Michigan — 9th District

Six candidates are running to represent Michigan’s 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House in the Nov. 3 election.

The candidates are Democrat Ray Pooley, Republican incumbent Lisa McClain, Libertarian Kevin Vayko, U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate John Vlahos, Green Party candidate Destiny Clayton and Working Class Party candidate Jim Walkowicz.

The district covers parts of seven counties in southeastern Michigan and the Thumb.

MLive partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan Education Fund to provide the VOTE411 voter guide. Three of the six candidates — Pooley, Vayko and Walkowicz — responded to the questionnaire. McClain, Vlahos and Clayton did not submit responses as of Oct. 9.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and were not edited by the League of Women Voters, except for necessary cuts if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

HEALTH CARE: What specific steps will you take in Congress to address healthcare affordability, access, and quality for the people you represent?

Pooley: I am a proponent of Medicare For All as I see it not only saving people’s lives, but save us money as well. It’s the fiscally responsible thing for us as a nation to do, the morally right thing to do, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Making sure we take care of our heath ensures a prosperous future for America.

Vayko: If the US can afford to subsidize Isreali healthcare and useless foreign conflicts, why not subsidize healthcare for its own citizens? Healthcare in the United States became a crisis once the food industry started contaminating our food with synthetic ingredients like artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup that the body was never designed to assimilate and digest along with contaminants in the air and water such as PFAS & microplastics. Naturally, it created toxicity in the body in a variety of ways that led to a deterioration of health. Simplifying healthcare to allow preventative care is critical to mitigate long term costs.

Walkowicz: Everyone is entitled to health care. This should be a basic right for all people. The United States spends over $1 Trillion a year on the military. One person in this country is now a Trillionaire. So the money is there to provide health care to everyone in this country.

ECONOMY: What policy initiatives do you support for residents to earn a living wage and address the overall question of affordability across Michigan?

Pooley: We need to reward hard work again. For decades companies have seen yearly record profits, yet worker pay has stagnated far behind. An honest days work deserves an honest days pay, and by strengthening and empowering unions, small businesses, and the NLRB we can make that reality. Additionally, we must take bold action to put more money in people’s pockets, lower costs for consumers, and build our nation up with long term investments and self sustainable practices. In terms of policies I would support, the Living Wage For All Act and the PRO Act would be a few examples.

Vayko: It is against economic principles to have a greater supply of housing & automobiles exceeding demand while still leveraging supply shortage demand pricing against the consumer. In both industries, there is a substantial supply that is being held hostage by predatory venture capitalist agencies to deprive Michigan residents of affordable rent/housing & vehicle ownership which can easily be dealt with. Reducing living costs is a core means to combat stagnation in living wages from companies concerned with rising costs of goods through wage increase. Eliminating tax loophole will also achieve goals of affordability through fair share of payments

Walkowicz: Wages for those making the least amount of money, needs to go up. Everyone should receive a living wage. When inflation goes up, the wages of everyone should go up by an equal or greater amount.

ENVIRONMENT and ENERGY: How would you approach ensuring energy reliability, consumer affordability, and environmental protection in Michigan.

Pooley: As a homesteader and an advocate of green energies I’d like to see our country become more self sustainable, for us to conserve our planet better, and ultimately save money in the long run too. Protecting our planet isn’t just about saving butterflies and bees with a few solar panels or buying an EV; it’s about securing our livelihoods by creating sustainable good paying jobs, cheaper energy, keeping our great lakes great, and ensuring our kids can breathe easy. We don’t need to choose between a healthy planet and a healthy bank account, we’re America, we can have both! I would support legislation such as the Energy Bills Relief Act.

Vayko: I support the initiative of each household being able to provide their own supply of electrical power generation to reduce dependency on external systems, which residents continue to complain with DTE (chiefly) during severe weather outages. Tesla’s early initiatives regarding wireless power were not only environmentally-friendly, but financially-sound as a remarkable sustainable solution. Personal transportation can operate similarly. Unfortunately, venture capitalism is environmentally taxing through promotion of rare earth mineral market consumption. As a prominent engineer, this is another easy solution with all residents on board.

Walkowicz: The oil companies and their rich owners are destroying the planet in their quest for more and more profits. The decisions need to be taken out of their hands. The majority of the people in this country, the working class, need to decide how to protect the environment for ourselves and for future generations. Money should go to modernizing the infrastructure rather than as profits to the rich.

IMMIGRATION: What is your position on due process, First Amendment, and Fourth Amendment rights for all Michigan residents, including noncitizens, and what changes, if any, would you support?

Pooley: All people deserve due process here in Michigan, and America as a whole, including noncitizens, as well as the fullest intent of the 1st and 4th Amendments. The moment we abandon these principles due to citizenship/ immigration status, or any other reason, is the moment we have abandoned “With liberty and justice for all”, and have simultaneously created a two-tier system of justice. Additionally, patriots aren’t just born here in America, they are made by people all over this world who come here. I believe a speedy yet thorough immigration process is achievable if we increase our immigration judges, allowing proper yet timely vetting.

Vayko: Constitutional Amendment Rights apply to ALL humans within US jurisdiction. The language of the law is clear. Without probable cause of a common law violation, no person shall be subject to search by law enforcement regardless of immigration status. Any person accused of a violation of law is entitled to due process to defend against the charges with assistance of legal counsel to aid. Do not let bigotry and hatred against minorities & transgressors distort your valuation of these core Constitutional protections. Nazi Germany successfully evoked minority hatred to repeal these protections to Nazi Germany’s ultimate utter demise & dissolution.