“Clean air, water, and food, are basic needs for everyone, and without a viable environment, all other arguments are moot”-Julia Williams, RN
I stand for the citizens of this district. I aim to improve the economic, physical, and political health of the people who live here. I will fight for the well-being of our families, not banking profits. I support HR 676, “Medicare for All”, rather than mandated profits to insurance companies. And I will demand an end to our “endless wars”, and the suffering they cause.
My name is Julia Williams, and I am the Green Party candidate for US Congress, MI District 12. My district is a large and varied one, with small to large cities, townships, and the 3rd largest city in Michigan. What they all have in common are the distressful situations found nationwide: unemployment, lack of medical insurance/care, loss of homes, cutbacks on essential services, pollution of the environment (water, air, land, food), and a political system that allows these things to happen. My strongest opponent, Rep. Sander Levin, although nominally a liberal, has not supported “Medicare-for-All”, and has recently voted for continued war funding, and against a troop removal deadline.
But the reason I decided to run was based on the tipping point of the Macondo well geyser. I saw a broken political system that would allow such a tragedy to occur, without accountability or effective regulations. I realized that neither party had addressed our major problems, had not focused on citizen needs, and had spent an inordinate amount of time playing politics with people’s lives at stake. I realized if we don’t act quickly, my (and everyone’s) grandchildren will inherit a barren, poisonous landfill we once called “Earth”. Neither legacy party has the platform goals of social and economic justice, ecological wisdom, grassroots democracy, and non-violence, which make up the “Four Pillars” of the Green Party platform. I believe that there is a better, more just, more sustainable way of life that can be created for this country, my State, my District, and the Green Party has the roadmap to get there.
The issues that I will address when I am elected that mean the most to me all revolve around keeping my neighbors safe and healthy. First of all, I believe Medicare-for-All should be enacted immediately, since unhealthy people cannot be productive, work, or enjoy life. In addition, having a healthcare system that is universal will immediately stop more than 50% of bankruptcies. The issue then becomes one of jobs. The federal government is indeed one of our greatest job creators, but I want to change those jobs from military duty, defense manufacturing, and privately contracting out our security, to re-deploying our citizens to help create a new, more vibrant, and healthier America. This country can stop out-sourcing, and create new, green, local, jobs that will promote the development and use of clean energy, and build a better infra-structure with mass transit and more efficient and faster rail (all of which Michigan is uniquely positioned to help design and manufacture). In addition, to those who have worked their entire lives, and depend upon the contracts we built together with our government known as Social Security and Medicare, I pledge to work to not only defend these programs from the coming attempts by BOTH parties to cut benefits, but to strengthen them, and allow the government to negotiate for lower pharmaceutical prices.
I realize that as a Green, I will be in a minority position, but I could use my seat to create a new dialogue with the public, and both legacy parties. We have all seen recently, that even a lowly House member can affect the legislative process, and I vow to work to make those changes for the betterment of our citizens, not corporations or campaign donors. For far too long the money flowing into our legislative bodies has controlled not only what is enacted but even what is said. I aim to change that conversation.
And so it begins…now is the time for all who envision a better America, to stand up and be counted. I stand for an America that provides health care for everyone, a place where the fiscal policies support full employment, a strong safety net, and recognizes that corporations are not citizens. I see a nation that places a value on a viable and sustainable environment over the profits of polluters.
