{"id":3592,"date":"2020-07-10T11:07:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T15:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=3592"},"modified":"2020-07-10T14:41:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T18:41:07","slug":"michele-oberholtzer-is-working-to-continue-her-activism-in-the-mich-house-of-representatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/michele-oberholtzer-is-working-to-continue-her-activism-in-the-mich-house-of-representatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Michele Oberholtzer is working to continue her activism in the Mich. House of Representatives."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Simon Albaugh<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"An Interview with Michele Oberholtzer: Candidate for District 4. by Simon Albaugh\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F855616822&#038;show_artwork=true&#038;maxheight=750&#038;maxwidth=500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Hamtramck, Mich. \u2013 Back in 2018, the results of the democratic primary for District 4 State Representative showed a strong field, with the top three garnering the support of more than 50% of the votes. Isaac Robinson took the primary, and later won the general election for the position. But in a 0.1% close third, Michele Oberholtzer took her first campaign for the position further than any of the other challengers who are up for this election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a successful campaign [in 2018], as much as there can be a successful campaign without winning,\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201cIt&#8217;s very hard as a first-time candidate to win. So I&#8217;m really proud of the outcome there. And frankly, I accepted that I didn&#8217;t win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michele Oberholtzer is running for office again. She\u2019s running on her experience as an activist in Detroit\u2019s affordable housing crisis and renewable energy in big cities. She\u2019s running on progressive policies that puts equitable housing, the environment and education above all else. And, as she explains, she\u2019s running under an entirely new context.<\/p>\n<p>After the death of Isaac Robinson in March, the District 4 seat in Michigan\u2019s House of Representatives will sit vacant until Nov. 4. In the meantime, 14 candidates have outlined their plans for how to collaboratively run the state through one of the toughest periods in recent history.<\/p>\n<p>Oberholtzer has secured some high-level support for her campaign from figures like Mayor Mike Duggan. During her 2018 campaign, she garnered the support of the Detroit Free Press and Detroit Metro Times as well. And now, she\u2019s looking for the support of voters in the primary election.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Who is Michele Oberholtzer?<\/p>\n<p>A few years after graduating from the University of Michigan, Oberholtzer left for New York City in order to work in environmental activism. When she came back the Detroit area, it was housing activism that brought her into the lives of everyday, working Detroiters. Her work as the Director of the Tax Foreclosure Prevention Project at the United Community Housing Coalition has kept over 5,000 homes with their families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found out about tax foreclosure, and I wasn&#8217;t immediately giving my life to the situation until I was witnessing the people living in the homes who did not have the information,\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201cAnd for whatever weird circumstances of life I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the Director of Tax Foreclosure Prevention, Oberholtzer also maintained an active presence as a writer for various publications. Her work with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.occupy.com\/author\/michele-oberholtzer\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Occupy.com<\/span><\/a> stayed true to her passion for the housing struggles that working-class Detroiters experienced during massive tax foreclosures and public auctions.<\/p>\n<p>Since the third-place finish in 2018\u2019s primary election, Oberholtzer says she\u2019s spent the last two years working to expand the Tax Foreclosure Prevention Project, offering counseling services to thousands more Detroiters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the context has changed, you know?\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201cDue to this pandemic. We have an imminent crisis in terms of housing and our economy. We have a new civil rights movement, we have a moment where a lot of essential needs are on the brink. And we really need dedicated leaders who are focused on meeting those needs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3595 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/C6064F71-7DCE-44E0-863F-8EDDCB904D01_1_105_c-300x169.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"561\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/C6064F71-7DCE-44E0-863F-8EDDCB904D01_1_105_c-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/C6064F71-7DCE-44E0-863F-8EDDCB904D01_1_105_c-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/C6064F71-7DCE-44E0-863F-8EDDCB904D01_1_105_c-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/C6064F71-7DCE-44E0-863F-8EDDCB904D01_1_105_c.jpeg 1182w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 561px) 100vw, 561px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Where\u2019s Oberholtzer on the issues?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of progressive policies are very conscious of social and economic needs of diverse communities,\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201c\u2026the other thing about progressive policies that&#8217;s so important is just a very baseline recognition of human value, and that helping another is beneficial for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When you look at her platform, what tops the list are Housing, the Environment and Education. The focus on the rights of occupants and renters accurately reflects the reality that 56% of people within Detroit are living in rent-controlled homes, according to <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/detroitrentercity.com\/about\/\">Detroit Renter City<\/a><\/span>. That reality too extends into Oberholtzer\u2019s focus on regulating industries which have historically produced disastrous ecological effects in the Metro Detroit region.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot that has historically disenfranchised District 4, with both cities being under emergency management with difficult consequences. \u201cThere are a lot of good things going on in a lot of really thriving communities,\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201cBut yes, there are a lot of struggles. And I think a lot of it comes down to policy priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those priorities come from the relationships with other lawmakers in Lansing, Oberholtzer explained. More people working on the same issues in the House Chamber means that a piece of policy, like Reforming Tax Foreclosure, is more likely to actualize. And these relationships can reach outside of the legislative body, like when Isaac Robinson worked with Oberholtzer while she was working as an activist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI view running for office as public service,\u201d Oberholtzer said. \u201cAnd it&#8217;s very daunting to imagine holding responsibility in a different way for all these collective problems, which are even more acute now. But it&#8217;s the activism that I feel compelled to give my best effort into.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The Yemeni American News will be continuing coverage for the local and national issues that will be decided in 2020. It\u2019s our belief that everyone deserves clear and comprehensive information about who is running, what\u2019s at stake, and how to everyone can be involved.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you need to register to vote in Michigan, follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mvic.sos.state.mi.us\/registervoter\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">this link to start the process<\/span>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='clear '><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Simon Albaugh Hamtramck, Mich. \u2013 Back in 2018, the results of the democratic primary for District 4 State Representative showed a strong field, with the top three garnering the support of more than 50% of the votes. Isaac Robinson took the primary, and later won the general election for the position. But in a [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news","category-elections","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3592"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3602,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions\/3602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}