
Justin Onwenu
Justin Onwenu is a fourth-generation Detroiter, attorney, organizer, and the City of Detroit's first Director of Small Business Affairs. He is running for Michigan's 1st State Senate District, which includes Detroit, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge, and Wyandotte. Justin began his career as a community organizer in Detroit and Downriver, standing up to some of the most powerful polluters in the state, helping secure historic community investments, leading efforts to pass the Detroit River Protection Ordinance, and fighting for public health protections in Michigan's most heavily polluted zip codes. Because of his work, Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed him to Michigan's Advisory Council on Environmental Justice and Black Leadership Advisory Council. After Columbia Law School, Justin returned to Detroit to serve as the City's first Director of Small Business Affairs and to teach workers' rights as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Justin is running for State Senate to lower the cost of living, create good-paying jobs, protect clean air and clean water, strengthen public education, and restore trust in government. His campaign is rooted in the belief that Michigan needs a new generation of leaders who know how to organize, build coalitions, and deliver real results for working people.
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