Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganMeet the Candidates 2016 US House District 1: Lon Johnson and Jerry Cannon
Monday , 27, June 2016 Candidates, Elections, Enbridge Line 5, Meet the Candidates 2016, Upper Peninsula 3 CommentsThe August 2 primary will be here soon, and in Michigan’s first congressional district two candidates from Kalkaska will appear on the Democratic Party primary ballot: Lon Johnson and Jerry Cannon. Michigan’s first US House District is the largest district in the state.
Lon Johnson is the former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. In 2012 he ran for state house in the 103rd district. He has over 20 years experience working in the Democratic National Committee, including Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign. He lives with his wife, Julianna Smoot. Smoot was President Obama’s Deputy Campaign Manager for his 2012 re-election campaign.
Johnson’s campaign issues focus on the environment, providing better mass transit and high-speed internet to Northern Michigan. He also wants to end tax breaks for corporations who don’t keep their money and jobs in Michigan, stop the TPP, and repeal Citizens United. Lon Johnson knows that Enbridge Line 5 needs to be shut down before the aging pipeline causes an environmental catastrophe in the Straits of Mackinac.
The list of companies, organizations and individuals endorsing Johnson’s candidacy are too many to include here, but notable names include state legislators Scott Dianda and John Kivela, Senator Gary Peters, Congressmen John Conyers, Sander Levin, Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence. Groups endorsing Johnson include the UAW, Human Rights Campaign, United Steelworkers, the AFT, MEA, Sierra Club, the Teamsters, and the Humane Society.
Lon Johnson has been busy meeting with people concerned about Enbridge Line 5, and attending many community events throughout Michigan’s first district.
Retired Kalkaska County Sheriff and Army Major General Jerry Cannon ran for Michigan’s US House District 1 in 2014. Cannon is a veteran of Vietnam, where he served as a Marine. He joined the US Army National Guard in 1977 and retired in 2012. Jerry and Elizabeth Cannon live in Fife Lake. They have four children and seven grandchildren.
Jerry Cannon sees his campaign as a call to service. If elected, he will work on improving the economy, life for the people living in District 1, and the middle class. Cannon wants to ensure jobs stay in Northern Michigan and small businesses will have the resources to succeed. Jerry Cannon supports equal pay and opportunities for women, and making sure the safety net for seniors remains strong to support a quickly growing demographic in Northern Michigan. Jerry Cannon will also be a strong, sincere voice for Northern Michigan veterans in Washington. The environment must be protected, and that protection includes shutting down Enbridge Line 5.
Jerry Cannon has been busy campaigning at many communities and events throughout Northern Michigan.
Two candidates running for Michigan’s largest district will be an important primary election, and these candidates will need every vote. Please register to vote by July 5, 2016 and vote in Michigan’s primary election on August 2.
Lou says: I was happy to hear a candidate say we have to take the cap off of Medicare taxes’ I paid Medicare tax on every dollar I made for 45 years. Think of all the millionaires that that only pay on $114000.00, take the cap OFF!
Craig Hexham says: While I’m writing this well after the primary, the humor remains. To talk about EITHER of these clowns on a page with “progressive” in its title is worthy of “The Onion.” Nelson is an idiot of mammoth proportion but Lon, while clearly significantly more intelligent, is nothing more than a political hack. Nonsense like this is why Michigan’s 1st CD will likely NEVER have progressive representation.
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Up North Progressive says:
We keep trying. We really do. We’ve supported candidates from the Democratic Party nearly daily for years. The candidates are typically pretty good. In the last year, however, the ability of commenters and critics to get the purpose of this blog correct has drastically deteriorated. It’s gotten increasingly worse in the past few months. They’ve got an “attitude” about “progressive” candidates extending back several weeks and, insofar as we’ve typically supported Democratic Party candidates on Up North Progressive, understanding our support for those candidates should be a simple matter. Nope. Can’t get the context right. Can’t get the purpose of this blog correct. Can’t recognize what progressive means correctly. And the “critic” refuses to fix the problem. We’re done.