Top three issues:

Small business: “We should be working more with small businesses, letting them work to grow. We need to do everything we can to help struggling businesses get what they need and empower them. I have to know that there can be educated workers I’m going to need for my business, and I’m going to make sure my workers and their families are going to feel comfortable about coming here.“

Education: “I see education as a human capital investment — mostly a human investment. When you’re raising children, the number one thing you want is your children to get a good education. To me, we have to invest in programs in the educational system … Children have one chance to get a K-12 education.”

Making Michigan attractive: “I think to people coming here, all the resources and the beauty of the state are part of it, but we want to know we have a quality of life. I wouldn’t just want to have a place where I have a house and the kids go to school and I have a job. You want to make sure you have public safety, parks, community activities, all those kinds of things. You want to have a place to live, so it’s important in both respects to draw people in.”

Something on your bucket list: “There are a lot of places around the world I still want to see and live. I lived in Israel and Egypt for a while, but when I say ‘live there,’ I mean really park it there for a while. Maybe China. And there are still places in the U.S. I haven’t been, like Alaska, that are beautiful.”

Unrealistic dream job as a child:
“You know, I really did always want to be a teacher. My dad always pushed education in our family because he wasn’t given that opportunity. That is so cool; there is nothing more exciting than seeing someone learn.”