House race features 4 Dems Down to the wire
House race features 4 Dems Down to the wire
By STEPHEN STACY Journal Staff Writer
Current Rep. Stephen Adamini, D-Marquette, will be leaving the position due to term limits.
The four candidates are Steve Lindberg, Mike Taylor and Richard Hendricksen, all of Marquette, and Rod DesJardins of Munising.
Lindberg was born and raised in Carlshend. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northern Michigan University, as well as a teaching certificate and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling.
Lindberg served as legislative aide for Adamini from 2001 through 2005 and has He was a teacher and guidance counselor for more than 30 years with the Marquette school district, and has served the past four years as an aide to Adamini.
Key issues according to Lindberg are the environment, education, health care, the aging population, energy and economic development.
“What I would like to do if elected is fairly represent the people of the 109th District. I have no special interest groups that I owe anything to,” Lindberg said. “I’ve had experience working in Lansing with Rep. Adamini and I think I can easily segue into this position. It’s a big job, but I’m familiar with the process and the issues — I think I can hit the ground running.”
Hendricksen was born and raised in downstate Big Rapids, having relocated to the Upper Peninsula in 1975 at the age of 26. He attended Michigan State and Ferris State universities for several years and has been a member of several organizations, including the Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association, Michigan Forest Association and the Michigan Association of Realtors. He has working for more than 30 years in the real estate business.
Describing himself as an independent thinker, Hendricksen said he believes the need for honest and fair communication, maintaining quality of life and seeking the truths on issues are very important in the election.
“Because the U.P. has such a small population, it’s hard to influence state-level issues,” Hendricksen said. “We are keepers of our own fate, but we must take or assert control of our own U.P. issues.”
Pertinent issues, according to Hendricksen, are sulfide mining on the Yellow Dog Plains, economic development through tourism and the need for sustainable sources of alternative energy. Hendricksen said heavy industry will inevitably damage water quality and hurt tourism and recreation that has developed over the last 50 years.
A plan for economic development is Hendricksen’s Four Parks proposal, which would rearrange scattered public lands into more solidified tracts through trade with timber companies. The four large parks, which combined would equal close to 1 million acres, would help the U.P. economy diversify and create Jobs.
“I think my vision with the Four Parks proposal, understanding of sulfide mining, and my individualistic and environmental mind-set set me apart from the other candidates,” Hendricksen said. “The sulfide mining emergency is at the heart of my decision to run, yet I will listen to all concerns — listening has been an integral part of my profession, and I value it.”
Taylor, who has studied business and labor relations at Northern Michigan University, has worked the past 21 years at Marquette Branch Prison and is a member of the Michigan Corrections Organization-Service Employees International Union, currently serving as the organization’s president.
“I am pursuing this race because I believe, as most people do, that the 109th District needs aggressive proven leadership that will address the needs of working men and women and our retired seniors,” Taylor said, “My goal is to find workable solutions that will bring funding relief to our schools that have been under the budget knife for too long.”
Currently a member of the 10-person state executive board that oversees the MCO’s 9,600 members, Taylor and has been active in several local and state political campaigns as part of the MCO Political Team. He said he has gained a lot of experience in the 18 years he’s worked on issues and talked with representatives and senators.
Top issues pertaining to the upcoming election include education, small business, jobs and the aging population, Taylor said.
“We need an attractive business climate that will provide incentives to our small business owners to create jobs,” he said. “I am hopeful that we can accomplish this by bringing some common sense ideas straight from the people of the 109th District to the House of Representatives.”
DesJardins has spent 12 years on the Munising City Commission and is serving his eighth term as Mayor. He said key issues are the aging population, regional economic development, health care, timber industry, and sulfide mining.
“I think we need to change the way we do business in Lansing — we need someone who represents all the people,” DesJardins said.
In his time as mayor, DesJardins said Munising has gone from an inefficient city government that squandered opportunities to an extremely progressive city government that works with its neighbors and the business community.
DesJardins, who served for nearly a decade in the U.S. Navy with the Pacific submarine fleet, has also served or currently serves as a member the Downtown Development Authority, Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Industrial Park Board, Munising Planning Commission, Prison Liaison Committee, Alger Parks and Recreation Committee, City Labor Relations Board and the Munising Area Regional Government, as well as participating in a variety of volunteer organizations.
He received a degree from Olympic College in Poulsbo, Wash., in journalism and small business management, and has worked for the past five years as a vocational program coordinator for Pathways Community Mental Health, training and finding jobs for disabled workers in Alger and Luce counties. Previous jobs include carpenter, lumberjack and writer for a variety of local and regional publications.
“I have 12 years experience as an elected official and in those 12 years, we’ve had a lot of success which has come from working with our representatives in Lansing and Washington, working with the state agencies that control our lives and working with other units of government and the business community,” he said.
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