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William Sowerby

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William Sowerby
Image of William Sowerby
Prior offices
Michigan House of Representatives District 31
Successor: Reggie Miller

Education

Bachelor's

Wayne State University, 1978

Personal
Birthplace
St. Clair Shores, Mich.
Religion
Christian
Contact

William Sowerby (Democratic Party) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 31. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. He left office on January 1, 2023.

Sowerby (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 31. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Sowerby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

William Sowerby was born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 1978. Sowerby served as Macomb County Commissioner from 1989 to 1996 and as Treasurer of the Charter Township of Clinton from 1996 to 2016. His career experience also includes working as an automotive sales representative for eighteen years.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Sowerby was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Sowerby was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2017
Education Reform
Judiciary
Natural Resources

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2022

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

William Sowerby was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent William Sowerby defeated Lisa Valerio-Nowc in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of William Sowerby
William Sowerby (D) Candidate Connection
 
56.3
 
26,202
Image of Lisa Valerio-Nowc
Lisa Valerio-Nowc (R) Candidate Connection
 
43.7
 
20,364

Total votes: 46,566
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent William Sowerby defeated Michelle Robertson in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of William Sowerby
William Sowerby Candidate Connection
 
57.4
 
6,300
Michelle Robertson
 
42.6
 
4,685

Total votes: 10,985
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Lisa Valerio-Nowc defeated Austin Negipe in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lisa Valerio-Nowc
Lisa Valerio-Nowc Candidate Connection
 
60.1
 
4,338
Image of Austin Negipe
Austin Negipe
 
39.9
 
2,878

Total votes: 7,216
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Sowerby's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

  • LEAP Forward[2]

2018

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent William Sowerby defeated Lisa Valerio-Nowc in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of William Sowerby
William Sowerby (D)
 
59.9
 
20,791
Image of Lisa Valerio-Nowc
Lisa Valerio-Nowc (R)
 
40.1
 
13,925

Total votes: 34,716
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent William Sowerby defeated Michelle Robertson in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of William Sowerby
William Sowerby
 
56.2
 
5,474
Michelle Robertson
 
43.8
 
4,271

Total votes: 9,745
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Lisa Valerio-Nowc defeated Catherine Osinski Dinka in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lisa Valerio-Nowc
Lisa Valerio-Nowc
 
50.5
 
3,002
Catherine Osinski Dinka
 
49.5
 
2,947

Total votes: 5,949
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 19, 2016. Incumbent Marilyn Lane (D) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.

William Sowerby defeated Lisa Valerio-Nowc and Michael Saliba in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 general election.[3]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Sowerby 56.16% 22,735
     Republican Lisa Valerio-Nowc 38.89% 15,743
     Libertarian Michael Saliba 4.96% 2,007
Total Votes 40,485
Source: Michigan Secretary of State


William Sowerby defeated Michael Brewington in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Sowerby 78.31% 4,561
     Democratic Michael Brewington 21.69% 1,263
Total Votes 5,824


Lisa Valerio-Nowc defeated Austin Negipe in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 Republican primary.[4][5]

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Lisa Valerio-Nowc 66.87% 2,206
     Republican Austin Negipe 33.13% 1,093
Total Votes 3,299

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

William Sowerby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sowerby's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am the current State Representative of District 31. I'm a homeowner in Clinton Township with my wife, Dr. Martha Higgins, and have one son, Brad, and daughter-in-law, Briana. Prior to serving as Representative, I served as Clinton Township Treasurer and as a Macomb County Commissioner. I attended Wayne State University, attaining a B.A Degree in 1978. I graduated from Lake Shore High School, located in St. Clair Shores, in 1974. I am a member of Mount Clemens Optimist Club, Clinton Valley Kiwanis Club, Macomb County Historical Society, Clinton Township Democratic Club and the Michigan Democratic Party.
  • I support increasing wages and growing our economy. People are working harder than ever, but income inequality continues to be a problem and the economy feels rigged against hard working people and families.
  • I support increasing public education funding to ensure that students and teachers have the resources they need to be successful.
  • I support ensuring that health care is more affordable and accessible. As we have seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, access to affordable health care has never been more important and the state legislature can enact policies to make a difference.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
Michigan's spending priorities should be focused on providing services to residents. This includes properly funding education so that students and teachers have the resources they need to be successful. We also need to invest in worker retraining and higher education so that we are training for the jobs of today and the future. Without a strong education system, Michigan's future economy will be at a major disadvantage competing with other states and countries for jobs and talent. We also must prioritize infrastructure funding. As we saw recently in Midland flood, and driving down any road, Michigan has crumbling infrastructure. This is both dangerous and hurts our economic output. We need a new, dedicated, long-term, funding stream for infrastructure improvements. The longer we wait the more it will cost to fix. Furthermore, by fixing our infrastructure we will create good-paying Michigan jobs. In addition, Michigan must prioritize funding for health care and our social safety net programs. As the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us, access to affordable quality health care is paramount and we need to better prepare our health care system. Also, we must improve our unemployment insurance system and make it much more efficient and customer friendly
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
I believe that elected officials must not use their positions to enrich themselves, but to benefit the people they represent. The Freedom of Information Act became Michigan law requiring transparent public access of local government. But that law left a gap - NO public access to state government. I have voted for legislation (House Bills 4007-4016) that subjects the legislature and governor's office to the Freedom of Information Act. Furthermore, I have sponsored and co-sponsored legislation (House Bills 4642-4649) that requires all statewide elected officials in Michigan to publicly release their personal financial disclosure documents. Filing these documents will better prevent against conflicts of interest for elected officials. This is very similar to the disclosures that members of Congress must make. I have voluntarily already released my personal financial disclosure and you can view it at my website. Elected officials must do more to restore faith in government and the above-mentioned pieces of legislation are good first steps.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
Michigan has a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall which will affect all aspects of the state budget. I continue to work with my colleagues in urging the federal government to allow CARES Act dollars to be used to fund priorities not directly related to Covid-19. Without this flexibility, Michiganders will be forced to see budget and funding cuts to a state budget that is already cut to the bone. There is not much fat left in the Michigan budget. The state's budget has years of spending cuts due to the severe effects of the last Great Recession. If federal dollars do not materialize, the state must balance the budget through a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. Business incentives must be fully studied to determine their effectiveness and cuts or changes to the incentives must be considered. Furthermore, I do support creating a graduated income tax in Michigan which will lower incomes taxes for a large majority of people in our state while increasing income taxes on the wealthiest and ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.
I am passionate about growing wages and creating jobs. Many hardworking people and families feel that they are working harder than ever but still struggling to make ends meet. They are correct, the economy is rigged against them. I have introduced House Bill 4299, which will increase Michigan's minimum wage and I have co-sponsored HB 4298 which increases Michigan's Earned Income Tax Credit to allow working people to keep more of their hard-earned wages. As a member of the House Education Committee, I work hard to improve our public education system. Michigan is currently facing a budget shortfall, but we should not be balancing our budget on the backs of students and teachers. Multiple studies show, Michigan was already under funding education even before this current shortfall. To improve our education system, I introduced House Bill 4071, requiring all students attend kindergarten to ensure they have a good educational foundation. Protecting our environment is a priority while serving as Minority Vice-Chair of the House Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee. I have introduced 4096 which increases fines on those that pollute our waterways and have introduced House Bill 5456 which restores environmental cleanup standards to protect public health.
My wife, Dr. Martha Higgins, influences my daily life. I married a smart, strong, active woman who has taught me how important it is to have women in leadership positions, trusting women to make their own health care decisions, and to have zero tolerance for sexual harassment and domestic violence. It is my privilege to support her in her work as Chair of the Department of Pathology at one of Michigan's largest teaching hospitals located in the City of Detroit. We have both been long-time supporters of the domestic violence shelter, Turning Point, where Martha served on the Board of Directors of that organization for many years.
I believe in public service, but lately there is a lot of cynicism about those who run for public office. Elected officials are viewed in the same light as car salesmen, and I have served in both of those positions. But, no matter the job I have taken on, I have always worked hard to serve my constituency with integrity, listening to their concerns and trying to figure out how to solve problems. I am now seeking re-election for my third term of office because there is still so much left to do in Lansing. Michigan needs an economy that lifts everyone, not just a wealthy few. We need to better create welcoming communities for all while recognizing that racism is a public health crisis and that black lives matter. We need to make our health care system more affordable and equitable, fix our infrastructure, and provide resources for public education that makes teachers and students successful. Protecting our environment and our water resources will always be a priority. And I hold strongly to the belief that elected officials should use their positions not to enrich themselves, but to benefit the people they represent.
Detroit Free Press paperboy for five years.
The Century Trilogy series of books (Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity) by Ken Follett. It's a chilling history lesson of some of the most compelling events of the entire twentieth century as it follows the lives of several fictional families.

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.

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


William Sowerby campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020Michigan House of Representatives District 31Won general$55,136 N/A**
2018Michigan House of Representatives District 31Won general$80,503 N/A**
2016Michigan House of Representatives, District 31Won $33,040 N/A**
Grand total$168,679 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Michigan

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.




2022

In 2022, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 12 to December 28.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on a number of bills selected by the editor of MIRS, a state capitol newsletter.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016




See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Michigan House of Representatives District 31
2017-2023
Succeeded by
Reggie Miller (D)


Current members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Matt Hall
Minority Leader:Ranjeev Puri
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Mai Xiong (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
Matt Hall (R)
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
District 73
District 74
Kara Hope (D)
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
Tim Kelly (R)
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
Tom Kunse (R)
District 101
District 102
District 103
District 104
John Roth (R)
District 105
District 106
District 107
District 108
District 109
District 110
Republican Party (58)
Democratic Party (52)