Veronica Paiz
2025 - Present
2027
0
Veronica Paiz (Democratic Party) is a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 10. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Paiz (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 10. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Paiz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Veronica Paiz was born in San Antonio, Texas. Paiz earned a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in 1980 and a graduate degree from New York University in 1992. She has served as a member of the Michigan Municipal League's Municipal Services and Elections Committees, an alternate voting delegate with Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, the director of Casa de Unidad, a member of the Recreation Advisory Board, a trustee of a local library board, a member of the New Detroit Inc. Cultural Exchange Network, and an executive board member of the Michigan Democratic Party Hispanic Latino Caucus. Paiz has also been affiliated with Focus: HOPE, the U-M Musical Society, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public TV, and the Harper Woods K-9 Program fundraising committee for Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society.[1][2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Paiz was assigned to the following committees:
- House Agriculture Committee, Majority Vice Chair
- Education Committee
- Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee
- Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent Veronica Paiz defeated Griffin Wojtowicz in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 10 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Veronica Paiz (D) | 67.4 | 34,025 | |
| Griffin Wojtowicz (R) | 32.6 | 16,426 | ||
| Total votes: 50,451 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent Veronica Paiz defeated Justin Counts in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 10 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Veronica Paiz | 76.3 | 8,850 | |
| Justin Counts | 23.7 | 2,748 | ||
| Total votes: 11,598 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 10
Griffin Wojtowicz advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 10 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Griffin Wojtowicz | 100.0 | 3,756 | |
| Total votes: 3,756 | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
2022
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 11
Veronica Paiz defeated Mark T. Foster in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 11 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Veronica Paiz (D) | 66.6 | 23,656 | |
| Mark T. Foster (R) | 33.4 | 11,882 | ||
| Total votes: 35,538 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 11
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 11 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Veronica Paiz | 18.9 | 1,844 | |
| Ricardo White | 18.1 | 1,768 | ||
| Alex Manwell | 15.3 | 1,491 | ||
| Regina Williams | 14.5 | 1,415 | ||
| Athena L. Thornton | 10.2 | 994 | ||
| Marvin Cotton Jr. | 7.8 | 764 | ||
| David Maynard | 7.2 | 701 | ||
| Paul Francis | 4.9 | 478 | ||
| Patrick Biange | 3.0 | 296 | ||
| Total votes: 9,751 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joe Fresard (D)
- Lawanda Turner (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 11
Mark T. Foster defeated Christopher Jeffery in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 11 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark T. Foster | 53.2 | 2,526 | |
| Christopher Jeffery | 46.8 | 2,220 | ||
| Total votes: 4,746 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Veronica Paiz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Paiz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a first-term representative for State House District 11; I'm running for re-election in the newly re-districted State House District 10 -- which includes the five Grosse Pointe cities, Harper Woods, and Detroit east side communities of Yorkshire Woods, Cornerstone Village, East English Village, and Morningside.
As a State Rep., I serve on the following committees: Higher Education; Local Gov't. and Municipal Finance; Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation; Agriculture (Majority Vice Chair). I'm a member of the following caucuses: Detroit; Legislative Latino; Legislative Disability; Autism; Labor; Poverty & Homelessness; Progressive Women's.
I am a Midwest States Executive Committee member of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. I was the 2nd Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Hispanic Latino Caucus, and a former Exec. Board member of the Grosse Pointe Democratic Club.
I served on Harper Woods City Council from 2015 - 2022, and was a member of the Parks & Rec and Library Boards prior to Council.
I'm a former Master Gardener, and I have arts degrees from Wayne State University and New York University. My work experience includes Detroit Public TV, Focus: HOPE, and Casa de Unidad. I was born in San Antonio, TX, raised in Michigan, and lived in New York. My husband and I have lived in Harper Woods for 25 years.
I have always loved being active in and engaged with my community.
- Experience matters. I will continue work with my Democrat colleagues to create and pass meaningful legislation. This past year, we have worked on -- and passed --legislation which became laws to protect reproductive healthcare; increase tax credits for families; provide no-charge meals for public school students; add civil rights protections for LGBTQ+; protect voting rights and safe elections; established gun safety regulations; and repealed the Republican tax on pensions. There's more work to do, and my experience as a first-term legislator has prepared me to continue and uplift that work.
- Representation matters. I'm focused on my constituents. I make myself available to District residents, have frequent coffee hours, attend community meetings and events, and work with constituents on their ideas for legislation. My office is quick to respond to constituent concerns and resolve problems.
- Diversity matters. Keeping the Democrat majority in the State House ensures legislation that recognizes the diversity of our communities and representation in state government. As the only incumbent State House Representative of Hispanic/Latino descent, I will continue to advocate for equitable and mindful legislation addressing the concerns of all people of color and underserved communities.
a) Urban agriculture. b) Disabilities (healthcare and workforce). c) Labor. d) Environment. e) Local government. f) Senior citizens. g) Any policy that my constituents bring to my attention.
An elected official must be ethical, responsible, dependable, patient, resilient, curious, and have a strong work ethic.
Availability and accountability to constituents, and working first and foremost with them in mind.
Lewis Hyde's "The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property". It's examination of cultural anthropology and the meaning of a gift is interesting and useful.
Ideally, that we're on the same page about the concerns and needs of Michiganders and how best to address them.
1) Staying a democracy; 2) Civil rights; 3) Labor shortages; 4) Environment and climate change.
Yes. With 110 state representatives, it's best to have good working relationships for shared resources and a diversity of insights about problem solving and proposed legislation.
Michigan House of Representatives Speaker of the House Joe Tate, and Senator Kevin Hertel. A list of other endorsements can be found on my campaign website.
I currently sit on the House policy committees that I asked to serve on: Agriculture (Majority Vice Chair); Higher Education; Local Government; Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation. Going forward, I'm also interested in Labor and Housing, and Appropriations.
I believe strongly in both, and believe the laws should be stronger than they are at this time.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Veronica Paiz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Paiz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a 20+ year resident of Harper Woods and State House District 11, which includes most of St. Clair Shores in Macomb County (where I grew up), Detroit east side neighborhoods (where my husband and I met) and all of Harper Woods in Wayne County.
I was elected to City Council in 2015 and 2019, and have been active in my community for 15 years. I am a member of the Michigan Municipal League legislative committees for Elections and Municipal Services, and Michigan Women in Municipal Government.
I know from experience how local and State governments work and I have seen how legislation directly affects local government’s power and resources and equitable impact on communities.
As an Executive Board member of the Michigan Democratic Party Hispanic Latino Caucus, and as a woman, I know the importance of representation in government.
I believe our elected representatives must be passionate, committed, experienced, and have the public’s trust. I am running for office because I have proven myself to be the best candidate to represent the people of this District and work for meaningful change in the lives of Michiganders.
- Knowledge, experience and leadership. In seven years on the Harper Woods City Council, I’ve seen up close how legislation – good and bad – impacts the people of this District and I’ve come to understand the legislation our cities need to function and do the right thing for its residents. I have supported and advocated for laws which help Michigan residents, and have been vocal with our elected representatives about my opposition to others. As your representative in our State legislature, I will continue my advocacy and draft legislation representing the best interests of all people of District 11.
- I will focus on concerns of residents in State House District 11: legislation for equitable public school funding and equal education; ecologically responsible infrastructure for clean drinking water, to control shoreline flooding and prevent sewage spills into our homes and lake; home repair grants for low income senior homeowners; low cost childcare for working parents; a state recycling program; and safeguarding elections and voting rights. I will also advocate for people with disabilities and seniors, and will address local property tax concerns. I will continue to work with fellow Democrats for the diverse needs of all Michiganders, including expanding food security legislation, repealing “right to work” laws, and ending pension taxes.
- Lived experiences that unite this diverse District. Diverse communities have an immediate need for representation by leaders who reflect and understand that diversity. District 11 is both urban and suburban - I have lived in both environments and understand both the various and similar needs of residents. As a woman, a person of color and someone who grew up in a family on public assistance, I also understand the experiences of others with similar identities. I will work for strong legislation that is sensible and equitable to lift up all residents of District 11.
My overriding interest is social justice, which is a fairly broad umbrella. I believe that good legislation is equitable legislation. With that in mind….
I am passionate about public services legislation, including labor; the quality of our public services reflect the fairness and efficacy of our legislation and our general welfare – we live it and can see it up close and personal in our daily lives and the lives of others. Equally passionate about municipal autonomy. I’ve seen residents bear the brunt of legislation that prevents their city from responding to their needs.
I am passionate about environmental legislation (ergo, zoning legislation), which I believe is just as much about public health and pollution as it is about climate change.
I am passionate about women’s rights – which include the right to body autonomy (and abortion), and any legislation that protects women (such as the Violence Against Women Act, court reform, etc.).
I am passionate about health reform (health and medical accessibility, costs, caretakers, etc.)
The past couple of years I’ve become especially passionate about election law and voting rights, and the urgency of immediate action.
There are a good number of people that I admire and for different reasons.
Politically, and more recently, I admire:
Stacey Abrams, U.S. Representatives Katie Porter, and Tim Kaine.
Stacey Abrams for her organizing skills and dedication to voting rights, but just as importantly because she stays focused and keeps her eyes on the prize.
Katie Porter because she doesn’t beat around the bush and just gets down to business real quick (and her advocacy for consumers).
Tim Kaine for his experience and because he’s come up through the political ranks – he has served at every level of government and fully knows and understands how local, state, and federal governments operate.
Personally, I admire my paternal grandfather. He was left at the Mexico - U.S. border when he was a kid, raised himself, met my grandmother while working on a cotton farm, raised 11 kids (9 of his own), and had a successful grocery store business. All of his sons served in the U.S. military. He was hardworking, generous, committed, and a family man.
I believe a representative of any elected office has both duties and responsibilities.
The duties of a representative are understanding, listening to and collaborating with the people you serve and who elected you, keeping them informed and continuing to be regularly involved with the community.
A core responsibility is to follow through, be mindful, and do right by them – to first work in the best interests of the people and District they were elected to represent. I believe there is a responsibility for due diligence – finding facts and research, consulting for expertise, and collaborating with fellow representatives for perspective and support to pass legislation.
Over my years on the Harper Woods City Council, residents have held me accountable and shown confidence in my work for them; I will continue this work to fulfill both my duties and responsibilities to the people of District 11.
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder, cover by Tori Kelly.
Being diagnosed with an auto-immune illness when I was younger, and the treatment for the following ten years was a long term struggle. Besides feeling horrible, my physical abilities became limited during that time, there were side effects from the medications, difficulties in doing my job (I was lucky to have a sympathetic employer), and dealing with the financial costs of having an illness.
For as terrible a situation it was, it jolted me into awareness of the many ways illness can peripherally wreak havoc in someone’s life and family and their self-identity.
I know these issues, I know others who every day face these and similar challenges themselves or in trying to get care and support for a family member. It has prompted my interest in health and insurance legislation, even labor issues for caretakers and healthcare workers.
Absolutely yes in government, and especially for State Representatives who serve only two year terms.
Any legislator should start the job already having been active in the community and working on the people’s behalf; there’s no time for a possibly risky learning curve.
Yes. I believe it’s always good to establish working relationships with colleagues in any line of work and build alliances.
In the case of Michigan State House Districts’ over 100 representatives, we need to learn about and understand common (or not) concerns and issues of all Michiganders. Also, building alliances offers a diversity of perspectives and can make us aware of challenges of other people throughout the State, which can lead to positive and comprehensive legislation.
I believe compromise is sometimes necessary for better legislation or to prevent worst case scenarios.
However, for as much as I believe in a means to an end, I also believe that good legislation isn’t a compromise of values or the integrity of the people I would represent. There may be times when compromise isn’t in the best interest of the people of District 11.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 10 to December 23.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 11 to November 14.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Michigan House of Representatives District 10 |
Officeholder Michigan House of Representatives District 10 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 1, 2022
- ↑ Michigan House Democrats, "Meet. Rep Paiz," accessed April 30, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph Tate (D) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 10 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Jewell Jones (D) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 11 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by Donavan McKinney (D) |
