LWVKA 2010 Voter Guide

Provide biographical information including your qualifications for the office you are seeking and the reasons you are running. (100-word limit)
What are your state budget spending priorities and how would you adjust revenue and expenses to support those priorities? (100-word limit)
What are your top two other priorities, why did you select them, and what actions would you take regarding them? (100-word limit)

District 20
Tonya Schuitmaker
Republican, www.votetonya.com

I was raised on a family farm in Antwerp Township and have been a lifelong resident of Southwest Michigan. My husband, Steve, and I are raising our two children on the same family farm. Professionally, I started practicing law in 1993. In 2004, I ran for the state House and was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. I’m running for the state Senate because what Lansing is doing with its spending is not right. It’s why people are so frustrated with state government. We need to reduce wasteful spending, reform state government, and turn Michigan around.
First of all, we need to reduce wasteful spending and reform state government before we can talk about new spending. Just last year, Lansing approved the building of brand new state police headquarters. This year, all state employees got a 3 percent raise. We couldn’t afford these things, and I voted against. There is state spending we can cut and reforms we must put in place. Then, I have a plan to put every saved dollar into Michigan’s Rainy Day Fund, or savings account, to be directed toward the priorities we share like our public schools and public safety.
Jobs and reform; those are my priorities. Lansing can’t create the jobs we need in our community; instead, it’s actually taxing those jobs. We need to get rid of the Michigan Business Tax surcharge and fix the MBT so it doesn’t punish job creators. Then, we need to reduce state spending. Lansing spends too much on things we can’t afford and too much on things we don’t need. Every dollar Lansing spends on extras and perks is a dollar that cannot go to taxpayers, our schools, our roads and our universities—the priorities we all share as a Kalamazoo community.

Bobby Hopewell
Democrat, www.bobbyhopewell.com

Bobby Hopewell was nominated to replace Robert B. Jones as the democratic candidate following Mr. Jones’ death on October 17. Mr. Hopewell’s name will appear on the ballot.

If you have already returned an absentee ballot with a vote for Robert B. Jones, that vote will not be counted. If you wish to vote for another candidate, you may request from your local clerk's office a replacement absentee ballot that includes Bobby Hopewell. Click here for instructions and the locations of clerks’ offices. Ballots must be received by the clerk no later than the close of the polls (8:00 p.m.) on election day.