Times have changed drastically! Today’s Republican Party is not your father’s or your grandfather’s party. Today’s Republican Party would be unrecognizable to them. The same can be said of the Democrats. Despite of what you may hear, we are not the party of Clinton, Granholm or Pelosi. Everything has changed. One theme is similar, however, the Democrats remain concerned with people. All people. Business people, working people, rich people, poor people, healthy people, sick people…

We place people first!

What we are leaving for our children here in Michigan? Our children deserve the same excellent public education and the same high quality of life that we all enjoyed growing up here in this great state.

Our children deserve to drink water from the tap. They deserve to swim in the Great Lakes. They deserve to hunt and fish and eat what they catch.

Our elected officials have cut school funding over the last eight years, only now returning to the funding levels of 2008! How many times have you replaced your cell phone in ten years? How do we expect our students to get ahead when we constantly underfund their education? How can the school improve or maintain their technology?

Additionally, many elected officials take money from the DeVos family and their affiliated groups. These elected officials have pushed to allow charter and for-profit schools to siphon away what little money the public schools receive. Why should an online school get the same per student funding when they don’t have to provide a desk, computer, internet, heating, etc. for students the same way that public schools do?

Why is this an acceptable use of our tax dollars?

Much is said about low unemployment numbers. Yet, the average family is one paycheck away from disaster. A study from 2017 by Michigan Futures found that 75 percent of Michigan workers have stagnating or declining wages. Elected officials like to pat themselves on the back for doing a great job helping workers, but working families’ reality doesn’t back those claims.

When I started this campaign I used to say I was worried about who would be the next Flint. Since that time we have learned about lead contamination around the Mueller Brass site, multiple locations testing positive for PFAS, and that all of Detroit Schools have shut off their drinking water. People are afraid to drink their water in many locations and sales of bottled water continue to rise. Meanwhile our legislators in Lansing have allowed Nestle to pump out hundreds of thousand gallons of water daily. Over eighty thousand voters spoke out against this. Nestle pays $200 annually for their permit.

This is not the first time our Michigan legislators have ignored the people. Voters clearly stated that they did not want emergency managers and that they did not want to pay increased gas tax and registration fees. Our legislators acted in direct contrast to how the people voted, in both instances. This behavior is not ethical!

You have a choice this voting season. Do some homework. All of the claims I have made here are verifiable with a simple Google search. Look into all of the races on your ballot at This is a non-partisan voting guide that shows your ballot and links to more information. My name is Debbie Bourgois. I’m running for state senate because I believe in ideas that work for everyday people, not in those who work for special interests.

We owe a brighter future to all of our children here in Michigan.

Debbie Bourgois is a candidate for State Senate 25th District. Email her at

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