Sometime last week I shook my 5,000th hand in this campaign.
The values on our doorstep are the values we need in Lansing.
That also means I had my 5,000th conversation about our State, what makes it great, and what we need to do.
I’ve been carrying on this conversation for more than five months. The conversations took place across our district: the young family starting out in Gaines township, a worried single dad over in Kellogsville trying to do right by his kids; a very smart, very concerned manager out in Cascade; the elderly couple in Leisure Estates in Kentwood.
The variety of people I met at the door continues to amaze me. I count myself blessed to have met so many of you. My shoes may wear out, but my spirit is revived by this campaign.
And after a few thousand conversations, some topics keep coming up:
- What do we do with Lansing?
The same old way of doing business just won’t do. We will need new approaches.
- What can we do for our kids?
They’re our future, but our schools struggle to fulfill their promise. yet far too many are moving out of the state.
- How do we get our economy moving again?
When one third of small business owners can’t find something good to say about Michigan’s business climate, you know we have work in front of us. Almost everything the State does affects business. Taxes, regulation, benefits – there’s a lot we can do.
They’re great questions. Tough ones, too. We have a leadership logjam in Lansing. It’s going to take a different style of leadership, and a renewed commitment to working together. Here in West Michigan we know something about that. We know that we need to listen to one another if we are to work together.
I believe the values I find on the doorsteps are the values we need in Lansing. That’s why I’m running. We can call them West Michigan Values, or simply call them what they are, common sense.
