Overview
- State Rep. Yousef Rabhi is serving in his third term representing the 53rd House District, which includes parts of the city of Ann Arbor and portions of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Scio townships. Rabhi serves as Floor Leader for the House Democratic Caucus. State representatives are term limited to 3 terms, and Yousef was elected in November 2022 to return to the Washtenaw County as a Commissioner. Before his time as State Representative, Yousef served for six years as a Washtenaw County Commissioner, leading the Board as its Chair during the 2013-14 term. During his time on the Board, Yousef served on nearly 20 different boards, committees, and commissions covering public safety, public works, solid waste management, transportation, regional cooperation, human service funding, land preservation, and food policy, among others. (Source: https://www.voterabhi.com/about-yousef.html)
- As a legislator, Yousef has introduced transformative policies to tackle climate change and move our state toward a renewable energy future. His first bill that was signed into law was PA 118, which eliminated a significant barrier for home solar projects, saving hundreds of dollars for many Ann Arbor residents. (Source: https://www.voterabhi.com/about-yousef.html)
During his terms as State Rep. Yousef introduced many bills that tackle climate change and promote “Green New Deal” types of legislation at the state level. Examples include:
- Democratic legislation that would strengthen Michigan drinking water regulations for perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOS and PFOA, which may increase the risk of cancer and thyroid disease. He championed the cause of holding accountable Tribar, a serial offender discharging PFAS in to the Huron River (and the source of most of Ann Arbor’s drinking water).
- Multiple bills that aim to protect Michigan’s waterways from corporate interests and hold polluters fiscally responsible for contaminating natural resources. During his tenure, many bills were introduced to protect Michigan waters, and he opposedLine 5reopening.
- State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) and State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) introduced bills that would require all of Michigan utilities’ energy generation to be renewable by 2050.
- Democratic legislation that would strengthen Michigan drinking water regulations for perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOS and PFOA, which may increase the risk of cancer and thyroid disease. He championed the cause of holding accountable Tribar, a serial offender discharging PFAS in to the Huron River (and the source of most of Ann Arbor’s drinking water).
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU, and I'd like to welcome you to the first edition of Issues of the Environment for 2023. For many of us, it will be a year of change and hopefully growth. For some, what was once old will become new again. Our guest today is Yousef Rabhi. And after serving three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives, Rabhi is returning to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Rabhi was elected to the eighth District Commission seat in the November elections and will be sworn in to the board tonight, where he first served in 2010 as a 22 year-old University of Michigan student. Now he's going to bring a great deal of political experience back to the Commissioners' table. And, today, we'll take a look at what that may mean for environmental policy and priorities. Yousef Rabhi, Happy New Year and thank you for the time.
Yousef Rabhi: Well, thank you so much, David. It's an honor to be here on the first Issues of the Environment of 2023.
David Fair: I'm looking back on your six years in the State House, and it was clear from the outset environmental issues were among those at the top of your priority list. Where in your estimation, and upon reflection, were the greatest areas of progress?
Yousef Rabhi: Well, no, it's great to have been able to serve in Lansing. And, definitely, the environment has been my top priority as a state legislator. You know, I think we've made a lot of progress in a lot of different areas. But one of the ones I'd like to highlight is around solar energy. The first bill I actually ever got signed was around solar energy and reducing barriers for people to be able to put solar on their own homes. It was actually signed by the governor in 2019 on a solar panel, which was kind of fun. And I actually got to keep that solar panel, which was hanging in my office for many years.
David Fair: And, as you say, most successful, and it is meaningful and will continue to grow as we move forward. But you did introduce a number of bills that would have offered greater protections and advancements in improving and sustaining our environmental health. Many failed to get through with some never even making it out of committee. Do you feel as though you leave Lansing having left anything unfinished on the table, given the politics of the day and the makeup of the state Legislature you were working within?
Yousef Rabhi: Well, right. I mean, serving in the minority for six years, it was difficult to get too much of those transformational bills accomplished. But just to give you a highlight of some of the bills that I introduced, you know, probably one of the main ones was polluter pay. That one definitely got a lot of traction, got a lot of attention, you know, and was a really good piece of legislation. I introduced legislation around 100% renewable energy, other bills around allowing more solar installations in the state of Michigan. I introduced a bill to ban polystyrene, ban PFAS on food packaging and consumer products. I mean, that was part of a bill package that I drafted and worked with several colleagues on to. My bill would put groundwater in the public trust in the state of Michigan to avoid, you know, companies like Nestlé taking our groundwater. One other one I do want to highlight really quickly was my last public act that was signed into law was actually a bill to expand environmental protections at landfills. And it passed the House in 2021 and stayed in the Senate for over a year. And, suddenly, in the last week of session, we were able to dislodge it and got it passed through the Senate, signed by the governor. It was part of a broad bill package around recycling and basically turning waste into recoverable material. And my bill, like I said, is around basically expanding environmental protections at landfills. So, that was signed into law, which was actually really great to have as my last public act.
David Fair: Yeah. Nice way to tie things up there.
Yousef Rabhi: Yes, absolutely. And the last thing I'll say, too, is I have a lot of hope in terms of passing the baton on to the next generation of legislators. There has been so much interest, David, from these new legislators coming in. I've gotten call after call after call from new folks saying, "Hey, I want to introduce polluter pay. I want to introduce these bills that you've been working on." So, I really feel like the work that I've done is not going to, you know, kind of just go away. It is going to continue. And I'm going to be actively involved in making sure that those bills and those ideas see some success in the new political environment and the new majority.
David Fair: 89 one WEMU's Issues of the Environment and our conversation with Washtenaw County Commissioner-elect Yousef Rabhi continues. He will be sworn into that position tonight. As I mentioned, Yousef served on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners from 2010 to 2016 and, during that time, served on a number of committees dealing with environmental, health and safety. Now, in 2023, he returns to the board, winning election in the eighth District. I'm curious, Yousef, as to what lessons you may have learned about process and procedure and negotiation in Lansing that may prove valuable in your return to county office.
Yousef Rabhi: Well, definitely an invaluable experience. And, you know, there was so much that we had to do working with, you know, people that we didn't agree with, frankly, and finding ways to message around environmental issues that would appeal to, you know, different people from different parts of the state who maybe don't share the same political party or the same political views. I mean, we were able to do that with solar energy and a lot of different other issues, you know, of of the environment. And I hope to apply that as a county commissioner now. Those learned experiences to help Washtenaw County be successful in the context that we now have, which is, you know, this new trifecta majority, this is going to be absolutely critical for us as Washtenaw County to step up right now and be leaders in the environmental and sustainability space. And, as you know, as we've discussed quite a bit over the years, when I was a county commissioner, you know, we worked on that plastic bag ordinance. That was huge. We had an environmental procurement policy ordinance that we worked on. And there's more work that can be continued on that. As you know, the state of Michigan took our ability away as the county to actually regulate plastic bags or other single-use plastics. And that's something that I think the Legislature needs to take a hard look at to reverse, so that we can, as Washtenaw County or even as the City of Ann Arbor or other cities across Washtenaw County are trying to change.
David Fair: I think Chelsea was trying to ban them as well. Yeah.
Yousef Rabhi: Yes. So, they can take action. So, we need to reverse those laws.
David Fair: When you left the county board in 2016, you were dealing with the issue of an expanding Gelman one-four dioxane plume. It is still expanding and moving ever closer to the Huron River and Ann Arbor municipal water supply. With that matter still tied up in the courts and not really in a transparent manner, what more can you do as a county board and as a individual county commissioner?
Yousef Rabhi: Well, when I was at the state, obviously, I had, you know, a bigger platform. But, in some ways, as a county commissioner, I think I can have even more influence because the county is a party to that lawsuit. And, you know, there is that opportunity to weigh in as sort of a more involved, you know, elected official by virtue of the body on which I serve. And so, that will be an opportunity, and I look forward to continuing that work. Obviously, as a state rep over the last six years, you know, one of the things that we also were focused on was that PFAS contamination in the river that, you know, Tribar and the scare around hexavalent chromium. You know, there's just so many attacks right now on our water--on our drinking water. You know, I mean, obviously Gelman's been going on for many years, and it's been something I've been involved in for the entire 12 years that I've been in public service. But there's constant attacks coming almost on a on a weekly or monthly basis, it seems. And there's so much that we need to be doing to protect our water.
David Fair: Once again, we're talking with eighth District Washtenaw County Commissioner-elect Yousef Rabhi on Issues of the Environment. He'll be sworn in tonight. The Resilient Washtenaw Climate Action Plan is kicking off. It's going to work in concert with Ann Arbor's A2Zero plan as we work toward carbon neutrality. For these plans to reach their goals, a lot of work and a lot of investment is needed and in relatively quick fashion. As you step back into your role as commissioner, do you feel like the board and county government has what it needs to attain its goals?
Yousef Rabhi: I think it's on the right path. And I commend the work of many who served in the six years that I was not at the county, you know, who really helped to set the county on a course of having these discussions of creating, you know, the environmental commission and other organizations that will that will help to have this conversation and move the county, you know, down the field, so to speak. So, I think a lot of progress has been made, and I look forward to coming back and joining in that effort and, hopefully, taking it to the next level, taking the experiences that I've learned in Lansing as your legislator and applying them locally, so that we can, you know, advance these issues and bring Washtenaw County as the leader--THE leader--in the state on sustainability issues. That's definitely something I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and doing.
David Fair: So, what are you going to miss most about working in the state Legislature? The daily drive to Lansing?
Yousef Rabhi: I probably won't miss that. I won't miss that. But, you know, one of the things I think that's really been an honor for me is to have the opportunity to, you know, go into work every day and do two things. The first is to serve people in a way that...you know, we got calls from folks all across our district and, frankly, across the county that were struggling and to have the opportunity to serve them, to help them get food assistance or unemployment benefits, all that stuff. You know, that was a hugely important part of the last six years for me and really serving the people in that way. And the second one was, you know, there is so much money and influence from the lobbyists and politics that, you know, being able to stand in that room and with that voting button and to be, you know, basically in this constant onslaught of pressure. And I have been really proud to basically come out after six years with my head held high and without having been basically, you know, influenced by that money and that, you know, those lobbyists. And to be able to vote my conscience and vote my district every single time, you know, and feeling like I made tough decisions, but I made them, so that I could sleep at night. And because they were the right things to do. I didn't sell out. And I think that was probably my greatest accomplishment.
David Fair: Well, thank you very much for the last six years in Lansing. We look forward to your work on the county board. And I look forward to our next conversation.
Yousef Rabhi: Absolutely. Thank you for all your good work.
David Fair: That is Yousef Rabhi, newly elected member of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, having just completed three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives. I'm David Fair. And you've been listening to Issues of the Environment, produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner. This is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM Ypsilanti.
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