Editor’s Note:
This is the candidate profile given to all local candidates for the Nov. 6 general election. Not everyone submitted a response.
- Basic guidelines for the profiles are as follows:
- Absolutely no mention of any political party.
- Absolutely no mention of opposition candidate or their positions.
- Avoid using boilerplate answers. The purpose of this questionnaire is to give voters an opportunity to hear what YOU have to say about the issues at hand.
- Each candidate was given one opportunity to respond to the questionnaire.
- Each candidate is given the exact same question and word count limitations. Do not exceed the word count or the answer will be rejected. In the space where an answer was to have been submitted, a note will say, “Answer rejected because it exceeded word count limitations. Answers were rejected outright if they mentioned a competitor, a competitor’s position, or either political party. In that space will be a note that says, “Answer rejected because it included comments about the competitor or a political party.
- Answers were NOT edited in any way.
Name: Tim Schaiberger
Age: 38
Community of residence: West Branch, Ogemaw County
Education: BS English CMU 2005
Q: Michigan continues to experience the loss of many talented individuals in Northern Michigan due to a lack of quality employment opportunities. What specifically do you plan to do to bring more jobs to the Northern part of the state? (Do not use statistics, existing or currently planned business operations as examples)
I will work with surrounding communities and utilize our natural resources and make our communities attractive to professionals. I feel if we do not start at the the beginning, with public education reform and improvement, we will not be able to bring in business to communities.
Q: Organizations such as the Children’s Assessment Centers in Roscommon and Iosco Counties specialize in helping minors who are victims of sexual assault. Despite widespread support by local government and law enforcement, the state continues to decrease funding for these types of organizations. If elected, what will you do specifically to ensure funding is secured to keep these programs viable?
I would find a way to ensure funding through legislation that will also benefit public education. We should be taking care of our children in all ways.
Q: For Northern Michigan businesses to be competitive across the state and nation, we need dependable broadband internet service, which we do not have in many areas. Would you be willing to support a broadband infrastructure program similar to the National Highway System in order to bring Northern Michigan up to speed? Why or why not? And if so, how do you plan to accomplish that project?
We need a program as in depth and as widespread as the national highway system. We need to invest in broadband to give everyone an opportunity for knowledge. We need to audit the state and see what we are already spending revenue on and see if we can move some monies around.
Q: In regard to Line 5, the Canadian oil transfer line at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac:
The Great Lakes Business network, a growing coalition of Northern Michigan businesses, strongly opposes existence of the pipeline because of the danger to the waterway and its potential effect on tourism. Instead of forcing Canada to build a pipeline on its own property, the State of Michigan recently opted to allow Enbridge, the owner of the line and the company responsible for the Kalamazoo River oil spill in 2010, to start a permitting process to build a new pipeline beneath the straits. Do you support the rerouting of the pipeline to Canadian property and the subsequent closure of the pipeline in order to prevent a spill?
I fully support closure of the pipeline and rerouting to protect from spills
Q: Due to groundwater contamination with PCB’s in the Grayling and Oscoda areas, do you support greater restrictions on the use of chemicals which may negatively affect Michigan’s greatest resource, the Great Lakes and our groundwater? What legislation will you propose to reduce the number of cancer-causing chemicals being used in the state. (Do not use existing Michigan Department of Environmental Quality or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines as a boilerplate response).
I believe environmental regulations are very important to the health and vitality of our inhabitants. I believe that we can regulate what goes in to our waterways better than we currently do. Giving breaks to big businesses to pollute has to end.
Q: The Michigan legislature and governor are largely exempt from the Open Meetings Act, even though local officials must follow the law. If elected will you introduce a bill to revise the act to include the written and online communications all appointed and elected officials, as well as employees at the state level, especially since many state meetings are not held in public? Why or why not?
Yes. I believe that all public employees should be held to open meetings and all correspondence should be available. Unless it is forbidden by legal or classified means, and would cause deteminental results to anyone, I am for open meetings.
Q: What individual or group is your largest campaign contributor at the time you completed this questionnaire? How will you handle potential conflicts of interest that may arise affecting that contributor?
My biggest contributors are the voters of the 103rd. I have raised less than 700 dollars. My interests lay in them.
Q: Why should people vote for you?
I have lived in West Branch my whole life. I spent the last decade working for my community and fighting for the rights of my constituents. I’m an elected official.
