TRAVERSE CITY — Four candidates, two from each major party, wanting to represent a state House of Representatives district with substantially redrawn borders.
Michael Brodsky and Betsy Coffia both seek the Democratic nomination for the 103rd District while Heather Cerone is challenging Rep. Jack O’Malley, R-Lake Ann for the GOP nomination.
The district will cover all of Leelanau County once it takes effect, plus parts of Benzie and Grand Traverse counties including Traverse City and bordering townships.
Brodsky, 32, of Traverse City, cofounded digital public policy engagement toolmaker Countable. He and his wife moved to the city more than a year ago after years of visiting family in the area.
He said he supports law and a constitutional amendment to overturn Michigan’s abortion ban and ensure reproductive care access.
The state needs what Brodksy called common-sense gun laws that enact waiting periods, ban high-capacity magazines and expand safe storage requirements, he said.
To add more housing, Brosky said he proposes tax abatements for middle-income housing projects, plus ensuring the state housing agency doesn’t discount tax credit applications from rural communities.
Brodksy said he wants to go from support role to candidate so he can pursue policy he believes in, and in an inclusive way that builds alliances without being divisive.
“We always talk about political polarization and how extreme political discourse has become, but we can’t just hope it’ll get better, we have to start somewhere,” he said.
coffee, 44, of Traverse City, is a strategist for We the People Michigan, a political group backing multicultural, working-class power and justice. The organization was also active to ensure every vote in the 2020 election was counted, she said.
She wants to codify abortion and reproductive care access into law, and her campaign backed a ballot question to amend the state Constitution to do so, Coffia said.
Coffia wants state housing programs to stop disadvantaging rural projects, and she opposes draft laws that would block local government control over short-term rentals.
Childcare regulations need streamlining to help providers, and Coffia supports a pilot program that splits costs between parent, employer and the state, she said.
Coffia touted her working-class Northern Michigan roots, her record of leadership as a second-term Grand Traverse County Commissioner and being the only pro-choice woman candidate.
“At a time when our state legislature is Ground Zero for whether we protect privacy and reproductive freedom, we need leaders with a deep personal stake in that freedom,” she said.
In the GOP race, Cerone, of Traverse City, is a self-employed constitutional rights activist with a background in sales, including pharmaceuticals. She declined to give her age, and said she’s a “mama bear” to a daughter.
Despite various audits and investigations refuting claims of election fraud in 2020, Cerone said she’s running because she believes there’s plenty of evidence of tampering and elected officials didn’t do enough. She’s unconvinced by those refutations and ongoing hearings in the US Senate, and wants a forensic audit of the results.
“If there’s just one shred of evidence or any question about the elections it needs to be investigated and looked at,” she said.
To that end, Cerone said she favors amending the state Constitution to end no-reason absentee voting, eliminating or better securing ballot drop boxes and requiring picture ID for voters.
Cerone said she also wants to combat inflation by changing policies that hinder domestic energy production, and she criticized Pres. Joe Biden’s moves against pipeline projects and oil and gas leases.
She fought what she and others cast as critical race theory at school board meetings and said she favors local districts’ control over their curriculum, plus more parental involvement.
O’Malley, 62, of Lake Ann, has a background in radio broadcasting and is serving his second term in the House of Representatives. He and his wife have three children and three grandchildren.
O’Malley supported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ask to the US Supreme Court to give Michigan’s Electoral College votes to former Pres. Donald Trump — voters in the state favored Biden by 154,000 votes, as previously reported. Signing that letter drew sharp criticism from some who call O’Malley an “insurrectionist,” he said, while others blasted him for not doing more.
“Anybody who says 2020 was the most perfect election that ever was, I mean, we walked on water it was so good, and then you’ve got people who say it was stolen,” he said. “Neither are right. The truth is always in the middle.”
His top priorities include finishing what he started on improving childcare, including boosting summer camps with subsidies and relaxing rules to allow in-home providers to give care in other types of buildings.
O’Malley favors more local school district control and wants to reconfigure the state Board of Education so each region has its own representative on it, he said.
Using existing public transportation and situating affordable housing projects in outlying communities around the district’s more urban locales could boost affordable housing efforts, O’Malley said.
The 103rd District will no longer cover Crawford, Kalkaska, Missaukee, Ogemaw and Roscommon counties, as the boundaries currently stand.
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