Michigan House of Representatives District 40 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 40 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

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• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 40

Incumbent Christine Morse defeated Kelly Sackett in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 40 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christine Morse (D)	58.6	25,989
		Kelly Sackett (R)	41.4	18,338

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,327
= 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?

Christine Morse (D)

When I first ran for State House, my inspiration was my children, and the desire to ensure every child received a quality public education. Michigan used to be a leader in education in the country, but since Prop A in 1994, funding for schools has been flat or declined. The lack of investment in education led to the results found in a 2018 Michigan State University study on education, Michigan was 50th in revenue growth and 50th in reading growth. We must continue to provide equitable and appropriate school funding for 2023 and beyond, even when we do not have record state revenue.

We are more than two years into a global pandemic which only served to reveal our extreme lack of resources for mental health in our state. For the better part of 3 decades, the public mental health system in Michigan was dismantled, leaving people with few options in a crisis. Today we often hear reports of people sitting in ERs awaiting a bed or worse, and we simply do not currently have the resources to serve everyone who needs care. I will continue to work with my colleagues to provide adequate funding and creative ideas for filling the provider positions and providing more mental health beds for crisis situations. I also will continue to support the provision of mental health supports in schools.

Our clean fresh water is our state's most valuable resource, one that will find greater demand as water shortages grow across our country. I was proud to vote for $1.5 billion in infrastructure funding to start addressing our myriad issues from multiple decades of failure to invest in infrastructure. This is a large investment, but it must be part of a larger picture of preparing our infrastructure for future climate issues and demands on our water resources. I would like the state to work with local governments to ensure they have what they need to bring our infrastructure up to date for the 21st Century. I also believe that investments in infrastructure signals the business community that the state is ready for business investment.

Kelly Sackett (R)

Restore parental rights in education and empower parental involvement. If COVID taught us anything, it was that we needed to be more cognizant of what our children were actually learning in school. Parental involvement is key to ensuring that our children are receiving the quality education that they deserve. Our children are our future and it’s time that we start to invest in them.

Keep neighborhoods safe and safer and cleaner communities. Kalamazoo was recently named in the top 10 of Michigan’s most violent cities and was also one of the top 20 most violent cities in the nation. The city of Kalamazoo also just made several changes to their city code including decriminalizing public urination or defecation and littering. We need to be funding the police, not defunding. Federal, state and local politicians have hampered law enforcement's ability to perform their duties of keeping communities safe. We have seen bills that decrease sentences and also do away with cash bonds and many of those things effect the rise in crime.

Strengthen small business threw less red tape lower taxes. We should have an atmosphere for job creation, economic growth and higher wages for employees across Kalamazoo County.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Christine Morse (D)

I am passionate about women's ability to maintain bodily autonomy and make their own healthcare decisions. This basic human right is at grave risk and I will do what I can to ensure it is not taken away. I am passionate about keeping our children safe at school. There are many common sense areas of gun legislation that even gun owners agree upon such as universal background checks and extreme protection orders. Additional measures such as negligent storage and requiring liability insurance for gun owners do not impact someone's Second Amendment rights. No matter what, we should consider children's lives more important than easy access to weapons of war. I am passionate about supporting our working families through strong labor unions. Our state has all but lost its middle class, which has coincided with the state's restriction of union activity. I support our unions because they bring balance to our capitalist system by ensuring living wages, better benefits and safer work environments. Finally, I would like to provide supports to our small businesses who have suffered greatly during the global pandemic. I was proud to vote for the SOAR Fund, which provides funding for major investments in our state such as those recently announced by General Motors, Ford and LG. We must also provide opportunities for our small businesses to take advantage of, our local economies depend upon their success.

Kelly Sackett (R)

I am very passionate about education. Our children are our future. Political agendas and special interests have no place in education. Student success should be priority number one in education. It’s time for us to get back to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Parents should be the most important special interest group in their children's education.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Christine Morse (D)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an amazing woman who broke many barriers and remained true to herself through it all. She was a mother, lawyer, spouse, teacher, and Supreme Court justice who made the advancement of women a top priority. I would like to continue fighting for my values and using my knowledge of law to make a difference in the areas I am seeking to change.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Christine Morse (D)

I remember hearing that Elvis died on the car radio, I was five.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Christine Morse (D)

I worked two summers at an ice cream shop called Frosty Boy of Tecumseh.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Christine Morse (D)

All the Light We Cannot See. Historical WWII fiction set in France, two of my favorite subjects.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Christine Morse (D)

Instant Karma by John Lennon

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Christine Morse (D)

The ideal relationship between Governor and State Legislature is as partners in the governing of the state, working together to solve problems and improve the quality of life of Michiganders.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Christine Morse (D)

Improving our public education system so that we are attractive to continued business investment by providing a workforce that can be highly trained and educated.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Christine Morse (D)

Yes. It is a very complicated job.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Christine Morse (D)

Of course it is beneficial. Building relationships helps the system operate more efficiently.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Christine Morse (D)

I supported the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission as a voter. I continue to support the results of the Commission despite it being an imperfect process. The Legislature should not be drawing districts as there is too much room for self-dealing.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Christine Morse (D)

Yes.

See also

More about these elections:

• Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

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