Tag: dennis lennox

I may be a Republican and Governor Granholm may be a Democrat, but I truly want her to succeed. She is my governor -- she is our governor.

I firmly believe it's time for our leaders in Lansing to end the partisan political charade that's crippled state government and resulted in massive skepticism amongst the citizenry.

We need a political atmosphere that puts Michigan ahead of partisan politics.

The tired, old ideas of Lansing politicians aren't working anymore.

We need to think outside the box with solutions that put our great state first and foremost.

It may be the second decade of the twenty-first century, but Lansing is still looking at our challenges in a twentieth century mindset.

That needs to change.

Just as Governors Romney and Milliken were the new leaders of their generation, Michigan desperately needs new leaders for these challenging times.

We need leaders that understand government isn't the solution.

When it comes to ensuring a brighter future, Lansing -- and government at all levels -- must get out of the way of innovation and job-creators.

This will require significant overhauls and reforms of government.

We need a government that reflects the realities of the twenty-first century.

Our structure of government simply doesn't make sense.

We must reduce the burden of government on the wallets of families and the cash registers of businesses.

And most importantly, we have to stop waving goodbye to our future.

Michigan has lost one family every 12 minutes and over 20,000 students at the K-12 levels will leave our great state before the school year ends.

That is unacceptable and must stop.

We can't continue waving goodbye to our future doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers, innovators, job-creators and civic leaders.

I have lost almost all of my friends -- your children and grandchildren -- in the last few years.

Michigan's great diaspora must end.

But it won't end unless we, the citizenry, send a new generation of leaders to Lansing that understands our challenges and are committed to ensuring a brighter future for the next generation.

Are you willing to send a message?

I am.

And that's why I'm running for the State House.

I want to stay in my our great state.

It was Michigan ingenuity, Michigan entrepreneurship and Michigan innovation that built this country.

Our challenges may be unprecedented, but they aren't insurmountable.

And with your help, we can do this.

With today being the 173rd anniversary of Michigan's statehood, it is fitting to affirm the need for the calling of a constitutional convention to address the broken system of government.

Just as George Romney and other statesmen assembled in the early 1960s, under the auspices of Citizens for Michigan, after years of chronic failures in Lansing, it is time for a new generation of leaders -- Republicans, Democrats and independents -- to follow their example and come together in the name of our great state.

What resulted from Romney's work was a constitution that was the first total revision and restructuring since 1850, when Jacksonians greatly changed our system of government from the original constitution. This document served Michigan well for many years, but it is clear that Lansing is no longer working.

Michigan is vastly different today than it was in 1963.

Reversing the Lost Decade and the mass diaspora of one family every 12 minutes in recent years will require a new constitution that overhauls and restructures government to reflect the realities of the 21st century.

Quite simply, radical reform is needed because Lansing's tired, old partisan ideas are not working -- and have not worked for some years.

Whether it is a simple and fair tax structure that rewards innovation and job creation, amalgamating departments, consolidating administrative functions of school districts at the county level, granting the governor the full power over state departments -- making the bureaucracy truly accountable, expanding home-rule powers for counties, establishing a minimum population threshold for cities, villages and townships, or increasing regional collaboration and service pooling in rural counties, there are plenty of ideas that must be considered to reduce the burden and cost of government.

With schools broke, roads crumbling and violent felons being released from behind bars, it is clear that Michigan needs a new framework for government from Lansing down to local levels.

That is why I support a constitutional convention and will be voting "yes" on Proposal 1.

Michigan Can Lead the Way:  Michigan Constitutional Convention from Seeking Michigan on Vimeo.

Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, a Democrat candidate for governor, was on WJR with Frank Beckmann this morning talking about the need for "commonsense" reform of government.

He talked about restructuring, consolidating and streamlining government.

Yet his record with government reform at the local level is one of inaction.

After I was on Beckmann's show on February 13, 2009, to discuss my efforts to abolish my own office, Dillon called in and promised to support legislation in the House of Representatives.

Well, the legislation, House Bill No. 5216, was introduced last summer and there's been no action.

Dillon has the power to move this commonsense reform of local government, yet he hasn't.

I fundamentally believe raising taxes is never the answer, and I'm the only candidate for the State House seat in the 105th District with a record of never supporting a tax increase.

The Associated Press reports 240 new laws were enacted by the Michigan Legislature in 2009 .

Yet, one has to ask what exactly was accomplished this year.

Michigan continues to have the worst economy in the country with one family moving outside the state every 12 minutes. Businesses are struggling, schools are broke, roads are crumbling and police agencies are finding it difficult to keep the streets safe from criminals.

While the politicos in Lansing will recite bill after bill that was passed, it's notable that not a single one of Michigan's 240 new laws made the National Conference of State Legislatures annual list of new laws.

Notable new laws include New Mexico passing a tuition waiver for medical students who practice in underserved areas and reforms to New York's retirement system for state employees.

Think about it for a second, what has Lansing accomplished this year that addresses Michigan's twenty-first century challenges?

A proposal by freshman legislators to extend the length of Michigan's term limitations is nothing new and won't do much to reform and restructure the broken state government.

While term limits need to be addressed, this won't be enough to fix Lansing

Let's face it, Michigan's government was designed in an era vastly different from today.