Michigan's newly drawn 14th Senate District, in yellow, stretches from the northern half of Ann Arbor to Jackson, covering large swaths of both Washtenaw and Jackson counties.Scott Levin | slevin@mlive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI - Current elected officials hailing from different sides of the Washtenaw-Jackson county line will go head-to-head in a race to decide a new Michigan Senate district stretching from Jackson to Ann Arbor in the November general election.

Democrat Sue Shink, an attorney and current chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, faces Republican Tim Golding, a small business owner and trustee in Jackson County’s Grass Lake Township, at the ballot box in the newly drawn 14th Senate District.

If 2020 presidential election results are any guide, the district leans blue by some 10 percentage points, but the candidates are gearing up for a tightly contested race. As of late August, they’ve brought in a combined roughly $305,000 in cash political contributions since kicking off their campaigns, according to campaign finance reports.

Shink has pulled in more than two and a half times the donations, out-raising Golding $225,767.50 to $83,484.11 during that time, but she also faced a contested primary in August while Golding did not.

Read more: Washtenaw County board chair defeats former Jackson council member in Senate primary

The Washtenaw County candidate has said the district will be key to her party’s hopes of flipping the Michigan Senate blue for the first time in decades under new political maps. Both candidates will be vying for a chance at representing much of deep-red Jackson County, territory currently controlled by GOP Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, and parts of western Washtenaw County now represented by state Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton.

The new district, redrawn for the first time by an independent citizens commission last year, encompasses much of Ann Arbor’s north and west sides, the cities of Chelsea and Dexter and rural townships across northern and western Washtenaw County. It also covers the majority of Jackson County, including the city of Jackson.

MLive/The Ann Arbor News partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues listed below. Information on other state, county and local primary races can be found at Vote411.org.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

Washtenaw County Board Chair Sue Shink, pictured, is running as a Democrat against GOP candidate Tim Golding, a trustee in Grass Lake Township, in the newly drawn Michigan Senate District 14 in the November 2022 general election.Leisa Thompson, Provided by Sue Shink

EDUCATION: What should Michigan do, if anything, to 1) provide an equitable, quality public education for all students and 2) address the shortage of teachers?

Providing a quality education for each child is fundamental responsibility of the state government. Each must learn reading, math, and have an opportunity to pursue a skilled trade training or a college degree. I will support high standards, options for families, access to skilled trades and continued resources and commitment.

Every child deserves a quality public education regardless of their income, race or zip code. I will work to boost per pupil funding so every child has the educational support they need, increase access to early childhood education, ensure equitable technology access and work with districts to address legacy debts and aging infrastructure. In addition, I will work to get high speed internet to all students. To address the teacher shortage, Michigan must increase teacher pay, and explore scholarships and loan forgiveness for new teachers.

ECONOMIC SECURITY: What policies do you support to help Michigan residents improve their economic positions?

Rising costs of goods is hurting families, seniors and small business. State government has a large surplus, so we should reduce the tax burden. Specifically I favor providing a $500.00 per child tax credit, reducing the tax burden on seniors by increasing how much they can receive tax free, and lowering the income tax rate. We need to empower people to handle this difficult time of rising prices.

I will work to end “Right to Work” and taxation of pensions. I support unions. I will work with community partners to support local businesses and to attract new talent and new opportunities to Michigan. When entrepreneurs have a chance to innovate and create jobs, more opportunities are available. I will support investment in infrastructure and research and development as well as educational opportunities for young people and workers looking for reskilling. I serve on Michigan Works! Southeast and Ann Arbor SPARK! and will continue to work with these organizations to increase opportunities for every resident.

ELECTIONS: What state policies do you support regarding Michigan elections, campaign funding and voting rights?

I support requiring a photo ID to vote, strong signature verification measures, making the counting process more efficient to speed up the results, as well as ensuring partisan balance of election observers.

Every eligible voter should have safe, convenient, secure access to the ballot no matter who they support. I’ll work to strengthen the security of elections with consistent and sufficient funding, protect election workers by increasing penalties for anyone who threatens election workers, ensure that military ballots are counted by allowing electronic submission of ballots, and allow preprocessing of absentee ballots so that election results are available more quickly. I will fight any efforts to make voting more difficult. I will support increased campaign funding transparency.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY: What actions or policies do you support to protect Michigan’s water, air and land for current and future generations? What is your position on energy efficiency and renewable energy?

I applaud the recent law that is investing billions into improving our water system infrastructure, replacing lead lines, and enhancing our state and local parks. Clean water and protecting the natural beauty of our state is of high importance to me. As for energy policy, gas and energy prices are way to high. I support an ‘all of the above’ American energy plan that includes renewables, exploration, natural gas, and transport through environmentally friendly pipelines.

I’ll work to reduce our carbon emissions through an equitable transition to renewable energy production and support fun energy efficiency measures. I support the recommendations of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change—I participated in the workgroups developing the recommendations. I will work to clean up and redevelop polluted sites, conserve farmland, natural spaces and parks for public enjoyment. I’ll protect our Great Lakes and ensure clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and safe homes for every Michigander. I lead the climate action and environmental work at Washtenaw County and will continue to be a leader in the Senate.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: How would you address racial, economic, health and education inequities, including Michigan’s 23% of children and 17% of seniors living in poverty?

We need to pursue policies that lift everyone up, which includes a high-quality education for every student, a healthy economy for everyone seeking a career, lower taxes on seniors and a safety net that helps our fellow neighbors that are in need.

Everyone across our state should have the opportunity to be healthy, build wealth and be safe. In the Senate, I’ll continue work I started in Washtenaw County. I’ve worked with residents and the Board of Commissioners to increase racial equity and opportunity in our county, requiring the impact on equity and opportunity as factors that must be considered in all decisions. I’ve worked for significant investment in our communities of color through the $8 million Community Priority Fund, food and health investments, Childrens’ Savings Accounts to encourage college or trade school, and investments in home ownership and senior support.

GUNS: What steps, if any, should be taken to curb gun violence in our communities?

Public safety is one of the central roles of government. Plainly, criminals need to be put in prison because our families deserve safety and peace of mind. The defund the police movement and coddling criminals places our communities at great risk.

I support common sense reforms to reduce gun violence, such as ensuring background checks are complete before guns are sold, “Red Flag” laws that provide a path to intervention when someone is showing signs they risk harming themselves or someone else with a gun, disarming domestic abusers, and requiring responsible gun storage. I’ll also support investment in curbing street gun violence through targeted, evidence-based strategy such as violence interrupters WeLive and the 14 part approach the Washtenaw County BOC recently adopted, that address the root causes of urban violence https://www.washtenaw.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2126

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