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| Tom Ginster |
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| Mike Huckleberry |
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10/15/2008 2:08:00 PM
Candidate Forum
70th District hopefuls take jabs at forum
Ryan Jeltema
News Editor
SIDNEY - The two men running for the Michigan House of Representatives 70th District seat have made it clear there are stark differences between their philosophies and ideas.
Tuesday evening that was obvious to a crowd of about 70 people at Montcalm Community College (MCC) during a candidate forum sponsored by the school, the Montcalm Area Intermediate School District and the Center for Michigan.
Republican Tom Ginster and Democrat Mike Huckleberry, both of Greenville, clashed repeatedly during the hourlong debate.
Ginster accused Huckleberry of being selected by the Michigan Democratic Party to push Gov. Jennifer Granholm's political agenda, namely by supporting tax increases during the state's economic crisis. He said that as a board member for the Montcalm County Democrats, Huckleberry "signed up to support tenets of the national party."
"I had to fight for my party's nomination. My opponent was handpicked by the governor to be a rubber stamp for the governor," Ginster said. "Mike Huckleberry will be in lockstep with this administration."
Huckleberry shot back that he differs with Granholm on motorcycle helmet laws, raising the minimum wage and anti-smoking legislation, among other issues. Huckleberry accused Ginster of seeking to represent the 70th District to pick fights with Democrats in Lansing and force a conservative agenda.
"I'm not going to vote with my party every time. I will never put my party ahead of what's in the best interest of people," said Huckleberry, who owns Huckleberry's Restaurant in Greenville. "I'm 63 years old. I'm not going in there for a career. (My opponent) brags about being a bureaucrat in Lansing."
Ginster, an attorney, claimed he's fully capable of reaching out to Democrats and pledged to partner with Granholm's administration. But he doesn't believe the $1.4 billion tax hike passed in 2007 was bipartisan on the Democrats' part.
"It was only bipartisan in that she convinced two Republicans in the Senate to go along with this in exchange for other things they wanted," Ginster charged. "There's enough burdens on working class families that we don't need to go ahead and pass another round of tax hikes and fee increases."
Huckleberry said taxes provide critical services for every resident that must be maintained but he "never proposed a tax increase." He said Michigan residents actually pay less in taxes now than they did in the 1990s under former Gov. John Engler, whose administration Ginster worked in for six years.
"I don't want to pay taxes either. But I want a policeman and fireman for me and my children too," Huckleberry said. "There's a lot of things that we get for our tax dollars. But I have never once proposed a tax increase. So it's pretty much one misleading statement after another" from Ginster.
Ginster argued that Huckleberry's idea to cut Michigan Department of Corrections spending by relaxing mandatory minimum sentences enacted in the 1990s is bad policy that could lead to putting violent offenders back on the streets.
"We're the only state in the U.S. that spends more on its prison system than we do on schools," Huckleberry pointed out. "Maybe if we invest some of that money in education we won't need such a big prison system."
"Tell us what offenders you want to release," Ginster sneered at Huckleberry.
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Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Article comment by:
once a citizen of greenville
Good Luck!!!!! Mike Huckelberry, hope it goes your way!!! Wish you all the best in this election, although Ryan Villet had it in the Bag!!! Everyone makes mistakes and I'm sure the people of the community would have excepted his honesty and got passed it and Ryan could have proved to his community that he can be that man we need in our senator's seat!!!!!!! Ryan is still a good man, but I think Mike can do just as well too!!!! God Bless you and be with you thru this triumph...... Make us proud Mike!!!!!!
Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Article comment by:
Dave
Let's see Ginster = Engler. We know full well how John Engler balanced the budget, and how he ran the state! It's called robbing from Peter and giving to Paul, and it has the appearance of a balanced budget. He seems to think that the many services that are provided by our state and local governments are free (it's called the common good). Ginster is socially conservative, otherwise known as a neocon. He makes no qualms about his desire to set Granholm and the rest of the Democratic legislature straight. Even if it means confrontation and obstruction, and we know how that has been in our federal government. He talks about the rubber stamp thingy---does he know ol Rubber Stamp Dave? If we elect the same people over and over again and continue to get the same ol results...then this county and surrounding area get what they deserve!
Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Article comment by:
Mark H.
If there was one thing I learned by attending this forum it was this, I won't vote for either of these men. I'll be at the polls on election day, but neither of these two are worthy of my vote. It's sad that this is the best we can do as a district in terms of finding candidates. I'd like to believe there are better people out there to represent us, and in two years I hope someone else steps up and challenges the winner of this race.
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