2022 HVALF questionnaire - County Commission
This is the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation's (HVALF) questionnaire for candidates for the office of County Commissioner in the 2022 election cycle.   It has some Washtenaw County-specific questions, but can also be used by candidates running for a county commission seat in Livingston, Jackson and Hillsdale counties.  

The HVALF is the regional level of the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the federation of unions that represents about 11.5 of the 14.5 million union members in the United States.   The HVALF represents over 40 local unions based in four counties (Washtenaw, Livingston, Jackson and Hillsdale).  We bring together local union leaders to build a labor movement that aims to improve the lives of all working families. To this end, we support the fight for worker rights and living wages in the workplace, and work to change the balance of political power to achieve racial and social justice in our region and our state.        

Supporting political candidates who share these objectives is a vital part of our strategy for realizing those goals. With candidates for local offices, such as County Commissioner, the HVALF will make the endorsements for our region, and the Michigan AFL-CIO will back us up with access to their state-wide and national resources.  

Please note that we reserve the right to share the information you provide us in this survey with our delegates, our affiliates' members, and the public.

It is recommended that you fill out your long answers in a word document, and then copy/paste them into the form to avoid technical difficulties with editing your responses.

Are you filling out the correct form?
Countywide Officers - https://forms.gle/u7YEn6FfYcWRnV6x9
School Board - https://forms.gle/PiKDvC1oN5nuc28F8
Ann Arbor - https://forms.gle/FSPLKwY1n9K6bDgj7
State Rep/Senate -https://forms.gle/iC91kyhHzvWpL5yUA
Judicial - https://forms.gle/4EMohnwCjimf1gW69
County Commission - https://forms.gle/xJuheHQDkuaZihhKA
Municipal (not Ann Arbor) - https://forms.gle/Etr4Sxs29hufmeLHA

If you have any questions please contact HVALF Field Coordinator Trent Varva at tvarva@miaflcio.org

!!!!!!!!!!DEALINE FOR SUBMISSION WILL BE APRIL 22.!!!!!!!!!!
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Campaign Details Section
Below please fill out relevant information about yourself and your campaign.
Your full name (as it will appear on the ballot) *
Your phone number *
Would you prefer to be contacted via text or called?
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Your email (please do NOT list your government email, if any) *
What is your occupation and employer?
Your union affiliation, past or present (if any). Please specify active/former/retired. *
Have you attended an AFL-CIO Path2Power candidate training or a GLPA LTraining? *
Your partisan affiliation (HVALF is a nonpartisan organization that endorses members of all political parties for public office) *
What county are you running in? *
What district are you running in? *
Are you the Incumbent for the office you are seeking? *
Please list your opponent(s). *
Is there anything that we should know about your opponent(s)? / Why should we endorse you over your opponent(s)? *
How long is the term you are seeking (in years)? *
Will you appear on the ballot or are you a write-in candidate? *
What elected or appointed offices have you held that are relevant to the position you seek? *
What is the year, make (e.g., Ford) and model (e.g., Mustang) of your automobile? *
Do you utilize union shops and buy union-made goods and services? Give an example. *
What organizations are you a member of or affiliated with? *
Website address (if any) *
Campaign committee name & mailing address *
Campaign manager name
Treasurer name *
How many votes do you need in order to win? (What is your "win number"?) *
How much money do you need to raise and how will you raise it? *
What is your cash on hand? *
How many doors do you personally plan to knock as a candidate? *
How many doors does your campaign plan to knock total (including your candidate doors)? *
How many doors have you personally already knocked as a candidate? *
How many doors has your campaign already knocked total (including your candidate doors)? *
What other endorsements do you already have? *
What other endorsements are you seeking? *
What are your top priorities in the office you’re seeking? *
General Labor Issues Section
Workers are organizing at a steady pace to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Yet, in workplace after workplace, employers and the legislature are working to bust up unions through many different anti-labor tactics. Workers need the support of their communities now more than ever in order to overcome these tactics and be free to make an appropriate decision.
If elected, will you pledge to support employee's rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, do everything with in your power to repeal "right to work" legislation and reinstate prevailing wage? *
Will you regularly meet with HVALF representatives and union leaders, and implement bottom-up solutions from the rank and file before considering layoffs, furloughs, etc.? *
What have you done, and what will you do, to strengthen unions and the labor movement in your county? *
How will you support worker organizing campaigns and the right to collective bargaining in your county? *
In hiring senior administrators (superintendent, county administrator, city attorney, etc.), will you grant preference to candidates with a demonstrated history of pro-worker, pro-union decisions as determined by HVALF? Will you provide the “short list” of top candidates to HVALF for review in a timely manner so that we can research them and inform you as to which candidates we find acceptable and unacceptable prior to making your decision? *
How will you move toward all-EV, all-union, and all-American vehicle fleets? *
Will you pass and enforce this resolution in support of workers’ rights? *
Many county boards are moving away from "lowest bidder" policies for deciding who to hire for construction work, and moving toward "responsible contracting" policies instead. Responsible contracting policies help a district make a holistic evaluation of a bidder based on the bidder's past experience, their workers' training and qualifications, their safety record, and other factors in addition to bottom-line cost. If elected, will you work with HVALF to pass a strong responsible contracting policy using the concept "best value" in your county?
Clear selection
Will you commit to reducing senior administrator staffing levels, pay and benefits prior to considering layoffs, furloughs, or cuts to the pay and benefits of rank-and-file workers? *
Upon the request of HVALF, will you support the appointment of at least one representative of organized labor to any and all advisory bodies, boards, and commissions? *
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: Do you support strengthening enforcement of the County's prevailing wage and living wage ordinances by requiring that the prevailing wage be included in bid documents and that contractors who win bids be required to submit (on a regular basis) certified payroll records of what they pay their employees? How will you ensure stronger enforcement of living wage standards, including extending the living wage to County employees?
Governance Issues Section
As an elected official, it will be your job to make decisions on a wide range of issues affecting your community and to represent all of your constituents. Knowing that many of your constituents do not have access to the "traditional" leavers of political power, how do you plan to represent them on the following issues?
What is the role of county government in health care, including mental health care? What will you do to improve health care outcomes for working families in your county? *
What is the median household income for your county? What will you do to ensure working people (those earning the median household income or less) can afford to live in your county? *
How will you work to preserve Michigan’s environment (and ensure environmental justice) while protecting jobs? *
What are your thoughts on your county’s criminal justice system? If there are problems, what are they and how will you work to fix them? *
(This is part 1 of a 3-part question.) Please describe your role as an elected official in agenda-setting, determining public policy, and making decisions regarding the budget. *
(Part 2 of 3) Please describe the role of your appointed administrators (e.g., the city manager) in agenda-setting, determining public policy, and making decisions regarding the budget. *
(Part 3 of 3) What will you do when there is disagreement or conflict between you and the administration? *
Will you pass and enforce this resolution opposing privatization? "Whereas the privatization and/or outsourcing of services has proven to significantly decrease the quality of services and at the same time dramatically decrease the pay, benefits, and job security of workers, we will adopt policies, ordinances, and/or resolutions that mandate: First priority shall be given to providing services to our citizens, constituents, or shareholders with direct employees of our institution or body of government. There shall be no privatization and/or outsourcing of services without a majority vote approval by our governing body, and approval may only be given if the workers of the vendor/provider/contractor contracted with are paid the same wages and are provided the same benefits as employees currently or previously doing this work for our institution or body of government." *
How will you work to ensure that no person is evicted from their home during the cold months or during times of crisis, and that nobody suffers from utility shut offs at any time? *
If elected, will you oppose delegating the power of elected officials to unelected positions with no direct accountability to the public? (Eg. appointed boards, administrators, or supervisors, etc.) *
How will you use procurement and leasing as tools for extending decent wages and other pro-worker values into the private sector? *
How will you ensure an accurate Census count of undercounted populations in your area? *
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: Will you pass and enforce this resolution to ensure a living wage for your direct employees and for businesses you contract with? *
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: How will you aggressively support regional public transit?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: How will you complete (by the end of your term) an inventory of County land that could be used for expanded housing, and sell or lease such land for affordable housing development?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: Will you subject AirBnBs to the Washtenaw County Accommodations Excise Tax and appropriate those funds to affordable housing?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: How will you pursue higher building standards (LEED Gold or Platinum/ASHRAE) for both new buildings and retrofitting existing buildings to these standards on an expedited basis?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: How will you support the County’s Environmental Council and ensure the staff and resources necessary to implement policy on cutting emissions?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: Will you convene the 28 municipalities along with institutions of higher education to maximize cooperation (incl staff time sharing) and coordination of efforts on regional issues such as the environment, transportation, and affordable housing?
WASHTENAW COUNTY CANDIDATES: How will you pursue sustainable land use policies on County property?
Is there anything else that you would like HVALF Delegates and Committee on Political Education (COPE) members to know about you? If so, please indicate below. *
I, a candidate seeking HVALF support, have reviewed this questionnaire and will stand by my responses. I understand that typing or writing my name below and submitting this form constitutes my signature. *
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