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Page 18 2016 Voter Guide League of Women Voters Biographical Info Michigan Representative – Vote For Not More Than 1 – Two Year Term KLINT KESTO, Republican Campaign Website: http://www.klintkesto.com/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StateRepresentativeKlintKesto/ Occupation / Current Position: State Representative, House District 39 Education: University of Michigan, Wayne State University Law School Qualifications / Experience: Klint has served as the State Representative for the 39th District since being elected in 2012. Klint served for more than five years as a prosecuting attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office. He is a manager of his family’s small business, Buscemi’s Pizza and Sub Shop. Klint also previously worked for the United States Department of Energy and the United States Department of Justice. MICHAEL STACK, Democrat Campaign Website: www.votemichaelstack.com Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/votemichaelstack Occupation / Current Position: Vice President of Sales & Distribution, Penguin Toilets, L.L.C. Education: Painters & Allied Trades Apprenticeship program. Completed four year trade program in two years. Qualifications / Experience: 10 years as a Walled Lake Village Councilman, President, Lakes Area Youth Assistance Program, Chairman of Taste of the Lakes, Board member of Coalition for Healthy Communities. BETH MCGRATH, No Party Affiliation MICHAEL D McCREADY, Republican Campaign Website: http://www.mccreadyforstaterep.com Facebook: http://https://www.facebook.com/mike.mccready.779?fref=ts Occupation / Current Position: State Representative 40th District Education: Bachelors of Science, Western Michigan University Qualifications / Experience: State Representative 40th District; Former Mayor and City Commissioner, City of Bloomfield Hills; Zoning Board Chairman and board member; Planning Board Liaison NICOLE BEDI, Democrat Campaign Website: http://www.votebedi.com Facebook: http://http://www.facebook.com/votebedi Occupation / Current Position: Registered Dietitian / parent to two beautiful girls. Education: Lincoln Park High School (1996), Michigan State University, B.S. in dietetics, B.S. in psychology (2001), Massachusetts General Hospital, Dietetic Internship (2002). Qualifications / Experience: I am a first time candidate. I became active with grassroots organizing after the murder of my colleague and have been on the leadership of the Michigan Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I have completed the inaugural session of Emerge Michigan, the premier program for recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office. MARTIN HOWRYLAK, Republican Campaign Website: www.howrylak.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Howrylak- ForStateHouse Twitter: @martinhowrylak Occupation / Current Position: CPA/State Representative Education: Master of Accounting, University of Michigan Bachelor of Science (Geological Sciences), University of Michigan Qualifications / Experience: State Representative since 2013; Troy City Council 2000-2011; Troy Mayor Pro-Tem 2002-03 and 2007-09; Owner of Howrylak & Company, PC (public accounting firm) since 2011; CPA since 2009; small business owner since 1990; Clawson Lions Club member; Priorities: What are your top three state legislative priorities and how would you address them? HHH District 39 HHH Fighting the opioid and prescription drug abuse epidemic -- As an assistant prosecutor, I saw first hand how this crisis has devastated families. I will continue to work to implement prevention and treatment programs that help save lives. Improve Michigan’s economy -- Create a climate that will allow businesses to create jobs, increase the wages for Michigan families, keep workers in the state, and reduce the tax burden on Michigan families. Improving roads and infrastructure -- We must spend taxpayer dollars efficiently to upgrade our state’s deteriorating roads and infrastructure. I want to see Michigan’s economy grow through stable job creation and by giving our kids a better chance at a well-funded higher education, while bringing greater transparency to state government. DID NOT RESPOND IN TIME FOR INCLUSION HHH District 40 HHH Ensuring an efficient and transparent state government with an annual balanced budget approved in a timely manner. Prioritize funding to ensure proper funding for schools, county and local government as well as address our infrastructure needs. Adopting policies and laws to foster and improve economic growth and development. Keeping communities safe through sensible policies to reduce the level of gun violence while respecting the rights of law-abiding responsible gun owners, including strengthening our background check system, implementing child access prevention laws, and keeping guns out of schools. Standing up for women and families by protecting the right of women to make their own reproductive choices and advocating for equal pay for equal work and family leave. Fixing a broken education system from ensuring universal early education, improving performance of our public schools, and promoting affordable higher education. HHH District 41 HHH Economic prosperity, Education excellence for all, Government transparency, integrity and accountability. Education: What measures do you support/propose to achieve improved educational outcomes for students and for school districts? It is our duty to provide the students of our state with a quality education that sets them up for success in the future. I was part of a legislature that this year allocated a record amount of funding to K-12 education. I work closely with local school officials, teachers, and administrators in the 39th District to better address their interests in Lansing. We must increase standards of learning. Also, we need to maintain funding for our schools and bring the lower funded districts up. Additionally, I believe that it is imperative that students are provided with more skilled trade training options. A better focus on teacher certification is needed, as well as funding fairness between for-profit and public schools. I support reducing our State’s reliance on complex testing and would rather adopt a simple, state determined testing assessment. I also support properly investing in our schools and adopting a school evaluation tool that all residents can understand. I believe that current term limits for legislators has led to frequent changes in the direction of education policy and curriculum, which has had an impact on our education system. As a state we need to recognize this shortcoming and work towards an education policy that is stable. We need to ensure that schools have the adequate funding that they need for a safe and healthy learning environment. Our schools need more than funding alone, they need a holistic plan guided by research, data collection, and transparency to make sure that our investments in education are working, and make changes when they are not. We need to maintain limits on the number of new schools that can open in a district, as districts that suffer low enrollment are suffering the most crippling debt. Charter schools should have to have the same transparency in financial reporting as public schools. Properly invest in schools. Don’t create winners and losers. While charter schools and alternatives to traditional public schools have a role in education, those pathways should not be funded at the expense of traditional school districts. We must reduce and eventually eliminate the unfunded pension liabilities. That debt burden reduces the effectiveness of education funding because it drains money from the classroom. We need to focus on the skills of the teachers, while also balancing accountability metrics. Reduce the overdependence on standardized tests and return the focus to curriculum, the family and the teacher
League of Women Voters 2016 Voter Guide Page 19 Michigan Representative – Vote For Not More Than 1 – Two Year Term Elections: What policy changes do you support regarding campaign funding and voting rights for Michigan voters? Economy: What policies do you support to increase jobs and help Michigan residents improve their economic position? HHH District 39 HHH Energy & Environment: What actions or policies do you support to meet Michigan energy needs while protecting our water, air and land for current and future generations? Voting rights are a cornerstone of our democracy. It is important that we uphold the integrity of each citizens’ vote. The entire election process should be one that encourages an informed constituency, and I will always work to protect this fundamental right. I support policies that eliminate the burdensome regulations that hinder the growth of business and job creation. As a small business owner, I understand the hard work that goes in to running a successful establishment. We must establish an economic climate that allows the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish, small business to succeed and create jobs, and reduce the tax burden on Michigan families. I support policies that keep hard-earned dollars in the pockets of hard-working taxpayers. It is important that our energy sources are safe, sustainable, and reliable. While we explore new energy sources, we must keep in mind the impact on Michigan residents paying for the energy. Increased rates will hurt Michigan families and businesses, yet we must be cognizant of have safe and reliable sources as well. As the Great Lakes State, Michigan is known for its unique and beautiful natural resources, and we must be responsible with these resources. Michigan’s great outdoors contribute to a tourism industry that is an important part of our state’s economy, and that contribution should be preserved. No-reason absentee voting must be enacted, as well as early voting, to get more voices involved. I also support more transparency in the way our elections are funded. Better educational training, including on-the- job training for those in skilled trades. Renewable, affordable energy must be made a priority with our funding and other legislative initiatives while also prioritizing job creation for Michigan residents. I support adopting a secure no reason absentee ballot policy for Michigan and other measures to ensure the integrity of our elections such as identification requirements at the ballot box, and maintaining a campaign funding system that is open and transparent. The state should also work with local clerks to identify and correct errors in the qualified voter file and maintain up to date voting equipment. DID NOT RESPOND IN TIME FOR INCLUSION HHH District 40 HHH Our tax and regulatory polices should be reasonable and not overly burdensome. I support reviewing current state laws and policies to identify places where the State can reduce its regulation of the free market. I also support lowering state income taxes from the current 4.25% to 3.9% and investing state funds into critical areas such as state infrastructure, education (K-12 and Higher Ed.), and public safety. With new federal mandates, Michigan must continue to work towards a robust energy policy that is specifically tailored to our state while focusing on the resources that our available to us in the Great Lakes region. I also support the State’s continued membership in the Great Lakes Water Consortium that works to protect our great lakes, so that our state can enjoy this natural resource for years to come. We need to improve the accountability and transparency of the campaign finance process. I support the initiative to lower the amount that PACs can give over individuals to decrease the influence of special interest groups over the amount allowed to Michigan citizens. Donors to super PACs should need to be disclosed. I would advocate for an automatic voter registration process, that one would require opt-out of instead of needing to opt-in, as well as online voter registration and same day voter registration on Election Day. I would advocate for everyone to be able to vote by mail or no-reason absentee ballots. We can strengthen the middle class with tax plans that benefit families, such as tax breaks for children, dependent care, senior citizens, and college affordability, instead of tax breaks to corporations who are readily sending our jobs overseas. I support an increase in the minimum wage to a living wage that not only benefits the lives of workers, the majority of whom are women, but the increase in money earned will be spent and will stimulate our economy and support new jobs. We must continue to advocate for paid sick days and paid family/maternity leave because career and family care shouldn’t be a choice. It its vital to the next generations of Michiganders that we reduce our dependence on coal to curb climate change, and decrease pollution for a healthier Michigan. We can achieve this goal through continuing to decrease our energy waste, and through continuing to encourage and promote innovation and competition in the development of clean energy sources. That means not only are Michiganders saving money on their utility bills, but jobs are being created in engineering and manufacturing. No reason absentee voting, in-person early voting. I also support increased transparency and accountability regarding campaign finance reporting. I have sponsored a bill to reduce the contribution limits for PACs, relative to individual campaign contributions. Elected officials should focus on their communities and the citizens of the state first and foremost. HHH District 41 HHH Stop picking and choosing winners and losers. Tax fairness and equity, a reasonable and not overly burdensome regulatory and tax environment will help to incubate and grow businesses in our state, while also encouraging economic development. A high quality education and a multi-faceted transportation system, along with an entrepreneurially friendly environment will help to ensure opportunities for all. I support a balanced approach to electricity production with a continuation of the energy efficiency standards that have served our state well.
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