Dear Friend,

In today's political atmosphere it seems that more and more of our public policies and laws are being influenced by “special interest groups.” If reelected to be your State Representative, the special interest group I want to continue to serve is you, the citizens of the 109th District and the Upper Peninsula.

A life-long native, I believe the Upper Peninsula and its people are truly special. Our geography, heritage, and cultural history have formed a place that is incomparable in Michigan and the world. As an owner of a travel agency for 27 years I have had the opportunity to travel, but I have never found a place that I would rather live than the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

However, we have many challenges to face if we are going to continue to maintain and improve the quality of life we enjoy in the UP. We need to work together to create public policy that will create “healthy communities”. In a healthy community all people have access to good health care, people feel safe from crime and domestic violence, the air and water are clean, and everyone eats well and has access to good housing. A healthy community provides quality education for it's students, values all its citizens, and can provide good paying jobs for its people that want to work.

For the past year and half I have been your State Representative. My first year in Lansing proved to be one of the most challenging, frustrating experiences of my life. After seven years of "one time fixes" to the state budget, we were faced with raising revenue (taxes)if we wanted to keep essential government services in Michigan. In the end we finally got it done. By all accounts it was an "ugly process" that I believe all parties involved would not want to repeat.

My second year in the legislature has proved to be more productive. While there is still room for improvement I think we have worked in a more bipartisan matter to solve some of the monumental problems we face in Michigan. We enacted in to law "Water Package Bills" that will go a long way to protect our most important resource in Michigan. In the House of Representatives we passed "Energy Bills" that will start us on the step to energy independence and cleaner renewable energy. This package of bills has the potential for tremendous positive economic impact in the Upper Peninsula.

This summer I have had the opportunity to spend a little more time in the District. As always, the best advice and feedback that I get is from my constituents. I look forward to meeting you and talking with as many of you as possible as I travel through the 109th District.

Thank you for your continued support.

Steve