Job Creation
For 25 years, I have owned and operated DCG Inc., a small business located in downtown Mount Pleasant. I proudly employ hardworking Michiganders, and do all I can to support our Mount Pleasant community by fostering economic growth. As a small-business owner, I know how important small businesses are to the growth and success of Michigan’s economy. I know that small businesses bring jobs to local communities, and foster economic growth on both a local and statewide level. Most importantly, I know what Michigan needs to bring its economy back, and I am ready to get to work in the Legislature finding innovative ways to bring more jobs to the state.
To start, I would end tax breaks to big corporations that fail to create jobs or move their operations out of state and transfer those savings back into the pockets of middle-class families and seniors who have struggled under the recent tax shift. As your representative, I would do everything possible to support small businesses and entrepreneurs, because that is where most new jobs come from. I am ready to go to Lansing and fight hard to protect Michigan’s small businesses and bring more jobs to our state. Because I want Michigan to be the best it can be, and I’m confident that with your support, it will.
Transparency
Ever since Republicans took control of Lansing in 2011, they have operated under a shroud of secrecy on everything they do. They continue to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests while refusing to even take up legislation to expand the reaches of FOIA. How can we trust a government that operates this way? They answer to no one and have zero accountability.
In my time as a Union Township trustee, I have worked diligently to root out corruption at the local government level. I understand that a government must work for its people, not special interests behind closed doors. When I get to Lansing, I will expand it to the entire state of Michigan to make sure that the curtain is pulled back on politicians so they can be held accountable.
Just as the representatives and other politicians in Lansing are elected by the people, they should be held accountable to the people. A government is working only if they work in the best interest of the people. If there is any secrecy, corruption can take root, and I will not stand for that. I'll also fight against backroom deals and wasteful spending like the Capitol View Boondoggle where $134 million of taxpayer money was spent on luxury offices that politicians don't need.
Education
It is no secret that recent legislative policies have devastated our schools, and I want to go to Lansing to fix that. Over the last five years, Republicans have continued to cut away at K-12 funding while making it more difficult for our kids to have a shot at a good education beyond high school without facing a mountain of debt afterwards. We can't price the next generation out of a strong future.
As the father of two grown girls, and the husband of a Mount Pleasant Public Schools employee, I know that our kids need a world-class education if they are to prepare for the high-paying careers of the future. And I know that in order to give them that education, we need to properly fund our district’s schools, which are still hundreds of thousands of dollars short of the funding they received before the fiscal year 2011/2012 cuts to education.
Rather than taking the Band-Aid approach that is favored by Republicans in Lansing, I will work to fix the underlying problems facing education in Michigan - a lack of funding. As your representative, I will fight to fully restore school funding so that all of our kids can get a fair shot at a good future. With your support, I know we can get Michigan’s education system moving in the right direction again.