Born and raised in Michigan, State Representative Carrie Rheingans is running for a second term. Rheingans represents Michigan’s 47th District, which includes western Washtenaw and southeast Jackson counties.
Rheingans ran for the first time in 2022 when there was an open seat in her district. After the 202 census, state districts were redrawn and new ones were created. Rheingans had primarily worked on state health policy and was interested in running to enact her policies.
Rheingans is a devoted advocate for water quality, which ties back to her health policy background. District 47 encompasses the 1,4-dioxane plume, a man-made substance that is a known carcinogen and was released with wastewater from the Gelman Sciences (later Pall Corporation and now Danaher) manufacturing facility on Wagner Road in Washtenaw County.
Local citizens have expressed their concerns about this to Rheingans and it is now a focus of hers for the coming term. Another key issue in District 47 is healthcare. Rheingans champions expanding access to mental health care and reproductive freedoms.
“I sponsored a bill to create a ‘Medicare for All’ style healthcare plan in Michigan, and I will continue to work on that for the next decade if I need to,” Rheingans said.
She is devoted to the mental and physical well-being of Michiganders from all backgrounds. Michigan is an extremely diverse state when it comes to religion, race and ethnicity.
Rheingans is also conscious of local Indigenous communities and their impact on the state.
“We have the natural beauty and the history of this place that was carved out by glaciers and settled by people thousands and thousands of years ago,” Rheingans said. “Those people are still here and they’ve had a strong impact on how we think of ourselves as Michiganders. I mean, the word Michigan even comes from Anishinaabemowin, which is the language of the Great Lakes peoples, the Ojibwe, the Odawa and the Potawatomi. So I think it’s really important for us to really keep honoring their contributions and keep moving forward.”
As a representative for all Michiganders living in the 47th District, Rheingans draws inspiration from leaders like Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has also had a profound impact on Rheingans; she recalls a time when Ginsburg was asked how many women she would like to see on the Supreme Court, and Ginsburg answered, “Nine.”
Another feminist who Rheingans looks up to is Kamala Harris. They share a passion for women’s reproductive rights and the rights of sexual assault survivors.
“I admire Kamala Harris for taking up the space she needs to take up, and being joyful while she does it,” Rheingans said.
As she reflects on the progress Michigan has made during the past two years, Rheingans is excited about the possibilities of the 2024 election and what a Harris administration could mean for advancing her policies.
When it comes to policy, Rheingans is ready to go. She hopes to do more to expand healthcare access and allow student-athletes to unionize in Michigan. Although there is much remaining to accomplish, Rheingans had a very successful first term in office.
“We have served hundreds of our constituents, helping them with doing things about unemployment, helping them get tributes for retirement and other fun things that have happened in the community,” Rheingans said.
She has been working with social work graduate student interns in her office, helping them gain exposure to state law. Additionally, Rheingans helped to secure funding for local Metroparks, the Dexter Senior Center, the Border to Border Trail and public schools. Rheingans and the state legislature have invested millions of dollars in water infrastructure and lead removal. She is proud of their budget work and how it has impacted Michigan.
Another success of this term was the naming of Michigan’s official state native grain: manoomin. Manoomin is wild rice, a local Indigenous staple for food and spiritual purposes. This grain is also an indicator of water quality and wetland health. A few other states have named state grains, but Rheingans is proud of Michigan for being the only state with an official state native grain.
Rheingans is passionate about the health of Michigan bodies of water because they hold sentimental value for her.
“I am very proud of our pleasant peninsulas and our five Great Lakes, even though only four touch Michigan,” Rheingans said. “It’s kind of a Michigan thing. When I was growing up, my mom always made a big deal about visiting all five Great Lakes and swimming in all of them. You’re not like a real Michigander until you do that.”
Rheingans has a second-grade daughter at Ann Arbor Public Schools and has taken her to see and swim in all five of the Great Lakes.
Rheingans takes great pride in being a Michigander and supporting the District 47 community.
