Democratic Values
Democratic values of equality, fairness, and justice for all resonate deeply with Kathy. She believes that they are girded in our country by a strong public educational system and the right to vote; together, they bolster our democracy with established norms regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or age. We depend on our systems of democracy as a solid foundation and framework for constant support and stability. Yet, these foundational supports have been under constant assault in recent years.
The siege is witnessed by the January 6, 2021 violence at our Nation’s Capitol, the degradation of human rights, civil rights, reproductive freedom, voter suppression, continual hits on our rule of law, the barrage of strikes on our election process, the interference with the legal transfer of power following an election, diminished available data for research, and the reported lack of transparency in government. Pelleran-Mahoney is concerned that the rights that she’s had – albeit hard fought – might be in jeopardy for her grandkids’ generation.
The big lie purported by MAGA Republicans that our elections were fraudulent has eroded public trust, thus weakening the legitimacy of our electoral system. She ponders if we will face a constitutional crisis if it continues. As a former city clerk charged with protecting the integrity and legitimacy of our elections, Pelleran-Mahoney is committed to policy and funding that provides access to voters and security in our elections.
Public Education
A quality public education is essential for our young people to thrive in a world economy. Ensuring that quality requires community support and access to a qualified pool of teachers. Kathy believes in supporting teacher development and providing competitive compensation and benefits to recruit and keep proficient teachers. In today’s economy, Pelleran-Mahoney trusts that a high school diploma is essential, but so too is post high school training, on-the-job apprenticeships, or continued education. She sees this as a normal requirement for graduates to set a cornerstone in building a solid career path. College, trade school, internships, and apprenticeships are educational opportunities that can help meet the demands for skilled workers in an ever-changing job market. An example is the Michigan New Jobs Training Program where community colleges partner with local businesses to provide training for new jobs. As a community college trustee for seven years, Kathy supported access to job training programs and ways to keep college affordable for students. In her opinion, they are a win-win when graduates have marketable abilities and competences to compete for good-paying jobs that might even take them worldwide. Being from a rural area, Pelleran-Mahoney has long believed that her public education prepared her for worldwide opportunities and she supports that same access for future generations.
She often quotes President Abe Lincoln’s views in her drive for sound public education, “You can give a man a fish and he’ll have food for a day; or, you can teach a man to fish and he’ll have food for a lifetime." The research clearly reveals that by helping kids to get on track and stay on track to high school graduation they are more likely to go on to further education and training, more likely to become homeowners, and add to the tax base rather than the tax burden.
Reproductive Freedom
Kathy respects the protection of personal freedoms offered by the Reproductive Freedom for All (RFA) constitutional amendment. The ability to make reproductive healthcare decisions belongs to every person, not to government or someone who is not in the shoes of the person seeking care. The RFA, was a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that passed in 2022 in the state of Michigan by nearly 57% of the vote. The amendment codified reproductive rights, including access to abortion, in the Michigan Constitution.
Also important is legislation called the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) to allow access to medical care when someone might need it. Last year the RHA was signed into law to lower costs for patients and providers and to protect the constitutional rights of Michigan citizens to make their own decisions about their own body. The RHA repealed old laws that needlessly restricted abortions, criminalized doctors for providing care, and imposed excessive and unnecessary regulations on health centers that led to many closures, thereby limiting access.
Pelleran-Mahoney advocated for both the RFA and the RHA.
Access to Healthcare
Quality healthcare is a necessity. Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney has been a champion for its access and affordability. She recognizes that rural areas have special challenges in maintaining hospital coverage and health care providers. People are often making decisions based on lack of access and costs that often have long-term implications on their health. She will work to ease those challenges to provide training supports to ensure that our future healthcare workforce has access to opportunities for financial aid, training programs, certifications, and apprenticeships.
As director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, she and her members (sheriffs, prosecutors, and police chiefs) worked with other coalition partners on bi-partisan legislation to ensure Medicaid expansion through the Healthy Michigan plan that allows more working people to access healthcare in Michigan. More than 600,000 have been covered under the expansion and are able to have a medical home to receive care through primary care doctors, as opposed to the more expensive emergency room. Pelleran-Mahoney’s organization also urged federal lawmakers to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program. It is called MIChild in Michigan and today serves close to 100,000 children.
Pelleran-Mahoney and her members were also instrumental in providing federal lawmakers with research and support to pass the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program to increase family functioning. The program provides community referrals to support children being ready to succeed in school.
While state director of Arizona for a Healthy Future, she led a ballot question effort to provide health education for all, and access to health care for the indigent. She also worked on healthcare for all while directing Citizen Action, a statewide nonprofit.
Public Health & the Environment
Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney believes that a strong public health system is required to protect the public health and the environment in Michigan. Having been raised in Michigan on the Great Lakes, she saw first-hand how clean air, water, and land benefit the local economies through recreation, farming, tourism, and a healthy public and stable work force. Protecting the environment helps to protect the public health.
Great Lakes protections require sound stewardship of our inland lakes and streams to reduce e-coli, plastics, and chemicals from land applications that can have a direct impact on the public health, the environment, and our economy.
Pelleran-Mahoney believes that we can wisely avert future problems from plastics getting into our food chain and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) getting into our ground water. PFAS can effect ground water that limits clean safe drinking water sources for homeowners. It can also have negative economic implications in regard to property values especially those in rural areas.
Pelleran-Mahoney strongly supported the recent package of gun safety bills enacted in 2023. She believes in common sense gun safety measures that value both traditions of hunting and firearm safety in Michigan. This includes gun safety locks on firearms in the home; red flag laws that allow temporary removal of firearms from those who present a danger to themselves and others; banning large capacity ammunition magazines, and military-style weapons like AR-15s; and, closing the gun show loophole to prevent terrorists from purchasing weapons. She comes from a long-line of hunters and fishers, and values those who enjoy the activity and take the opportunity to feed their families.
Clean Energy & Climate Change
Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney believes that climate change demands our attention now and for future generations. Global warming with greenhouse gas emissions and carbon pollution has led to recognizable climate changes that has had implications on farming, fishing, and weather conditions, that have been markedly less predicable over the past few decades. The time for action to reduce pollution and emissions is now.
While the state director of a nonprofit in Arizona in the late 1980s, Kathy worked with lawmakers and allies on policies related to the use of alternative fuels to reduce carbon emissions and to encourage more efficient household appliances and low-flow water fixtures. This also helped to create jobs in the renewable energy sector.
Farming & Agri-business
Kathy Pelleran-Mahoney believes in a vibrant and secure agriculture production sector in Michigan that is dependent on our natural resources, a stable workforce, and access to consumer markets. She knows that the sector faces substantial challenges with the weather and production that balances access to guest workers, safety, health, the environment, and getting products to market. Whether farming fruits, vegetables, nursery plants, or raising animals for any number of markets, agriculture production feeds our communities and nation and warrants policies that continue production while averting risks. Agriculture is the number one growth industry in Michigan where the dollar is said to change hands eight times in our economy.
Kathy grew up in a family whose market sold fresh produce, plants, seeds and other nursery items. As a young girl her dad would take her and her sister or one of her brothers on buying trips when he met with local farmers along Michigan’s west shore and its east shore. That was a special time with her dad, but also a huge learning experience about the value of bringing fresh produce to consumers, building strong business relationships, and a strong work ethic. Agriculture is a major force in rural economies and is the driver to feed families across communities and around the world. To make money for school clothes as a youngster, Kathy babysat and picked berries in the summers, and later worked at the family market.
While a regional representative for U.S. Senator Carl Levin, Kathy worked closely with local farmers, and agriculture businesses and agencies dealing with agriculture policy, disaster assistance programs, and production and marketing.
Veterans
Salute to those who have served our country. Pelleran-Mahoney’s father was a veteran. She is committed to helping our veterans in their housing, jobs, education, and medical and mental health care needs. She also believes in support for military families during deployment.
Strong Economy & Good Jobs
Pelleran-Mahoney believes that a vibrant economy requires us to pay workers well and give them adequate benefits to encourage their staying power. Expanding job training programs with opportunities to so that those in career paths have access to certifications, apprenticeships, and internships, as well as assistance with financial aid are vital to ensuring that we have a ready, able workforce to meet the needs of those in our communities across Michigan. This promotes a stable work culture and thriving communities.
People need a fair shot at a good life that allows them to live, earn, and thrive in their communities. Furthermore, with half the labor force being women, the recent onslaught of a woman’s right to oversee her own health care choices continues to be a challenge in so many states, including Michigan. Though the Legislature made gains last year to repeal the so-called “Right to Work” law, and codify a woman’s right to choose to protect patients and providers, I believe that a Democratic legislative majority is vital to sustaining and improving on those gains.
Seniors & Women
As both a senior and a woman, Pelleran-Mahoney believes that every issue is her issue. Like most seniors and women, she has experienced a broad range of life challenges and is sensitive to the problems, barriers to access, and service needs. She looks at them with a results-oriented approach. She is also acutely aware of the challenges facing our children and grandchildren in a global economy. She wants to ensure that opportunities are open to all to have a productive future.
Transportation Infrastructure
Pelleran-Mahoney will fight to keep a strong and secure transportation infrastructure. To preserve our way of life and thriving communities, Kathy believes that it is vital to maintain and advance our network of roads, bridges, public transportation, rail service, and water port access. We live in a global economy where competition is fierce. To preserve a strong economy with high-paying jobs that require a skilled workforce, it is essential that government ensures a stable infrastructure so that workers can get to work, commodities and commerce can flow to markets, and products can make it into the hands of consumers.
Housing
Housing is at a premium in our west shore communities as families struggle to get and keep affordable housing through rentals and mortgages. Short-term rentals and guest housing for seasonal workers in agriculture and tourism are also challenging across our west shore community. To sustain our infrastructure of local services I will prioritize housing solutions as your state representative.