Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganMeet the Candidates: Michigan State Legislature District 102 Doug Gabert
Tuesday , 11, October 2016 Candidates, Elections 2 Comments
The 102nd State District is made up of Mecosta, Wexford, and the western portion of Osceola Counties. The Democratic Party candidate for this district is Reed City resident Doug Gabert.
Gabert studied history and philosophy at Central Michigan University, earning a Master’s Degree in history. He worked as a counselor for the State Department of Mental Health and the Department of Social Services in Detroit. Gabert opened a bookstore in Reed City that fell to the big box stores and Internet booksellers. Doug Gabert has first-hand knowledge of working with people and being a business owner. He currently lives with his wife, Jodi, in Reed City.
Issues Doug Gabert wants to address include eliminating Right to Work and other labor-crippling plans such as the Republican Party’s Prevailing Wage Law. Laws like this weaken the economy for workers and enable the wealthy to lower wages while making workers pay for the corporate tax cuts they enjoy.
Education is vitally important to Michigan, and Doug Gabert knows the budget cuts the Republicans made and continue to make hurt our public schools. Gabert wants to change that, including the high cost of attending post-secondary education. Public education should be about raising future generations of American citizens, not a cash cow for corporate interests.
Doug Gabert has been falsely accused by his Republican opponent that he wants to take away guns from Americans. This is not true. Doug Gabert is a gun owner and supporter of the 2nd Amendment. He also supports common-sense reforms to our gun laws that would keep assault weapons out of the hands of people who want to do others harm, and put a stop to the cowardly practice of carrying assault weapons in public to intimidate others.
Women’s reproductive freedom belongs to women. The right to choose is necessary as long as Republicans continue to make raising a child today difficult. Supporting mothers and education that will teach people how to effectively stop unwanted pregnancies should be the focus of people who truly support life. Until then, Doug Gabert knows abortion must remain legal for all women.
Doug Gabert’s endorsements include the UAW, SEIU, Planned Parenthood of Michigan, and the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union. To learn more about Doug Gabert, you can visit his website, and his Facebook Page.
The November 8, 2016 general election is weeks away. The people of the 102nd district have a real choice who will make a difference in Lansing with Doug Gabert.
Want To Vote in the November 8, 2016 Election? Michigan Residents Need To Register TODAY!
Tuesday , 11, October 2016 Candidates, Elections Leave a comment
On November 8, 2016, we will elect a new President of the United States. Although all of the polls at this time show Hillary Clinton as the overall favorite to win, that doesn’t mean anyone can stay home on election day. Everyone needs to vote, and in Michigan, you have to be registered to vote by today, October 11, 2016 to vote in this very important election.
The person we choose for president will have the ultimately important task of appointing as many as four new Supreme Court Justices. Currently, the high court only has eight justices, a seat has been empty since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016. The Republican Party refuses to approve President Obama’s appointee, Merrick Garland, insisting the next president should be the one to appoint new justices. This of course means the Republican Party is banking on a Republican being the next president. It’s not going to happen if you take the time tomorrow to register to vote, and vote on November 8, 2016.
This is why this election is important. Supreme Court justices hold their position for life. The people appointed by the future president will sit on the bench until today’s millennials are retirees. The next three to four generations of Supreme Court decisions will profoundly shape the direction of the United States.
Michigan needs every single eligible voter to get out there and vote on November 8 to select state and local candidates too. Your county Democratic Party has a list of candidates they support for the upcoming election, and are more than happy to share that list with you. Michigan needs a major sweep of legislators in Lansing to remove ineffective politicians and people too eager to do the bidding of deep pockets like Betsy and Dick DeVos. Anything they support enough to give politicians money is guaranteed to be bad for the state of Michigan. You can do something about this by registering to vote today.
Check to see if you are registered to vote by visiting vote.michigan.gov. If you’re not registered, please take the time to register to vote today, and be ready to vote on November 8, 2016. For more information you can call the Secretary of State’s toll free number at 888-SOS-MICH (767-6424).
The Magic School Bus It Ain’t: Bay City Academy Providing Transportation for Students
Saturday , 1, October 2016 Section 16 3 CommentsOn September 12, 2016 Bay City Academy’s Facebook page jubilantly proclaimed they now own a school bus:
We officially have a bus! Mr. Bennett, our BCA bus driver is ready to safely transport students to and from school. We are so excited!
The flyer containing the rules, list of hubs (mostly the parking lots of busy shopping centers) where students can be picked up and dropped off, as well as monthly fees required to ride shows a shiny new yellow school bus in the upper right hand corner of the page. This is a photo of the actual bus BCA students will have the privilege to pay $20 a month to ride:
Most states require school districts to replace older buses after 12 to 15 years of use and for good reason: School buses take a real beating over the years and become unsafe to operate and ride. School districts purchase new buses to replace old ones, and hang on to the old buses for another year or two as reserve fleet until they are too old to even be used for that; then they are sold to whoever wants a bus. The bus in the picture is clearly a retired reserve bus that the school district unloaded at an auto auction or sale, and Bay City Academy purchased on the cheap.
BCA parents, a word of advice. Make sure the school provides documentation that this bus has gone through a thorough safety inspection before paying Brian Lynch to put your precious cargo on it and drive them to school. It may also be why BCA is holding walk to school events – an incentive to keep your kids safe on their way to school.
Bill Schuette’s Schuette Connections with the DeVos Crime Family
Thursday , 29, September 2016 Bill Schuette Leave a comment
Remember who owns Bill Schuette when he runs for Governor in 2018.
RT (Russia Today) is a cable news channel out of Russia. They broadcast nothing unless the Kremlin approves it.
At a recent RT dinner, two prominent Americans in politics sat at Vladimir Putin’s table. One of them is Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president, the man with a red circle around him is Michael Flynn, a member of Trump’s campaign staff. You can see Putin just leaving the table in the screen grab.
Some people who refuse to vote for Hillary Clinton, but don’t want to vote for Trump plan on voting for Jill Stein. Yet there she is sitting at a table with a member of Trump’s staff in Russia.
The current Russian government is extreme right wing. The Russian Orthodox Church dictates a good deal of policy with the Russian government these days. Putin is the moderate one. Seriously and carefully consider who you plan to vote for this fall and who they keep company with.
Why Trump is Losing (and Bernie Sanders Lost)
Sunday , 25, September 2016 Candidates, Elections, Presidential Primary 2016, Sad! Leave a commentThis graph published by ABC News demonstrates perfectly why Donald Trump will most likely lose the presidential election in November.
Trump has done an excellent job campaigning for only one segment of the total American electorate while alienating every other demographic. It can’t be stressed enough that when your message is full of racism, bigotry, xenophobia and delivered with the vocabulary and attention span of a 3rd grader, you’re going to appeal to the people who think being white and male are the only people who are real Americans and have just enough education to work a blue collar job.
Combine that with the fact that many of those blue collar jobs have gone overseas or into our prisons where people work for 19th century wages and you have a aging shrinking pissed off demographic living in parts of the country where most people left decades ago to find jobs in the cities; that is your Trump electorate: Mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore, so wear the red hat and scream obscenities at the media pit at one of Trump’s rallies. How many of those blue collar, high school graduate (maybe) white guys actually bother to vote is entirely another matter. I hope someone does a study on that so we can compare.
As for Bernie Sanders supporters still raging over the reality that Hillary won the nomination in July, he lost for the same reason Trump is losing: He focused and locked in on one segment of the voter electorate – millennials – while alienating every other demographic. There was no corruption, no voter fraud. Most Bernie fans were younger and better educated, but there was no outreach to other people who voted in the Democratic primary and it’s a fact that much of the people working behind the scenes with that campaign were Republicans doing their part to try and weaken Hillary Clinton. That fact that members of Karl Rove’s family were managing the Sanders campaign and Rove’s superpac bought ads for Sanders is proof of that. The hate-filled misogynist rhetoric Sanders supporters used sounded exactly like Trump supporter hate speech against Clinton. It was hard to tell the difference between Sanders supporters and Trump supporters during the Primary.
Unless Trump drastically changes his message in the few days of this election campaign that are left to appeal to all of the people he has intentionally alienated and excluded from his campaign, he will lose the election on November 8. He doesn’t have the numbers, and by this point has no chance of getting them to swing in his favor.
Meet the Candidates: Michigan State Legislature District 101 Dan Scripps
Monday , 5, September 2016 Candidates, Elections, Meet the Candidates 2016 Leave a comment
Michigan’s 101st State House district includes the counties of Mason, Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau. Dan Scripps is running for State House to represent the people of that district. Scripps previously held the office, and will bring to Lansing the experience and drive needed to serve his constituents with strong leadership.
Dan Scripps lives in Northport with his wife and two sons. An attorney who currently works for the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, Scripps attended Alma College and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School with honors. He’s always been active in the local community, and his dedication to service makes him the best candidate to send back to Lansing in 2017.
Issues Dan Scripps wants to work on in Lansing are bringing more good paying, full time jobs to Northwestern Michigan. He would do this through restoring funding to the Economic Development Corporation, reforming taxes, and fully funding education to levels where schools can hire staff and instruct students from early childhood through post-secondary school to have the skills needed to find and keep employment in Northwestern Michigan. With a skilled workforce, companies required to stay in Michigan and infrastructure that provides what business needs to stay in Northern Michigan, Northern Michigan can once again be a place where people can work and live in a thriving community.
Dan Scripps also understands that Enbridge Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac is a serious threat to the Great Lakes and environment of Northern Michigan. Line 5 must be shut down and removed from the straits to avoid a disaster like what happened to the Kalamazoo River in 2011. Water diversions outside of the Great Lakes basin must also be stopped. Water conservation, protecting the environment, and promoting green energy are all needed in Michigan to fight climate change keep Northern Michigan pristine for future generations.
Endorsements for Scripps includes the AFL-CIO, Michigan Association of Police Organizations, Michigan Education Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, The UAW, and the Sierra Club of Michigan.
To find out more about Dan Scripps and get involved, you can visit his website, facebook page, or twitter. Remember to register to vote by October 11, 2016, and vote for Dan Scripps for the 101st State House district on November 8.
Meet the Candidates: Michigan State Legislature District 99 Bryan Mielke
Monday , 5, September 2016 Candidates, Elections, Meet the Candidates 2016 Leave a comment
Michigan’s 99th District includes Isabella and a portion of Midland Counties. On November 8, 2016, the people of this district will have the opportunity to send a new legislator to Lansing who will work for the people of his district, and not for the special interests. That candidate is Bryan Mielke. A life-long resident of Michigan, Mielke has lived in Mount Pleasant for thirty five years with his wife and two daughters. He is seeking your vote on November 8, 2016 to represent the 99th district in the Michigan State Legislature.
Mielke earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in computer science and mathematics at Central Michigan University. In 1991 he founded his business Diversified Computer Group, or DCG in Mount Pleasant. This company develops software to monitor various energy and mineral systems. Bryan Mielke will use his knowledge as a small business owner in Lansing to promote healthy job growth in Michigan.
The three main issues Bryan Mielke wants to focus on in the Michigan Legislature are education, transparency, and creating more jobs for the state. Mielke is married to a public school employee and raised two children in the public school system. Lansing’s cuts in education have made public schools in the state dangerously underfunded – a crisis created by Republican leadership that’s lasted for six years. Corruption within the state government that goes all the way to the Governor’s office has created the most secretive FOIA-proof system of lawmaking that the country has ever seen. Mielke wants to fight this problem and make Michigan government transparent for the people of the state. Tax cuts for the rich and large corporations do not put money back into the economy and they don’t create jobs. Electing Bryan Mielke will send someone to Lansing dedicated to reversing damaging tax increases on Michigan’s struggling citizens – Seniors and the working poor. With tax relief and better funded schools, job creation will be easier to accomplish. Mielke wants legislation passed that will keep jobs in Michigan, by ending tax breaks to companies that send jobs out of the state.
Bryan Mielke is endorsed by AFSCME Michigan Council 25, American Federation of Teachers, Central Michigan Labor Council, International Union of Operating Engineers, Laborers’ Local 1098, Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan Association of Police Organizations, Michigan Clean Water Action, Michigan Education Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Michigan Professional Fire Fighter’s Union, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters & Millwrights, Sierra Club – Michigan Chapter, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, SEIU Michigan State Council, UA Local 85 Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVACR Service Tech’s, UAW Region 1D, and the United Transportation Union.
Bryan Mielke, his family, and volunteers are busy campaigning in the 99th District. To find out more about Bryan Mielke, you can visit his website, facebook page, and twitter. Bryan Mielke will be out canvassing through this weekend. Register to vote by October 11, 2016 and vote for Bryan Mielke on November 8, 2016.
Meet the Candidates: Michigan State Legislature District 98 Geoff Malicoat
Sunday , 4, September 2016 Candidates, Elections Leave a comment
Midland/Bay City may be stretching Northern Michigan a bit far, but for this election, it’s really necessary.
Geoff Malicoat is an attorney in Midland, Michigan, and he’s running for the state’s 98th District. A Democratic candidate running in a heavily gerrymandered district that favors Republican votes is an uphill battle, but Malicoat is running against one of the most abhorrent tea party grifters Michigan ever had the misfortune to win public office. He deserves the support of everyone in the 98th District who wants a much-needed change for the better.
Malicoat was raised in Bay City. He attended Florida Atlantic University, Michigan State University, and Cooley Law School. He practices Elder Law in Midland. It’s through his work with the elderly that he has seen the damage Republican lawmakers in Michigan have done to senior citizens. Fighting for Seniors is one of Geoff Malicoat’s top priorities.
No senior citizen should go to bed hungry or be forced to choose between food or medicine, not in this country, not in this state, and certainly not while our state government doles out lavish tax breaks to special interests who can afford to buy a governor, attorney general, and legislature.
Malicoat will work to roll back the unfair tax on pensions signed into law by Republican Rick Snyder. He also will fight for working people and the middle class, returning funds to public schools taken to pay for corporate tax cuts. Geoff Malicoat also wants to put an end to the obscene amounts of lobbying money flooding into Lansing, paying legislators to vote against the needs of the people of Michigan in favor of corporate interests.
Geoff Malicoat has received endorsements from the Michigan Association of Police Associations, Detroit Police Officers Association, Tri-County Building Trades Council, Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters – U.B.C.J.A., Laborers’ International Union of North America – LiUNA! Local 1098, UAW Region 1D, Michigan AFL-CIO, and the Sierra Club – Michigan Chapter.
To learn more about Geoff Malicoat, you can visit his website, facebook page, or twitter. He will be in Midland on October 1, 2016, canvassing and meeting with residents of the district he will represent in January of 2017. Register to vote by October 11 and vote for Geoff Malicoat on November 8, 2016.