District B Candidate
Sault Ste. Marie
Having lived in Chippewa County my adult life, raising children and owning businesses, I have now been a member/owner of Cloverland Electric, like you, for a long time. I admire Cloverland, its people, its attitude, and its community responsibility. It means a lot.
Our future in the Eastern Upper Peninsula is electric. I converted my decades old propane furnace to an electric furnace, and it’s working better than I hoped. I believe in individual independence, and in Cloverland’s independence. I want to help assure a healthy investment in that independence, which does not have to come at the cost of us ratepayers.
I spent 20 years in journalism, including 12 years as publisher of the Sault Evening News and Buyers Guide. I live and worked in community as a business owner and as a husband and father. I worked with two unions at The News, and we created one of the best newspapers in Michigan – every day.
I was appointed as a trustee on the Lake Superior University (LSSU) Board, where I served for eight years and was elected chairman for two of those years. I worked with Tony McLain when he was president, and then Tom Pleger. They were kind enough to designate an honorary Ph.D.
At the same time I took an ownership position in a forestry-based manufacturer in northern Wisconsin, and sat on that corporate board for 16 years, 11 years as Chairman. I continue to live in Chippewa County, along Whitefish Bay where Debbie and I have made a home for 25 years.
This is all to say that I am experienced in this community we share. I know how to read a balance sheet and I know how to plan for the future. And we don’t need higher electric rates to get there.