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Mr. Schuette begins by promising to strengthen public safety in Michigan. While he acknowledges that the Attorney General has influence over many aspects of society, Schuette says there is no responsibility of the Attorney General more crucial than ensuring public safety. Therefore, Mr. Schuette is promising the residents of Michigan that he will stop the early-release of prisoners from Michigan prisons, halt the closing of prisons in the state, and put an end to cuts in law enforcement. “When you cut cops, when you close prisons, and release dangerous criminals early, you endanger the safety of Michigan families,” says Schuette.

As to how he plans on ending these cost-saving budget cuts while Michigan is facing such tight budget constraints, Schuette says the answer is efficiency. In addition to trying to find more competitive bids for prison construction and management, Schuette wants to learn from other states. He says, “We ought to look at what other states do to keep their costs down. Ohio spends 26,000 dollars per-year on prisoners. We spend 38,000 dollars per-year per-prisoner. We need to get it right, and that means a new team and new leadership to make the tough choices.”

Bill Schuette’s second promise to the state of Michigan is to defend the Constitution of the United States. “The entire government needs to go on a diet,” says Schuette, adding, “Part of that is we need to fight the national healthcare legislation, this Obamacare legislation.”

Calling the new healthcare legislation a “massive government intrusion of big spending,” Schuette argues that the healthcare law violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

For his final promise to Michigan, Bill Schuette vows that he would protect families as Attorney General. Specifically, Schuette focuses on the task of collecting delinquent child-support payments for struggling single-parent families. Promising to continue the practices of current Attorney General, Mike Cox, Schuette says he will work hard to collect child support from delinquent parents. “There’s nothing more fundamental than helping a family and kids who have maybe no other paychecks coming to their home,” says Schuette.

As to the overall importance of his promises to Michigan citizens, Schuette stresses the need for public safety, saying, “You can never have complete economic recovery in our state if we don’t have security in our streets and neighborhoods and schools.”

Regarding his desire to fight against the new healthcare legislation, Schuette adds, “I think people have had it and are fed up with big-spending, big-government programs.”

- By Eliot Johnson

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Ruth Johnson, the Republican candidate for Michigan’s Secretary of State, wants Michigan residents to know three things she will do if elected. First, Ms. Johnson vows to cut government spending while still providing the best services possible.

Johnson points to government waste and fraud as places where the state could save money through reform. Referring to her cost-cutting experience while Oakland County Clerk, Johnson says, “We have cut twenty percent of our staff and over a million dollars.” Johnson also supports the idea of having multi-year budgets to avoid last-minute budget shortages.

In addition, Ms. Johnson hopes to save money and provide more services by utilizing the potential of both the public and private sectors. Also, by making more services available online, Johnson says, “We can really reduce the number of people that need to go to the Secretary of State’s office.” Using her time in Oakland County as evidence, she says, “We’ve tripled our online services,” adding, “That makes it easier, more convenient, and drives down the costs.”

For her second promise to Michigan citizens, Ms. Johnson keeps her focus on getting rid of government waste and fraud. In particular, Johnson promises to consolidate elections and crack down on election fraud. On the potential savings to be found in election consolidation, Johnson says, “Here in Oakland County we were able to get twenty-three school districts to piggyback on other races, and that alone has saved tax-payers 600,000 dollars.”

As an example of the type of election fraud Ms. Johnson will look to punish more harshly, she says, “Right now we have the fake Tea Party that was trying to go in place for no other reason than to deceive voters. That kind of stuff just can’t be tolerated… I’d start an election crimes unit to make sure that we don’t have any of these things happen.”

Ms. Johnson sticks to the importance of reform for her third promise, vowing to use her small-business background to cut spending. As to her experience as a reformer while working as Oakland County Clerk, Johnson says, “We’ve done that through innovation, cost-cutting, and we’ve received national awards for customer service, transparency, and voter integrity.”

Regarding the overall importance of her three promises to Michigan, Ms. Johnson says she wants to be a part of Michigan’s comeback. “We have to have integrity in our elections so that we do have democracy,” says Johnson, adding, “It’s so important to Michigan’s future.”

As a life-long, fourth-generation resident of Michigan, Ruth Johnson hopes to help create an atmosphere that will keep future generations in the state. On the importance of making it easier and more convenient to do business with the Secretary of State, Johnson says, “That helps not only job-providers, but also struggling families in the state… I think it will resurrect Michigan.”

- By Eliot Johnson

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Today we continue our Three Things series with guest Heather Mooney, a foreclosure prevention officer in Washtenaw County. To start, Ms. Mooney urges residents to find out what’s available in their community in terms of financial and psychological assistance. “All of us have experienced ups and downs,” says Mooney, adding that it’s important to be open to resources that are available to help citizens through difficult times.

While Mooney says it’s important for people to feel comfortable seeking out and utilizing services and programs that are meant to help them, Mooney also has a suggestion for people who don’t currently need assistance. “For those individuals that may not have to use them so heavily, consider contributions back to those agencies,” says Mooney, “especially places of faith or places that support the intangibles that are critical for all of us as we move forward in these challenging times.”

For her second idea, Ms. Mooney wants to remind Michiganders to be patient. Working to prevent foreclosures, Mooney has learned the importance of having patience. “In order to do a loan modification, the banks move pretty slow,” says Mooney, “and it usually takes six to nine months, at a minimum, to get an answer when seeking assistance.”

In addition to the necessity of patience when it comes to dealing with banks and foreclosures, Ms. Mooney says patience helps in other ways, too. “Patience is also an antidote to anger,” says Mooney, “So I think as a community we really need to focus on that.” Mooney adds that the camaraderie and brotherhood we need in order to successfully emerge from the current economic recession will require that we be patient with one another.

Ms. Mooney’s final idea is to pay more attention to education in the state. Since a high school diploma is insufficient for most well-paying jobs today, Mooney says it’s more important than ever to get students successfully through high school and onto other forms of education. “The bachelor’s degree is often becoming the new high school diploma,” says Mooney, adding that we need to “strengthen our basic elementary school systems so that it is easily obtainable to get everyone to get their high school diplomas.”

Beyond high school, Mooney thinks it’s also important for students to have a wide array of opportunities to further their education. If we can get more students to graduate high school and move on to trade schools or four-year universities, Mooney says we will “really build our educational, intellectual, scholarly base to create innovation for jobs, combating the brain drain that we often see here.” She adds that making all education institutions more accessible “will be a huge key component in reconfiguring and adjusting to this new normal that we’re seeing today in Michigan.”

- By Eliot Johnson

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Today, we hear from Clay Ebert and Patrick Schaller, co-founders of the independent music label Fox On a Hill.

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Clay Ebert and Patrick Schaller, co-founders of the independent record label Fox On a Hill, offer their three ideas regarding ways to help the state of Michigan. Firstly, Schaller urges people to utilize and take advantage of local entertainment, art, and events. Schaller says, “Some people have said that the keys to a strong state are economic growth, commerce, and job creation, and this all starts locally.”

Mr. Schaller points to an increase in music and arts events planned and hosted by small-town coffee shops and galleries as examples of locally produced entertainment that foster a sense of community, culture, and the sharing of ideas. Speaking specifically about Freshwaters Studio in Boyne City, Michigan, Mr. Schaller explains, “It’s a small place. People perform. They always pack the place, have a great time, and then it causes people to spill over into the local restaurants and pubs.”

In addition to taking advantage of local attractions, the founders of Fox On a Hill suggest that Michiganders be aware of their personal environmental impact. From simple things such as recycling and not using harmful fertilizers to encouraging the use of environmentally-friendly CD packaging, Clay Ebert points to The Great Lakes as a reason for all Michigan residents to protect their own backyards from environmental damage.

As an example of Fox On a Hill’s commitment to helping protect Michigan’s environment, Mr. Ebert explains, “Fox On a Hill has worked with Earthwork Music on Yellow Dog, by Greg Brown, which is a benefit CD that protects the Yellow Dog River from Sulfide mining.” Mr. Schaller adds that there are many music festivals around the state that promote environmental awareness.

For their third suggestion for improving the state of Michigan, Ebert and Schaller call for equal rights for all Michigan residents. Speaking specifically about the gay and lesbian citizens of Michigan, Schaller states, “Right now, not all residents are equal.” Mr. Schaller points to statistics showing that gay and lesbians make up roughly thirty to forty percent of Michigan’s populous. He adds, “Gays and lesbians are everyone’s neighbors. They represent billions of dollars of spending. And many of them are living in hiding. I think, to support a strong state, you have to support all your people.”

Referring to the inability of gay and lesbian citizens to get married under state law, Schaller goes on to say, “Clay and I are actually a gay couple, and it’s really difficult when I can’t give equal rights to him.” He adds, “I’d say human rights is {sic} a huge issue in this state, but it’s unfortunately being ignored.”

Viewing the issue of gay marriage from an economic standpoint, Ebert argues, “With gay rights, it’s not just an issue of equality, it’s an issue of opening up marriage in the state of Michigan, which would increase billions in spending from Michigan residents and from tourists. That’s revenue that’s sorely needed in the state right now, and we’re missing out.”

- By Eliot Johnson

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Michigan Radio host Christina Shockley talks with Kevin Budelmann, president of People Design in Grand Rapids, about his suggestions for what the people of Michigan can do to help the state.

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This week, President of People Design in Grand Rapids, Kevin Budelmann offers up his three ideas to help change Michigan. Each of Mr. Budelmann’s three things focuses on reframing specific problems or concepts in the state. First, he begins by suggesting that the people of Michigan should reframe the idea of change in their minds. While acknowledging that change can be uncomfortable or intimidating, Budelmann asserts that it is also essential for growth and evolution. He argues, “Adapting to change is really a kind of cultural currency. It’s really the new norm, and I believe that Michigan should be a change state.”

In regards to how reframing the idea of change can help Michigan on an individual level, Mr. Budelmann explains, “I think that everything from a national level all the way down to a local level and what happens in neighborhoods and community organizing has everything to with being able to adapt to new realities.”

Secondly, Budelmann calls for Michigan to reframe education and the way we think about what education means. He says, “I think that the idea of education should be something that is life-long.” He offers a holistic view of education, suggesting that we should be “removing some of the traditional boundaries, whether it’s school and work, right brain and left brain, science and art. If we believe in our future, Michigan should strive to be an education leader.”

In addition to reframing our ideas about change and education, Kevin Budelmann urges us to reframe our ideas about geography. He explains, “We could do better to reframe the way we think about the Midwest… A lot of people live in the Midwest, and we have a lot of unique characteristics about our geography and our landscape.”

In terms of how reframing our sense of the Midwest would benefit the region, Budelmann argues, “I think that we should, increasingly, in this globalized economy, think about the region as a single entity, in a sense.” Rather than competition amongst Midwestern industries, Budelmann suggests that Midwestern businesses compete in a more global market. He says it’s important for the Midwest to “see geography as an important brand characteristic, in a sense, and be able to see our values for what we really can contribute instead of whatever preconceptions may exist.”

- By Eliot Johnson