to our potential.
Noah Arbit (D)
It is critical Michigan starts working on reducing brain drain, the exodus of highly-educated young professionals from our state to Chicago and the coasts. I will prioritize measures to boost regional competitiveness, innovation, and job growth right here in Oakland County — including in dynamic sectors new to our region, such as defense. But we have to address the broader issue: what is it about Michigan that too often pushes our best and brightest to leave? It’s long past time for us to invest in the critical infrastructure - including regional public transit and cultural amenities - that attracts talent and employers to Metro Detroit. And we must implement family-first policies like paid family leave and affordable child care that make settling down and raising a family in Michigan easier, not harder. We must also strengthen our civil rights policies, including amending the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and codifying protections for women’s reproductive health and bodily autonomy; these gaps in protections dissuade many families from making their home in Michigan.
Noah Arbit (D)
It can be highly beneficial. In addition to serving on Governor Whitmer’s staff and founding and chairing the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, I most recently served as Director of Communications for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. There, I spearheaded the creation of the first-ever Prosecutor’s Racial Justice Advisory Council to ensure leaders in the Black community were involved in and could provide perspective on a wide-range of policy reforms; I am also proud to have helped establish a partnership to assist in the prosecution of hate crimes targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. These experiences have helped shape my approach to building coalitions and seeking out expertise and insight from relevant stakeholders to get a job done, and get it done well. That’s how I will approach legislating on behalf of my district and community.
Noah Arbit (D)
For the past 20 years, my hometown of West Bloomfield has been gerrymandered mercilessly by legislators seeking partisan advantage - with the result that our community has struggled to coalesce behind a collective political identity or agenda. I decided to run because I was so sick and tired of West Bloomfield being an afterthought in the policymaking conversations in Lansing, and no one else stepped up to run. I am so thankful that, with Michigan’s Independent Citizens’ Redistricting Commission drawing electoral districts, Greater West Bloomfield will finally be united in the same state house, state senate, and congressional district for the first time in 20 years. Our community has seen the benefits of an independent redistricting process.
Noah Arbit (D)
I have been very vocal about my experiences fighting to accept and love myself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Coming out was difficult for me, and the process was made even more difficult due to my experience surviving sexual assault at age 18, by an assailant who had previously violated children as young as 6 and 7. The first time I told my story publicly, a man in his 50s whom I had known for a long time came up to me afterwards and whispered in my ear “thank you for saying that. Me too, when I was nine years old - I’ve never told anyone that before.” I remember being so struck by the way he looked at me. It was in that moment that I realized how powerful it is to lead by example and share the stories that make us who we are. You never know who is listening, who may find their courage by demonstrating your own. You never know who will find your words to be a life-raft as they navigate difficult times. That’s part of why I’m so excited by the opportunity to represent my community. I am willing to be vulnerable and share my rough edges with anyone who may find something to learn in them.
Noah Arbit (D)
Absolutely. Staking out maximalist, all-or-nothing positions without leaving open the possibility of compromise is a recipe for failure in policymaking. As a legislator, if you care about enacting your policy priorities into law, you must present a clear vision and work to build a coalition of majority support; that necessarily entails some compromise. That’s what I will do as state representative for West Bloomfield, Commerce, and the Lakes. I know that our state and country feel so divided right now, but we cannot build a shared future by writing off 50% of our neighbors as fundamentally irredeemable. I am far from naive to the challenges. But in order to help as many people as possible achieve their potential, and live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives, we must find avenues for collaboration across the ideological spectrum.
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