Now, Go Vote

As Paul says, I have run the race…

Over the past months, we have talked on doorsteps, in backyards, in community meetings, and here on this blog.

Looking back, I can only say how grateful I am for your support and encouragement. These last days have been so hectic, I couldn’t have managed it without my wife Amy’s understanding and support.

But as I said, we’ve finished our race. Now it’s up to you.

We need more than a change of direction in Lansing, we need a change of spirit. We have some big tasks in front of us: improve our schools, rebuild a tax code; repair our roads. They’re going to challenge us, legislators and citizens alike. I have an unabashed hope — a hope I celebrate each Sunday — that principle can be a bridge and not a barrier to working together. It’s been that way in the landscaping business, and it certainly has guided me on the school board.

I have been honored to meet you. Today, I would be honored to receive your vote.

And tonight? Please come out to the Caledonia High School for our campaign celebration. Our campaign would never have had the impact it did without all our volunteers, friends and supporters. Tuesday night will be a time to celebrate our hard work and, we hope, the fruit of our labor. I hope to see you there.

Leaders line up for a change in Lansing

One of the privileges of this campaign has been to have so many civic leaders support our candidacy.  Many have stood for election themselves. They know how important it is to have some one in Lansing who understands the issues, and knows how to provide the practical leadership that can lift up our State and get it moving.

They’re part of more than 250 business leaders, elected officials and everyday citizens who believe that we need a new way of doing business in Lansing.  The old way has simply broken down.  With their support and yours we can begin to lift up our state with practical, proven leadership.

The complete list is below the fold.

Number Five Thousand

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.

Trying to Make it Better

Last week during the Kentwood parade, I met a woman who was amazed that I was on the school board. I could understand, the folks in Kentwood don’t pay attention to what happens in Caledonia. But it wasn’t that. She was amazed that I was serving on a school board at all.

Amazed about the Caledonia school board? Honestly, I thought I was just stepping up to a task.

Eight years ago when I first began thinking about the school board, I began with a simple notion: how can I make this community better? After all, I grew up here. This is my home. I had the opportunity to help, so I took it.

That was what also had motivated me to serve on committees with the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association. I wanted to share the gifts I’ve received. And this idea that we are to be a blessing to others also lies at the heart of my campaign for the State House.

And that’s one of the big differences in this campaign. Over the years, I’ve lead real organizations, shared my time and talent with others, shouldered the responsibility, and sought to improve our life together. That’s a record of public service very different from some who run for office with little record of leading or taking responsibility in their community.

It’s a hands-on public service. In Lansing, I’ll bring that same commitment to my tasks in the Legislature to make things better for our community and for our State.

Schools: another reason we love the 72nd

One of those things that makes the Michigan 72nd state house district so interesting is our commitment to education. We have some great non-public schools like South Christian – my alma mater. And we have four outstanding public school systems.

Everyone knows three of them: Forest Hills Public, Kentwood Public, and of course, Caledonia Public Schools.

But the fourth, Kellogsville, is doing something even more important: it is succeeding in educating the disadvantaged. This year US News and World Report placed it among the top 10 percent of all schools in our nation for its educational leadership.

Think about it: we can see the future every day in the hallways at Forest Hills Central, or Kentwood, but there is another story of excellence underway, just off Division. I’m convinced that the pursuit of excellence and should not stop because you are the wrong color or are poor. The promise is for everyone.

That’s why I won’t stand idly by when Governor Granholm, or any other politician, tries to cut our children’s education while they play political games. I want to make a first class education the standard and not the exception. We’ve done it in here in the 72nd, and I want every Michigan child to have the same opportunity.