Pro-Agriculture

My family and I have spent our lives remaining committed to preserving Michigan’s agricultural heritage.  Agriculture is one of the state’s economic bright spots and critically important to Michigan and this district.  There is great opportunity for growth within the industry and I support policies that will sustain this positive momentum.

Pro-Life

I support the sacred protections for the life of the unborn child. I support the ban on partial-birth abortion and human cloning. I also reject euthanasia as a response to mental and/or physical illnesses or disabilities. I will fight to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

Pro-Second Amendment

I believe that an individual has the right to keep and bear arms and that the Second Amendment conveys that individual right to every American. To erode this constitutionally guaranteed right is unacceptable.

Jobs and the Economy

Government-based solutions don't work. Private sector-based solutions do.

Our challenge is to build a vibrant, growing economy that supports businesses and encourages job-providers to invest, expand and create jobs.

Michigan's recovery is two-pronged. Not only do we need to make it easier for our businesses to create stable, good paying jobs for working families, but we also need an education system that will prepare our children for these jobs.

Small Business Support

Small businesses are the engine of our economy.  As a second-generation grocery store owner, I understand the enormous problems that face Michigan businesses. 

Excessive regulations, a burdensome and confusing tax code and high tax rates are stifling business growth and job creation in our state. My goal is to redefine the ways that the government interacts with businesses so that it provides a strong structure for economic growth.

I am committed to fixing the inherent inequities in the MBT and surcharge and removing the restrictive tax burden while managing our state's budget and I will work with the business community to overcome these challenges.

Through lower taxes and less regulation we can encourage business development and attract new businesses to our state. In addition, new policies such as my New Business Renaissance Zone legislation, will promote entrepreneurial efforts (House Bill 5202).  According tax credits to new small businesses eases the critical start-up period when most struggle to survive.

Educational Opportunities 

Our state’s economic future depends heavily on an innovative and well-educated work force.  We must make sure our children are prepared to compete for 21st Century jobs. 

I support policies that focus on student achievement, administrative efficiency and spending transparency.  I also support policies that increase the number of high school and college graduates and expand affordable post-high school educational opportunities for our children.

We must have structural reforms in how we fund and operate our schools.  The first goal is to ensure every available dollar goes to our classrooms. This means we must make changes to the system, to the administrative process and to the way we compensate our teachers.  The second goal is to ensure our funding mechanisms are stable. The economic downturn has revealed a fundamental flaw in the way we fund our schools.  As jobs are lost, incomes decline and businesses close their doors, tax revenues drop. This reduction in revenue forces cuts in school funding.

Accomplishing this will require making some hard choices.  Some of the things we need to look at include coordination and consolidation of services, reforms in employee health care and pension programs, reductions in administrative costs, transparency in school and administrative spending and merit pay. 

We must also remove the obstacles that prevent job creation and generate increased revenue by making changes to the business tax structure.  Reduced unemployment, higher wages and greater profitability will increase our state’s tax base and lessen the financial strain on our education system.

 
Tourism Promotion

We know that Michigan’s tourism industry is a leader in our state’s economy and that its success generates positive benefits throughout local businesses and communities. The more we can do to encourage expansion of our tourism markets the faster our economy and job opportunities will grow.

I support giving our tourism industry the same incentives, regulatory reforms and funding as other top-tier state industries.

This industry also depends on quality roads and infrastructure.  West Michigan deserves an equitable distribution of state and federal infrastructure resources to help grow our economy.

Smaller, More Efficient Government

The role of government is not to manage the economy from Lansing.  It's role is to create the leanest, simplest tax structure and regulatory system possible and then step out of the way.

In addition, one of the first steps toward righting our fiscal ship is reducing spending.  Revaluating our spending priorities and reinvesting where necessary will allow Michigan to stop the annual budget bickering and focus on what is important: growing jobs in Michigan.

Reduced unemployment, higher wages and greater profitability will increase our state’s tax base and lessen the financial strain on other areas of our state budget.

I support enacting a two-year budget process; requiring earlier completion of the state budget; and increasing transparency in state spending by requiring all state government budgets to be posted online.