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Ballot breakdown: races to watch this Election Day

See the proposals to vote for and what the candidates running for office plan to do to fix Michigan's roads and make higher education more affordable for students

November 4, 2014
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Land

See the proposals to vote for and what the candidates running for office plan to do to fix Michigan's roads and make higher education more affordable for studentsWho are you voting for?

It’s Election Day — or more specifically, midterm Election Day. Midterm elections — despite arguably having a far greater day-to-day impact on citizens — are a step in the democratic process that gets  less than half  the voter participation than that of national, according to a poll from Harvard University.

But there are several issues and candidacies on the ballot this year that could impact students, including a close race for governor. Here’s your guide to where candidates running for office this year stand on fixing Michigan’s roads, legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion, raising or cutting taxes and making higher education more affordable.

Governor

This year’s gubernatorial election is between incumbent Gov.  Rick Snyder and former state senator and 7th District Rep.  Mark Schauer. In an  interview with The State News, Gov. Snyder said he wanted to “stick by his record”  and highlighted what had been accomplished during his term. He pointed to Michigan’s  improved job growth , especially among young people, as one of his main accomplishments. 

Snyder went on to say that if he is re-elected, he wants to put a greater emphasis on making higher education more affordable through the use of dual enrollment, which Snyder called “the single biggest saver ,” and talking to universities about how to save on their costs. He also explained he cut the higher education budget in his first year in office due the federal stimulus funding cutting off just after he took office. As a result of this cut, MSU’s funding decreased 15 percent .

While Snyder cited numbers showing funding has been  increasing  since then, with the education budget $1 billion  more than before Snyder became governor, the  actual money  available to schools is still $393 million  less than before Snyder’s cut.

Snyder declined to share his opinion on same-sex marriage, saying he would let the courts decide what was legal and that he would enforce their ruling.

Gov. Snyder’s opponent, former congressman Mark Schauer , has continuously addressed the education cuts and has promised to return the education budget to 2010 levels.

Schauer has placed an emphasis on fixing Michigan’s roads, reducing wasteful spending, giving the middle class tax cuts and restoring the child tax credit. He also has been an outspoken critic of tax that was placed on pensions and wants to replace that tax with the Homestead Property Tax Credit.

Schauer also plans to make corporations “pay their fair share”  and offer them incentives to operate in Michigan, such as tax cuts. He has emphasized that if corporations don’t create jobs or send jobs overseas, they would no longer be eligible for tax breaks.

Regarding higher education funding, Schauer told MLive he would “expand state-provided, need-based financial aid to make tuition more affordable...and I’ll establish a student loan refinancing authority to allow qualified borrowers to refinance their student loans at lower interest rates,” if elected governor.

U.S. House

Michigan’s 8th congressional district includes the counties of Ingham, Clinton, Livingston and parts of Shiawassee and Oakland counties. With incumbent Mike Rogers retiring, former Michigan Senate majority leader Mike Bishop  and Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing  are vying to fill the spot. 

Bishop, a conservative Republican, wants to reduce government spending, partly by repealing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and partly by reducing inefficient government programs. He does not support legalized abortions or legally recognized same-sex marriage. Bishop has pledged to not raise taxes if elected.

His opponent, Eric Schertzing,  a Democrat, supports legalized abortions and same-sex marriage and has not promised to not raise taxes. Schertzing considers improving Michigan’s roads and infrastructure one of his top priorities and is not opposed to Obamacare.

U.S. Senate

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin  is retiring this year, leaving former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land  and current U.S. Rep. Gary Peters  to compete for his seat.

Land, a Republican, supports her party, which does not support legalized abortion or same-sex marriage. Land said she believes taxes in Michigan need to be lowered and has pledged to not raise them if elected. She believes Obamacare and overregulation are costing Michigan residents a good living. 

Gary Peters,  a Democrat, supports legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage and wants a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on individuals making over $1 million a year. His main priority is to reinvest in Michigan’s economy — specifically he plans to work with Gov. Snyder to build a customs plaza for the New International Trade Crossing.

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Attorney General

MSU law professor Mark Totten , a Democrat, is running against incumbent Bill Schuette,  a conservative Republican. Schuette was elected in 2010  and became known to many Michigan citizens after he delayed the legalization of same-sex marriages in Michigan after a district court found Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. Schuette has  defended  his decision, arguing he was simply upholding his oath of office.

Schuette has said his top priorities as attorney general are to increase the number of police officers, school safety programs, increase rape kit testing and increase protections against human trafficking, a position that has been reinforced with Gov. Snyder’s recent  signing of several human trafficking laws .

Former federal prosecutor Mark Totten is running to ensure legal equality for Michigan’s citizens, including same-sex couples, who he believes have been unprotected by the law. Totten places a high priority on prosecuting sex offenders and holding corporate polluters accountable.

Proposals

Proposals 14-1 and 14-2 regard the debate about whether wolves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula should be considered game and hunted.

In August, proponents of wolf hunting received legislative approval for a wolf hunt initiative, which rendered both proposals seek to veto wolf hunts more or less moot.

Wolves were almost killed off in the 20th century, but were later deemed a protected species.

Their population in the Upper Peninsula now numbers in the 600s, which according to Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources is a viable number, meaning the population can sustain itself. A wolf hunt wouldn’t endanger the species, but it’s estimated the Upper Peninsula could support more.

However, increased human-wolf conflicts spurred the call to hunt wolves, making the issue in some ways more of a social issue than a conservation one. Residents are already allowed to legally kill wolves that are preying upon their livestock or pets under current law.

Proposal 1 would seek to make wolves designated game, authorize a wolf hunting season and give or create government agencies to facilitate wolf hunting. Proposal 2 would grant the Natural Resources Commission, part of the DNR, discretion to designate species as game and to creating hunting seasons for  those animals.

Discussion

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