Anyways, on March 7 I attended the Bay County Democratic Party Chicken Dinner at the Kawakawlin Township Hall. I met a lot of people that I think can really help me out during my campaign, and met several residents of the 97th District. In case you weren't aware, about 17,000 people living in Bay County are in the 97th.
There was one thing about this event I messed up... I didn't bring a camera! Sen. Carl Levin, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Dale Kildee were all in attendance. Several other state candidates were also there and it was a pretty good time. State Rep. Jeff Mayes (D — Bay City) was in attendance, of course, as was State Sen. Jim Barcia.
On a side note, Sen. Barcia was awarded for his many years of service and great representation in the state legislature. While working at the paper, I had the pleasure to meet Sen. Barcia and talk with him several times. He is a great guy, and I don't believe I ever met anyone, no matter their party, who didn't absolutely love Sen. Barcia. Many may not know that he was actually elected in 1977 at the age of 23. (And you thought I was young)! Talking with him again definitely fired me up, as he told me he was glad I was running and thought I would make a great state representative. It was as I was leaving, and it's definitely one of the highlights of the campaign so far.
Moving on to March 11, when I attended the Hay Township meeting in Gladwin County. Supervisor Dennis Perry allowed me some time to speak The residents in attendance and I talked about several of the problems in Michigan right now. Not surprisingly, jobs and education were center stage. We covered the gamut on jobs and the economy, talking about making the state more friendly to small businesses and the need to boost manufacturing with coordination, legislation, and pressure on Washington D.C. to start making changes to our trade policies. As for education, not only did we talk about funding, but also consolidating services and the need to offer more flexibility to students pursuing a trade.
But, in Gladwin County, the DNR(E) is also a common conversation piece. When the State House passed an ordinance that allowed Northern Michigan counties to pass ordinances allowing ORV's on the far right side of the road/shoulder, Gladwin county and other areas with forests and/or state land got a chance to get their economy going. However, many issues with the DNRE have been experienced. I believe that people will travel to the 97th District to take advantage of these forests and trails, along with the rivers (the Tittabawassee runs through Hay Township) and Saginaw Bay, even more if we would make them accessible and make sure we keep them clean . We need to work with the DNRE to make sure these areas are kept up and kept clean. In West Virginia and the Upper Peninsula, counties are using their natural resources to connect with other counties. I think that the 97th District can lead the way in this area with hard work, communication and dedication.
Let's make it happen!
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