Candidates running for the state House's 60th and 61st Districts addressed an audience Tuesday at a forum at the Fetzer Center sponsored by Western Michigan University.
KALAMAZOO — At a candidate forum Tuesday, the four candidates for the 60th District state House seat laid out their positions on a wide swath of issues, from getting the state’s sputtering economy moving again to shoring up education funding to the role of government in society. The event, held at Western Michigan University’s Fetzer Center and sponsored by the school’s Office of Legislative Affairs, drew about 60 audience members…
Democrat Thomas Batten and Republican Margaret O’Brien, both candidates running for the 61st state House seat, currently held by Republican state Rep. Larry DeShazor, who also is vying for the 20th District state Senate seat, participated in the forum as well.
Both are running uncontested in the August primary election.
O’Brien, a Portage city council member, said that her campaign rests on a three-legged stool, focusing on public safety, education and infrastructure. But, “the key to Michigan’s future is jobs, jobs, jobs,” she said. “We need transparency, compromise and a business environment that creates jobs.”
Batten, who owns a tutoring business, said that “the era of high-paying, low-skill jobs is over. We must fund education, the funding needs to be there, there’s just no other way.”
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