Up North Progressive

The state legislature district with an August 5 primary is District #104, Grand Traverse County. Two candidates are running for this office in the primary, Betsy Coffia and Penny Larcom, both of Traverse City.

Betsy grew up in Kalkaska County. She has extensive experience as a reporter and editor for local newspapers. She worked her way through college while earning a Bachelor’s degree in social work. Her work experience comes from working at Northwestern Michigan Community Action Agency. She volunteers at Traverse Heights Elementary School and has volunteered at other elementary schools in the region. She’s a graduate of Leadership Grand Traverse.

Betsy Coffia believes politics work best when politics are about people instead of large sums of money. All campaign donations made to Coffia’s run for office are from individual donors. She has accepted no PAC money for her campaign. This philosophy extends to the issues Betsy believes are most important for the people of state house district 104. A stronger economy will only happen when long-term repairs are made to infrastructure and technology. Jobs that can support families rather than just getting by are also important. Restoring educational funding to meet the costs of education for our children so they are competitive in the job market is also important. This includes putting money back into universities and colleges so tuition can be affordable again.

Betsy Coffia’s campaign is powered by people and not by special interests and their money. To learn more about Betsy and why she wants to represent the 104th district in Lansing, you can go to her website to read about the issues, sign up for her newsletter and ask her questions.

Penny Larcom was born and raised in Traverse City. She has three children and lives in the town her birth. Larcom is new to politics but her motivation comes from being disappointed by the people she has voted for in the past. Larcom didn’t like being lied to so she decided to run for state representative in the 104th district because it’s her duty as an American.

Her campaign is different because she claims not to have a platform but rather a passion for issues important to her, such as education and jobs that pay well. She’s passionate about farming, and finally she’s passionate about the crumbling infrastructure that needs more attention. Larcom believes the best way to find solutions to these issues is make people aware of them so they can fix them. Larcom believes this is the purpose of being a state representative. If you are interested in learning more to contact Penny Larcom you can visit her campaign page on Facebook.