Schmidt is up against fellow Democrat and former mayor of East Lansing Sam Singh, who held a press conference last week announcing his registration. Republican candidates Frank Lambert, Susan McGillicuddy and George Nastas, III, also have registered to be on the ballot, according to the Secretary of State Office website. The 69th District seat for the state House of Representatives currently is held by Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, who cannot run again because of term limits. Schmidt has worked closely with Meadows throughout the past 5 years as his chief of staff.

During the announcement, Schmidt said in the last several months, she has met with many members of the district to discuss their concerns and even has knocked on the doors of over 1,000 homes to reach out to constituents. In Schmidt’s time meeting with community members, she said many people expressed frustration with Michigan’s inability to move forward.

“They want their elected officials to move forward to solve problems, to move Michigan forward, and I agree,” she said in the speech. “I believe in the relationships I currently have in the Capitol, and knowing the ins and outs of the legislative process, I can break through some of that to get something done.”

Assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures Penny Gardner attended the announcement and said she supports Schmidt as a candidate.

“I’ve known her as the assistant to Mark Meadows and she doesn’t shirk at wanting to get things done,” Gardner said. “She doesn’t think in terms of ‘Is this going to help or hurt?’ it’s ‘What’s the right thing to do?’”

Schmidt said she feels tax cuts to businesses did not give money back to areas in the community that are in need of funding, such as parks, schools, the police and fire departments and said she is going to work to end pension taxes for seniors if elected.

Schmidt said some of the issues she plans to address if elected include economic development and jobs, reinvesting in public education, protecting the environment and caring for seniors.

“The level of education someone receives determines the quality of their entire life, what kind of job they receive, where they can live and whether they can send their children to college,” Schmidt said in the speech. “We need to make sure we’re investing in education because businesses will come to where we have an educated workforce.”

Singh said he also is concerned with funding education, furthering economic development and protecting the environment, and added that he understands the community of mid-Michigan because he has been working since he graduated from MSU to connect students and the university with East Lansing.

“My 12 years in local government, working with MSU and trying to bridge the university into the city, working with the student community and making sure economic development is part of that to help MSU students as they graduate is the type of unique experience that I bring,” he said.

Singh also has held several discussion sessions with students on MSU’s campus to allow them to address their concerns with mid-Michigan and he has students working on his campaign to help him win the seat.

Still, social relations and policy sophomore Curtis Audette, MSU’s Programs Director for the Michigan Federation of College Democrats and a member of the MSU College Democrats, said he supports Schmidt because she knows Lansing well and has experience and relationships with people in Greater Lansing.

“I believe she has a very strong work ethic,” he said. “Education is big for me, and with her being an educator, I believe she will know how to legislate education policy in Lansing.”

Although Audette said both Singh and Schmidt have similar stances on some of his policy concerns, he believes Schmidt is more genuine in her outreach to the community after meeting with her on several occasions to discuss local issues.

“She definitely has the passion and the heart to represent the 69th District,” he said.