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 were 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.
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Name: Rep. Curt VanderWall
Age: 56
Community of residence: Ludington
Education: Grand Rapids Junior College
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?
From tool and die shops, to foundries, manufacturing, and construction, employers in northern Michigan have immediate job openings that pay well with benefits. We need to continue reducing regulatory red tape, keep taxation low, and support professional trades educational opportunities for students and those seeking a second career.
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?
Having a solid relationship with members of the Appropriations Committees allows for me to advocate and educate them on the importance of these programs and organizations to continue the funding.
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?
Michigan and the federal government are addressing this right now. Governor Snyder has proposed funding for broadband in our rural areas as has the President as part of the USDA infrastructure proposal. Students or companies who do not have access to high speed internet or broadband technology are put at a disadvantage. I support these investments.
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?
Line 5 provides a tremendous amount of natural gas to heat homes in Northern Michigan. Closing it would greatly increase the price for those families. I support the new tunnel.
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.
We are discovering more locations across the state where practices of the past using certain chemicals such as PCB’s, and now, PFAS, have contaminated the soil and groundwater. These sites need to be addressed to stop further contamination. I support additional funding for brownfield cleanup of sites across the state.
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?
I sponsored and voted for legislation that would make the legislature subject to the Freedom of Information Act, while protecting constituent correspondence with legislative offices. I would do so again.
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?
I am the largest contributor to my campaign, spending upwards of forty thousand of my own money in this campaign.
Q: Why should people vote for you?
I feel I am the best fit for the district because of my attentiveness to the needs of the constituents and business owners, solid work ethic, and willingness to listen.
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