8 | NOVEMBER 19 • 2020 

Jewfro
Glass All Over the Floor
H

ear that? The cathar-
tic sound of the pro-
verbial glass ceiling 
shattering on the presidential 
ticket. Drowning out the 
anti-demo-
cratic chanting 
Downtown and 
the foghorn of 
bullying, vitriolic 
disinformation 
we’
ve been sub-
jected to for the 
past four years. 
If you didn’
t hear those shards 
hitting the floor right away, 
it’
s because we are ever closer 
to gender equity in our legis-
lative and local leadership. 
The further you go down 
the ballot, the more direct 
the effect an elected offi-
cial has on your life. As my 
daughter and I were filling 
out our absentee ballot, it 
wasn’
t lost on her that we 
know three of the incredible 
women we were voting for. 
And I know better than 
to summarize, synopsize, 
synthesize or speculate when 
I could instead ask them to 
share their thoughts with 
you, my incisive and empa-
thetic readers:

Sarah 
Mountain, 
Board of 
Education 
Trustee, 
Berkley Schools
As a woman 
and a mother, 
I want my children to see 
me in a leadership role as an 
advocate for them and their 
education. From the time my 

three children, ages 6, 8 and 
12, started school, I’
ve been 
a volunteer in their class-
rooms and on the PTA, most 
recently serving as the PTA 
president at our elementary 
school. As I transition from 
school volunteer to elected 
board member, I feel I bring 
a unique and important 
perspective and voice to the 
board. When I take my seat 
in January, I will be the only 
board member with young 
children in the district. 
The decisions that the 
school board makes impacts 
parents’
 lives in a very con-
crete way; it’
s vital for young 
families to be represented on 
the board and in the deci-
sion-making process. While 
I know it may be a chal-
lenging job at times, being 
a voice for young parents in 
the district — championing 
our incredible teachers and 
showing my own children 
what it means to be a leader 
and advocate are why I ran 
for school board.

Jaimie Powell 
Horowitz, 
Judge, 45th 
District Court
Our district 
court system is 
where judges 
have the most 
contact with 
our citizens and 
where we have great oppor-
tunity to effect meaningful 
criminal justice reform. I 
look forward to continu-
ing the good work of Judge 
Appel and Judge Gubow 

with Mental Health Court 
and Veterans Court. I look 
forward to expanding our 
diversionary programs and 
addressing cash bail reform. 
Many people fear the 
criminal justice process and 
the judicial system. It is so 
important — now more than 
ever — that we elect pro-
gressive leaders committed 
to transparency, improving 
access to justice and ensur-
ing that those serving in our 
court system reflect the com-
munity racially, ethnically 
and religiously. 
Public service is a privi-
lege. I will remember that 
every day I take the bench 
and remember that I serve 
my neighbors and the cause 
of justice.

Regina 
Weiss, State 
Representative, 
27th District
I am excited, 
honored, and 
humbled to 
have been elect-
ed to serve the 
27th House District in the 
101st Legislature, the first in 
Michigan’
s history that will 
be majority female.
I currently work as a 
teacher in the Detroit Public 
Schools Community District 
and serve as an Oak Park 
City Councilperson. In both 
roles, I have seen firsthand 
the devastating effects of the 
pandemic on our schools 
and communities.
There is so much work 
to be done in Lansing to 

continue to address the 
COVID-19 crisis and so 
many other issues that have 
been exacerbated by the 
pandemic — from the lack of 
access to affordable housing 
and water, to the need for 
increased economic secu-
rity by guaranteeing paid 
sick leave, providing access 
to affordable childcare for 
working parents, raising the 
minimum wage and provid-
ing support for small busi-
ness to be able to afford to 
keep their doors open.
Historically, these issues 
have not been bipartisan, but 
I believe there is a lot that 
we can work on across party 
lines to put Michiganders’
 
health, safety and economic 
security first. 
Since the introduction of 
term limits, serving in the 
Legislature has been like 
running a relay race — you 
run as fast as you can and 
jump over as many hurdles 
as possible in the time you 
have to serve. 
Then you pass the baton to 
the next person and they just 
keep running. 
Fortunately, the 27th 
House District has a history 
of incredible leadership and 
service — David Gubow, 
Gilda Jacobs, Andy Meisner, 
Ellen Cogen Lipton and 
our current representative, 
Robert Wittenberg.
I’
m ready to take the baton 
on Jan. 1 and hit the ground 
running to continue building 
on the work that they have 
done to address critical issues 
in our district. 

Ben Falik

VIEWS

Sarah Mountain

BRETT MOUNTAIN

BRETT MOUNTAIN

Jaimie Powell 
Horowitz

Regina Weiss

