Overview

Photos of Justin

Video of Justin

Voters need to know that Justin is a 4th generation Detroiter and the son of a teacher and a nurse. He got his start as a community organizer in Detroit and Downriver: standing up to polluters, securing dollars for our neighborhoods, and protecting our drinking water. He went to Columbia Law School, served as a law clerk for the UAW, and returned home to serve as Detroit’s Director of Small Business Affairs, now under Mayor Mary Sheffield, where he’s led efforts to invest millions to create jobs in our neighborhoods. Justin is running for State Senate to lower the cost of living and to protect our communities in the face of Trump.

Voters need to know the following about Justin:

1. Justin is a 4th generation Detroiter and the son of a teacher and a nurse. 

2. Justin is a Columbia Law educated attorney who served as law clerk for the UAW and now serves as the City of Detroit’s Director of Small Busienss Affairs under Mayor Mary Sheffield where he’s invested millions to create high wage jobs in our neighborhoods. 

3. Justin was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve on Michigan’s Black Leadership Advisory Council where he helped deliver $2 Million water access program and advised on a number of racial justice/civil rights policy matters.

4. Justin got his start as community organizer in Detroit and Downriver where he stood up to corporate polluters, passed laws to protect our drinking water, and secured millions in neighborhood investment

5. Justin is endorsed by the leaders we trust the most to represent Detroit and Downriver (1. Mayors 2. Labor unions 3. Community and faith groups)

6. Justin is running to lower the cost of living (auto insurance, utilities, healthcare and housing), to invest in our neighborhoods (public schools, public safety, and public health), and to protect our communities in the face of Trump’s attacks on our communities (voting rights, civil rights, women’s rights, healthcare).

7. Detroit is in danger of having zero Black representation at the Congressional or State Senate level. Justin’s election would change this!

Justin has run a positive campaign focused on his biography, record, vision, and broad support. However, if necessary, voters should know the following about Justin’s opponent:

1. He refused to endorse Kamala Harris, helping lead to a historic shift toward Trump in his hometown of Hamtramck. Trump has now targeted Black communities, immigrant communities, women, and workers. When given a chance to stand with our communities in opposing Donald Trump, Justin’s opponent refused to support Kamala Harris and the Democratic Ticket. 

2. Voted yes to give tax breaks to data centers. 

3. Voted against requiring lawmakers share their financial interests and then used his position to accept over $5,000 of dollars in free gifts from corporate lobbyists (who represent the banks, utilities, tech, and health insurance companies).

4. In 2023, he led House Democrats in the number of missed roll-call votes. In 2024, as #2 in the state house leadership, he presided over a chaos and was partially responsible for the death of over 250 pieces of legislation that would’ve protected civil rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights. In 2025, he then moved from Hamtramck to Detroit to run for Senate District 1 after expressing fears about ability to connect with Black voters in Senate District 3