Joanna Whaley on Faith, Putting People First, and Downriver’s Future

On today’s Daily Detroit, our conversations is with Joanna Whaley, a Democrat running in the primary for State House District 2, covering Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Melvindale and Southgate.

Whaley is not a typical candidate. She’s a former evangelical pastor, a seminary-trained theologian, a clinical spiritual care provider in a hospital, and a trans woman who has spent the last several years doing LGBTQ+ rights work inside religious spaces across Michigan and beyond.

In this candid conversation, Whaley shares how pressure from both faith communities and local organizers pushed her from the pulpit toward politics.. and why she finally said yes.

For her, she says the job is less about making viral clips and more about showing up in rooms where people don’t always agree with her — then staying long enough to hear what they actually need.

The discussion also touches on the “K-shaped” economy we're in and what that looks like in inner-ring suburbs that helped build Metro Detroit’s middle class but now feel ignored by Lansing.

Whaley details what she’s hearing at doors and coffee hours: workers stuck in multiple part-time jobs, ACA premiums and deductibles spiking, and residents who are wary of being left holding the bag again.

That includes a proposed AI data center near the iconic tire along I‑94.

There's a lot in about 20 minutes to unpack, and I hope you get something interesting out of it.

Her campaign website: https://www.joannawhaley.com/

Free coffee and conversation, this Saturday morning the 17th at the studio: https://www.facebook.com/share/14XWN3tcPNo/

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