Meet John Paul
A Family Built on Perseverance
John Paul and his wife, Anna, have proudly raised their two daughters in Waterford for over 27 years. They are high-school sweethearts who married and started a family young. They both prioritized education and worked minimum wage jobs while putting each other through school. Their oldest daughter now works as an attorney. Their journey together is a story of love, sacrifice, and hard work. It is the driving force behind John Paul’s every endeavor and he's running to make sure every hard working family is able to succeed in the same way.
The American Dream
John Paul's story is a powerful testament to the American Dream forged by the values of family, integrity, and community. Raised as the youngest of three brothers in a tight-knit family, his foundations were laid by two extraordinary parents.
John Paul's father was an autoline worker, and a proud member of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). He was proud of his union, and served as Union Delegate over the years. He started out at Pontiac Motors, later went on to Buick City and Willow Run. His father is a former undocumented immigrant that later went on to become a U.S.Citizen and serve in the United States Army. He has always been profoundly proud of his father. He taught him and his brothers about grit, determination, standing by your principles and always fighting for what you believe in. John Paul wants to push for comprehensive immigration reform. He believes in a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in this country that work hard everyday and help keep our businesses and communities afloat.
John Paul’s mother was a lifelong servant leader and pioneer as Pontiac's first bilingual social worker. She believed in service to community, even as a young woman she was recognized as a Youth Leader in Pontiac for her works with St. Vincent DePaul, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. She was the matriarch of the family. She passed away when John Paul was 24 years old, but her lasting impact has been profound.
Baby John Paul
Experience That Counts
John Paul represents a blend of real-world experience and deep policy knowledge. He has worked on the court end of the criminal justice system for almost 25 years, helping keep communities safe and administering programs that help assist those with substance use disorder or mental illness. He has been a probation officer, program director and court administrator working his way from the entry level to the top. He knows what it's like to be a lower level worker having to implement the policies created by the administrators. For most of his career he has been a proud union member (AFSCME) and his wife a member of the UAW.
John Paul has been pivotal in Juvenile Justice Reform in Michigan. He spent a portion of his career with the Michigan Supreme Court (SCAO) helping implement juvenile justice reform. Considered to be the largest overhaul of Juvenile Justice in the country, he worked to seek better outcomes for youths and families, not detention or incarceration.
John Paul has served on the Waterford School Board for the past decade. As a School Board Trustee, he represents approximately 100,000 people in the 11th Congressional District: Waterford, Lake Angeles, Portions of White Lake and West Bloomfield. He has advocated for increased funding for students, assisted to assure children have food, assure kids are safe and socio-emotional programs are in place. John Paul believes in public education, and stands strong to defend our curriculums, teachers and systems under attack by the Trump administration. He believes in increased funding at the federal level for students, including those with disabilities, at-risk students and funds to recuperate learning loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Support for Legal Pathways to Citizenship
Straight out of college, John Paul was selected as a Congressional Fellow on Capitol Hill, where he was assigned to a U.S. Congresswoman on the powerful Education and Workforce Committee. This pivotal role allowed him to contribute to early discussions on the DREAM Act, foundational work that would later inform the successful DACA program under the Obama Administration and emphasizes his belief in the power of legal pathways to citizenship.
Dedicated to Education for All
As an educator at heart, John Paul spent a decade as an Adjunct Professor at Oakland Community College (OCC). He started out at OCC himself when he was a 19 year old father going to night school. He taught Introduction to American Government, and sections in International Relations. He has proudly watched many of his students go on to thrive in careers in public service.
John Paul's commitment to excellence is reflected in his education: he holds a B.A. in Political Science from Oakland University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan, and has post-graduate works in Public Policy and International Relations. He doesn't just talk about policy; he understands how to write it, teach it, and make it work for Michigan.
