The Party’s core principles reflect our values as Americans, Michiganders, and residents of Livingston County. We believe that:
People who work deserve good, safe jobs with benefits and enough weekly hours to allow them to provide security and opportunity to themselves and their families. We favor a significantly higher minimum wage and workers’ right to form or join unions.
Government has an affirmative role to play in providing essential high-quality public amenities, including police, fire, education, roads, public transit, and where needed food, shelter, and counseling services. Having effective, well-funded preschool and K-12 education and affordable internet access are critical to restoring our young people’s economic mobility.
These services are worth paying income, sales, and property taxes to maintain and continuously improve. Whenever feasible, these taxes should be progressive, reflecting high income taxpayers’ greater ability to pay.
Government spending should focus on providing security and opportunity rather than on punishing victim-less crime, as in the wasteful and ineffective “war on drugs.” There are more humane and cost-effective ways to address drug use and other petty offenses than to expand our jails and lock up so many of our people.
Government should be accessible and elections fair. We support making it easier, not harder to vote, and we oppose gerrymandering to create "safe" electoral districts.
Government should be transparent and accountable. Having a minimum of secrecy and engaging in spirited debate around critical issues are critical to building and maintaining the reputation of public service, which has suffered under the County’s in-grown, old-boys-club Republican rule.
We believe that public policy must respect everyone in the community, so we support the civil rights of women, minorities, and LGBT individuals.
Our air and water belong to all of us, and should not be put at risk for such private purposes as fracking, particularly in the absence of meaningful, fully enforced regulation.