According to a 2015 study completed by the National Conference of State Legislators, the average age of state legislators nationwide is 56. Democrat Yousef Rabhi may be half that age, but he is no stranger to politics. This past November, Rabhi was elected as the Michigan State Representative for District 53, which comprises Ann Arbor.

Rabhi participated in his first door-to-door campaign at age 3, when his preschool visited houses in the watershed of a stream segment the school had adopted to ask residents not to use pesticides on their lawns. This experience served as the catalyst for Rabhi’s community involvement and future entry into politics. Early in his college career, Rabhi fought unfair labor practices in South America and protested the war in Iraq, but he recognized that there were people going hungry and children failing to receive a proper education in his own community. “I started to consider how I could make Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County a microcosm of the world I wanted to see outside,” comments Rabhi.

While his campaign platform spanned Michigan's economy, education, social equity, and government transparency, his SNRE roots shone through on his goals for the environment. He plans to advocate for increasing Michigan’s renewable energy portfolio standard, take action on the Enbridge pipeline and habitat destruction, and promote environmental justice in vulnerable communities.

Rabhi has already demonstrated success as a member of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Elected to chair the board in his second term, Rabhi helped establish Washtenaw County’s first-ever four-year balanced budget and the Midwest’s first Municipal ID program, which enables undocumented and homeless individuals to obtain photo IDs that unlock access to municipal services, and oversaw the creation of the Washtenaw Dental Clinic for uninsured and Medicaid-eligible residents. Given the positive impact that he has had in Washtenaw County, Rabhi is poised to facilitate positive change for all Michigan residents as a member of the state legislature.