On the Issues

As the only candidate for Governor of Michigan with a farming background, and someone who loves getting his hands dirty, I laugh when pretenders talk about agriculture yet don’t even own a pair of work gloves. There are many issues to solve in agriculture.  

Here are a few of my priorities.

A permanent fix to the estate tax and capital gains tax for family farms. As Governor, I’ll work with our representatives in Washington to fix the estate tax system that penalizes Michigan farmers. Under current law, you can pay a “death tax” of as much as 40% of the total value of your estate. That can absolutely bankrupt a family farm as it changes hands and we must fix this once and for all.

Protecting farmers from overseas markets for in season fruits and vegetables. We must establish and maintain fair trade opportunities for our farmers. I’ll fight to expand markets for Michigan products, and I’ll work with Washington to assist and protect our ag community from retaliatory tariffs.

Strengthening right to farm laws. Our agriculture community must have the tools to maintain and increase their productivity. That means ensuring farms the ability to utilize new and emerging technologies. 

Removing bureaucrats and regulations from farming policies. I want to make sure that any rules and regulations imposed on the farming community is backed by science and is not at the whims of some bureaucrat. My administration will have a team in place that understands agriculture and we will work to remove excessive regulations that are stifling growth and productivity.

Improving Infrastructure. Fixing our roads and bridges is vitally important for all of our state, but especially for our ag industry who depend on transportation for getting goods to market. In addition, many of our rural areas do not have access to natural gas and even broadband internet. This must be fixed so that our thriving ag industry can continue to grow and prosper.

I’m a parent of three children who successfully graduated from public schools. As I’ve traveled the state talking with other parents the number one concern I’m hearing is that they don’t want to be shut out of the process. I understand that concern.

We hear stories of curriculum being taught with little or no parental involvement. The Democrats even went so far recently to say parents should have no role in their children’s education. This is deeply troubling.

As Governor, I’ll make sure we keep insidious ideas like Critical Race Theory out of our classrooms. We must ensure our students can excel at reading, writing, math and science. I’ll also promote a return to vocational education so we see more shop classes and auto mechanic instruction.

And most importantly, I’ll make sure our parents have choices in education. Not all kids fit in a traditional k-12 public school “box.” They should have option to go elsewhere. – whether that’s the public schools, charter schools, private education or home schooling. 

Parents must be involved in their children’s education, and I’ll make sure we promote a transparent and cooperative environment.

We have to ask ourselves, where is the student in all this? We should be doing what’s best for our kids, not force feeding them a radical ideology.

Kids win when parents, teachers and admins are all talking. That’s my goal.

Following the serious questions of election security in the 2020 election, we should be doing everything possible to restore confidence and integrity to our election process.

This is what I’m fighting for, and what I’ll do as your next Governor.

1. Strengthen voter ID laws.  Currently, Michigan law requires an ID to vote, but voters are still allowed to cast a ballot without an ID by signing an affidavit. We must tighten this requirement. If someone tries to vote without a valid ID, their “provisional” ballot should be set aside until they can prove eligibility to vote. We require ID to apply for food stamps or welfare benefits, cash a check, purchase alcohol, board a plane, rent a car or hotel room, pick up a prescription or open a bank account, we certainly can require ID to vote.

2. Audit the voter registration lists and clean them up. Let’s make sure only those who are legally allowed to vote are on the voter list.

3. Ban ballot harvesting to assure voters – especially the elderly – are able to cast their ballot privately without any pressure, harassment or coercion.

4. Verify the citizenship of voters to make sure those who are living in our country, state and local communities illegally are not allowed to vote in our elections. Projections are that over 2 million will enter our country illegally this year thanks to the Biden administration’s lax policies. Many will end up in Michigan to join other illegal immigrants here already. We must ensure that only citizens are registered and allowed to cast ballots.

5. Enhance procedures to allow election observers complete, unimpeded access to the election process – both in casting votes and in counting them.

6. Discontinue same-day voter registration. We must give election officials sufficient time to verify that someone is legally able to cast a ballot before they vote. Currently, an individual without proper documentation is allowed to register and cast a “provisional” ballot on Election Day. Unless evidence can be found to dispute the eligibility of the person, their ballot is counted. We cannot continue to allow this.

7. Block any and all attempts to allow universal mail-in balloting.  Michigan voters have the ability to vote by mail upon signed request.  Ballots should never be mailed to people other than those who legally ask to be mailed a ballot.

Governor Whitmer’s attempts to relax election security will only encourage more cheating, and further erode trust in the election process.

As I travel the state, I can’t help but see the remnants of businesses that closed because of government-ordered shutdowns. Some estimates are that over 40% of Michigan small businesses have closed. Nearly 400,000 jobs were lost because of the draconian lockdown policies that destroyed businesses and the workforce. We’re also seeing major employers relocating to other states because of our government’s failed policies.

As Governor I’ll cut onerous business taxes, eliminate burdensome regulations, and make Michigan the most business-friendly state in the Midwest.

I will also support training programs that will allow rapid employee development into high demand industries outside of typical educational programs.

As Governor, I’ll work to cut these costly regulations. We should be encouraging businesses, not hampering them.

I’m pro-life. I believe that every child, born or unborn, deserves the right to fulfill their God-given potential. I oppose government utilizing tax funds to pay for abortions in our state and will veto any attempts to do so.

The Governor’s recent vetoes of budget items that promoted alternatives to abortion is a tragedy and clearly demonstrates her radical anti-life agenda.

As Governor, I’ll make sure that alternatives such as adoption are promoted in our state.

The Governor’s response to the pandemic was brutal. Michigan has been one of the strictest states in forcing businesses to shut down. We’ve had tighter restrictions on our citizens than other states, and our elderly have been imperiled when the Governor pushed COVID patients back into nursing homes.

We should never label a person’s life or their chosen livelihood as “non-essential.” The Whitmer administration completely failed us in this regard. All our citizens deserve to be treated with respect.

As Governor, I’ll bring common sense back to Lansing. It is time we balance the needs of our community and our businesses with the health and safety of all our citizens. No more shutdowns and no vaccine mandates for Michigan residents.

During my 34-years in law enforcement, I’ve seen the toll of crime and violence first-hand. I’ve devoted decades to helping our communities, and as Governor, I’ll continue that service by utilizing my experience to help make Michigan a safer place to raise our families, build our businesses and live out our lives.

Numerous Michigan cities have experienced unprecedented increases in violent crime in the past two years and it will take new leadership at the Governor’s office to turn this around. We must not cave into the demands of the “defund the police” crowd.

I’ve released a public safety plan called “Safe Communities, Safe Michigan.” The main points include:

• Continued funding for law enforcement;
• Advocacy and support for crime victims;
• Targeted support for reducing violent crime;
• Fully-funded narcotics enforcement;
• Improved school safety;
• Enhanced police recruitment and training; and
• Better implementation of technology.

Read the full plan here.

I drive our roads regularly; in fact, I’ve logged over one million miles on Michigan roadways. We all know our roads are a disaster. The time for action is now.

As Governor, I’ll work to identify and implement solutions that will not require raising taxes. For instance, the state currently collects over $1 billion in sales tax on gas purchases and none of it is used to maintain our roads. We can immediately dedicate this revenue toward fixing our roads as a first step. It will take some reshuffling of budget priorities, but we can make it happen without raising taxes.

There will be no California style gun grabbing under my watch. I fully support constitutional carry and will fight to ensure that the rights of law-abiding gun owners are not infringed upon.

As Governor, I’ll bring common sense fiscal responsibility back to Michigan, fight to lower our state and corporate income tax rates to stimulate our economy and bring jobs back to this state. At the same time, we’ll reign in out-of-control spending.

Michigan’s latest budget increases spending by $3.6 billion – that’s more than a 10% increase. It’s time to get government spending under control and let people keep more of their hard-earned money.

It’s time we help all our citizens, and we can do that by lowering taxes across the board.

My tax proposal includes:

• Reducing the income tax rate to 3.25%
• Cutting the corporate tax rate to 4%
• Immediately ending the pension tax
• Ensuring that sales tax on gas goes toward roads
• Adopting a “Sustainable Budget” that restricts spending growth
• Capping the interest rate charged on delinquent property taxes

In my command role with the MIchigan State Police I have managed large budgets and always respected the taxpayers’ money. Just like most citizens I earned my way to success and will always respect your tax dollars. I will manage government spending, and will save you money.

I have also signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. It is my commitment to you that I will oppose any bill that raises taxes on Michigan citizens. We’re taxed too much already, and I’m committed to not only opposing tax increases, but to actually reducing taxes in Michigan.

View the Full Tax Plan Here

My pledge to you is that every morning in Michigan when the government opens it will be accessible to its citizens. Throughout my public safety career, I have been subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. It’s how it should be in our state government as well.

In state government operations there should be nothing to hide.

You should not need an attorney to request information from the government and to hold your government accountable.

My Plan:

• Close loopholes used by agencies to delay compliance with requests; 
• Eliminate the costs of filing FOIA requests with state government agencies; 
• Establish an independent board to review appeals; 
• Ensure that the Governor’s schedule is public; 
• Require disclosure of business dealings with government agencies; and 
• Produce an annual report to track accountability.

Read the Full Plan Here

I oppose the Biden/Whitmer vaccine mandates. Like Whitmer’s lockdowns, they will cost jobs without any meaningful benefit.

Here’s my pledge to you:

Any state employee fired or displaced by Whitmer, Nessel, or Benson over the vaccine mandate will be rehired day one after I’m elected. The corrections officers, troopers, first responders, and other employees have already proven they can serve the citizens without your vaccine mandate.