For former State Representative Jaime Churches, protecting and uplifting the Downriver community isn’t just politics—it’s personal. Raised in the district, Churches is a fifth-grade teacher and a dedicated union leader who has spent her career fighting for working families, students, and the natural resources that make Downriver special. Now running to win back her seat in Michigan’s 27th House District, she is putting forward a bold, people-first agenda focused on affordability, education, and government transparency.
Deep Roots and a Commitment to Workers
Like many who grew up Downriver, Churches has a deep connection to the local waterways. She earned her boater’s license in the seventh grade, a testament to how important the water has always been to her family and neighbors. That lifelong appreciation drives her fierce advocacy for the environment today. She has fought tirelessly to hold corporate polluters accountable for releasing dangerous toxins and “forever chemicals” into the Detroit River, ensuring that the community retains safe access to clean drinking water and outdoor recreation.
Outside the classroom, Churches is a passionate union leader. She has built a reputation as an unwavering advocate for raising wages and strengthening worker rights. Her dedication to working people is unquestionable: during her previous term, she even returned to the Capitol in Lansing just days after undergoing major surgery to cast critical votes to repeal “right-to-work” legislation that restored the ability of Michigan workers to form unions and collectively bargain for safer working conditions, better benefits, and higher wages.
A Record of Delivering Real Results
During her time in the legislature, Churches proved she knows how to get things done for Downriver. She successfully secured a massive $75 million in funding for vital infrastructure upgrades across the district. Her legislative victories include passing a law that allows Grosse Ile Township to purchase the Toll Bridge, securing funding to repair the Grosse Ile Free Bridge, and bringing home additional state dollars for much-needed railroad overpasses.
She has also consistently prioritized the pocketbooks of everyday Michiganders, utilizing her time in office to vote for tax cuts for working families and retirees.
Plans for a Stronger, More Affordable Michigan
As she campaigns to return to the State House, Churches has a comprehensive plan to tackle the biggest issues facing the state:
Championing Public Education: As a fifth-grade teacher, Churches knows exactly what classrooms need. She will fight for smaller class sizes, better starting pay to attract and retain top-tier educators, guaranteed universal free school meals, expanded career and technical education (CTE) and apprenticeship programs, and comprehensive mental health services for all ages in local schools.
Lowering the Cost of Living: Churches is committed to making life more affordable for Downriver families. She is championing a plan to cap the out-of-pocket costs of insulin, inhalers, and other life-saving prescription drugs. Furthermore, she supports strictly banning auto insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, and monopoly utility companies from price-gouging consumers.
Taking on Utility Monopolies: Standing up to powerful special interests, Churches proudly rejects gifts, meals, and campaign contributions from DTE and big tech companies looking to build data centers in the community. She is pushing a plan to ban monopoly utility companies from passing the costs of their corporate advertising, private jets, and executive bonuses onto ratepayers. She also wants to legally ban these monopolies from giving campaign cash and trips to the politicians who regulate energy bills, and stop the rate hikes that are putting pressure on Downriver families.
Jaime also knows Downriver needs strict regulations on new data center developments. She has a plan to put Downriver before big corporations and data centers by stopping them from passing energy costs on to families, protecting our air and water with the strongest environmental safeguards in the country, and making data centers pay their fair share to support local communities.
Putting People Over Profits
Jaime Churches’ campaign is entirely grassroots and community-focused. She has never accepted campaign contributions from corporate PACs because she flatly refuses to be reliant on the insurance, utility, and chemical companies that do harm to Downriver communities. As she seeks to reclaim her seat and return to Lansing, her focus remains exactly where it has always been: on the students, the workers, and the families who call Downriver home.