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Julie M. Rogers

2022 KCDP endorsement for Michigan State Representative in District 41

Michigan State Representative Julie M. Rogers

About Rep. Julie M. Rogers

Julie Rogers is currently serving as:

  • State Representative for Michigan’s District 60
  • Assistant Democratic Floor Leader, with a long history of serving the Kalamazoo community
  • Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners, fourth term
  • National Association of Counties Health Steering Committee member for six years, having served as its past Vice Chair
  • Democratic Vice Chair House Military, Veterans, and Homeland Security Committee
  • House Appropriations Committee Member
  • Legislative Arts & Culture caucus co-chair

She also started Kalamazoo’s first legislative Youth Advisory Council. Youth philanthropy and youth grant-making programs bring together young people, typically from a defined community, school system, or region to learn about social problems and make funding decisions.

Rep. Rogers’ Priorities

  1. IMPROVE HEALTH CARE

Rep. Rogers is a practicing physical therapist at Ascension Borgess Hospital, serving on its Diversity Council. She gives you the advantage of being a healthcare professional who believes that healthcare is a right, and that everyone should have access to treatment, affordable medication, and mental healthcare.  

Her 22-year career as a physical therapist has led her to become a champion of public health, serving on the National Association of Counties Health Steering Committee for seven years, as well as the West Michigan Cancer Center Board and coaching Girls on the Run. 

She pledges to work to protect and enhance Healthy Michigan, which provides access to health coverage for more than 500,000 Michiganders under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. 

  1. PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT 

Rep. Rogers has worked to clean up and rehabilitate contaminated properties in ways that create jobs and foster economic growth.  As a County Commissioner she championed the county’s first sustainability policy and saw it implemented as a permanent part of the annual budget. She also introduced several bills to prevent lead poisoning and has had thousands of community conversations to decrease lead exposure.

  1. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Rep. Rogers believes that, in order to be tough on crime, it is essential that we be serious about justice for everyone.  

She passed her first bill, HB 4854, as part of a bipartisan Sexual Assault Prevention and Education bill package.

She supports keeping non-violent offenders out of the prison system, thus allowing them to remain productive members of society, while freeing up resources for law enforcement. As a County Commissioner she helped procure a MacArthur Family Foundation grant to reduce the number of young adults in our county jail.  She worked to re-establish the Kalamazoo Criminal Justice Council, which focuses on reducing incarceration.

  1. STRENGTHEN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE

Rep. Rogers believes that Michigan is only as strong as our infrastructure. We require progressive government policy to construct, maintain, and repair our roads, bridges, dams, and water pipes. Michigan’s grade for its current infrastructure is D+. Rep. Rogers collaborated with colleagues in the State House and Senate to secure $3 million for the reconstruction of the US 131 business interchange. She voted to support SB 565, a $4 billion infrastructure package to repair roads and dams, replace lead pipes, upgrade our state parks, and expand our internet capabilities. As your State Representative, she will continue to work to expand and protect our infrastructure to improve quality of life for all Michiganders.

  1. HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES

Rep. Rogers fights every day to make this state and our district more welcoming and equitable, and is a supporter of human rights, pledging to fight against the divisive policies that weaken us. She states, “Whether it’s achieving equal pay for women, ending over-policing in communities of color, amending the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ+ citizens, or improving access to a safe and modern education for every Michigan student, there is a lot of work to do, and I am ready to do it.” 

Rep. Rogers has introduced legislation to improve access to reproductive healthcare, end over-policing of communities of color, and include protections for LGBTQIA+ Michiganders. She fights to strengthen protections for every parent who wishes to adopt a child, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and to prohibit insurance companies from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

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