City of residence
Plymouth
Age
55
Family
Wife - Myra Kay,
Daughter - Taylor Boucher (husband Matt and grandson Lukas),
Daughter - Brittany Noble,
Daughter Brooke Noble
Education
Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from Francis Marion College in Florence SC and a
Masters of Divinity Degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest NC
Vehicles owned
A Buick Verano and two Ford Focus'
Professional Experience
Restaurant manager '84-'87, Purchasing Agent '87-'90, Sales '90 - '93. I have been in the ministry from '93 to present.
Political Experience
na
Race/ethnicity
Caucasian
Incumbent?
false
It is important for the state to honor its current obligation when it comes to pensions. Workers have planned their whole lives for retirement so there is no reason to change the rules now. Moving forward, however, I believe we should encourage municipalities to convert from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan.
The state needs to honor its current local statutory obligations with regards to revenue sharing. I believe there is always room for improvement.
Struggling cities should request help from the state. It should not be forced upon them. All communities should be treated equal. If the state says they will provide something, they need to follow through.
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There was poor communication with key officials. We don't need finger pointing in the midst of a crisis, we need solid solutions to bring safe water to the Flint community. The state must work with local entities and providing whatever resources are needed to ensure safe drinking water.
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Poor communication and lack of ownership by the federal agencies amplified the water crisis. It seemed like everyone was blaming someone else when they should have been working together to find solutions.
No
No
Yes but I think people in our state pay too much in taxes. I believe we need to lessen the tax burden and allow the people of Michigan to keep more of their hard earned money.
No. I don't believe we need another governing body with more regulations to hinder our educational system.
Charter schools allow for parental choice. I believe the differences between Charter school curriculum and the public school curriculum give the parents the opportunity to decide which environment best suits the needs of their child. I don't see any changes needed at this time.
Discrimination of any kind is unacceptable. I believe the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act is sufficient in its current form.
Yes
Yes. I do not believe we need to raise taxes. We have a spending problem in our state. We need to make sure we are utilizing our tax dollars wisely. Everyone it our state has to live within their means. Why should the state be required to do the same?
If we could eliminate the political bias then I would support it.
No
Yes
Yes, as long as they are cost effective.
I believe in the rule of law. If someone breaks the law, the penalty should be imposed.
City of residence
Plymouth
Age
57
Family
Oldest of six children, married to Michael Homes, 12 year old twins Caroline and William
Education
Livonia Stevenson HS, 1977. I received a BA with Honors from the University of Michigan’s Honors College in 1981.
Vehicles owned
2014 Cadillac CTS, red in color
Professional Experience
Professional Highlights -
• Provide professional consulting services to a variety of clients in the municipal, government and liquor license arenas. Assist clients with government relations, liquor license procurement, business plans and strategic planning.
• Appointed by the Governor to serve as a Liquor Control Commissioner from 2008-2012, conducted over 5,000 violation hearings statewide and helped craft the State of Michigan’s liquor control policy.
• Led the industry leading, award winning concessions program for the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Finalized a program that boasted over $800,000,000 in projected annual sales, fifty percent ownership by women and minority owned businesses and unprecedented standards for quality and local participation.
• Senior strategic and tactical team leader for both of Jennifer Granholm’s victorious campaigns for Governor of Michigan.
• Broad economic development experience both within corporations and as an elected official with a focus on job creation, job retention and revenue generation.
• Highly successful software sales professional, regularly exceeded revenue goals with strong strategic selling knowledge. Worked with executive team to develop and implement new product launch strategies and to train sales force to penetrate markets.
Political Experience
·Plymouth City Commissioner, (1997 - 2003 and 2014 - present), Mayor Pro-Tem, (1999 - 2003)
·Chair, City of Plymouth Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (1997 - present) ·President, Plymouth Canton Hockey Association (2013 - present)
- Chair, Plymouth Northville Fire Advisory Board
- Served as COO of Jennifer Granholm's first campaign for governor and senior strategist for her second campaign.
- Served as one of two chief fundraisers for Mayor Mike Duggan's campaign.
Race/ethnicity
Caucasian
Incumbent?
false
If the state could find a way to to pool this expense together for the sake of economies of scale, (because all municipalities are in this boat - some are in more of a crisis than others), that would be helpful. Also, maybe some smart financial minds could figure out a way to develop a plan to deal with retiree costs based on actual expense rather than on constantly changing, nebulous actuarial data.
No. I am on board with the Michigan Municipal League's efforts to encourage the legislature to tackle the morass of the Headlee Amendment, Proposal A (which was designed in 1994 as a short term fix) and the manner in which the state disperses revenue sharing. Municipalities have almost no way to raise significant revenues because of these converging restraints. In Plymouth, we have cut staff by 30% over the past 10 years and our great team continues to deliver excellent services but the structural funding and revenue problems are going to catch up with everybody sooner or later. Working on this reform would be my number one priority in Lansing.
The Flint Water Crisis is a direct result of an unelected, unaccountable emergency manager making decisions based upon cost savings while disregarding the public health. The deplorable decisions regarding the Detroit Public Schools will not fix the district's problems. That statement is supported by the emergency manager and the state's treasurer. The Senate plan was a great bipartisan solution supported by Senate Dems and Republicans, the governor, the House Dems and many traditionally Republican business groups. Only the House Republicans dissented and somehow found a way to blow the plan up. Emergency managers tend strongly to a cut only mentality, sometimes with disastrous results.
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You cannot manage a municipality - especially when it comes to public health, safety and welfare - with a spreadsheet. It would have cost very little money to put the proper additives in the water coming from the Flint River to make it safe for Flint's residents. The state's failure to provide aid to the residents of Flint makes clear that the state needs to develop an emergency response plan to water crises that would create clear guidelines for how MDEQ, MDHHS, MSP, and other state agencies would work together to provide water distribution, health resources, education, and other services after a water crisis occurs. Way too much throwing people under the bus and not enough leadership.
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Candidate did not provide a response.
No
No
No. The Corporate Income Tax shifted the state's tax burden unfairly from businesses to individuals. After its implementation, business tax receipts dropped, cumulatively, by approximately $4.2 billion in fiscal years 2012-2014, since the CIT went into effect part way into fiscal year 2012. At the same time, the same legislation significantly increased taxes on individuals, especially Michigan's lower and middle classes and seniors. Tax receipts from individuals have increased by nearly $4 billion over the same period. Our state is now actually paying businesses to operate here due to this overzealous plan. I support a fairer plan that shares the burden between businesses and families.
Absolutely.
All schools that receive public funds should be subject to equal scrutiny and standards regarding performance and openings and closing.
Yes. Making Michigan an inclusive state welcoming to everyone isn’t just a matter of basic fairness, but it will also encourage corporations to grow jobs here and millennials to plant roots here.
Ensuring LGBT people have civil rights is critically important not to just those citizens, but to the well-being of our entire state. Business leaders, from mom-and-pop store owners to the CEOs of major corporations, support the effort to make Michigan an inclusive and welcoming state. It is makes no sense to discriminate against anyone because of who they are or who they love.
No. The RFRA is now being used to discriminate against women and LGBT/Q individuals (and, really, anyone with whom a group disagrees, shielded by religion). Religious freedom does need protection. But religious liberty doesn’t mean it's acceptable to discriminate or to impose one’s views on others. It doesn't seem to me that the RFRA was designed to allow businesses to refuse to serve gay and transgender people or to support government-funded discrimination. States should not create laws that protect or allow discrimination, either.
No
Yes, I support a non-partisan redistricting commission.
Probably. Although I need to study this issue more closely, I do believe that the decriminalization of recreational marijuana will likely follow the decriminalization of medical marijuana.
Yes
Yes. I support the “Powering Michigan’s Future” energy plan including increasing energy optimization standards, raising the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and anything reasonable that will move Michigan toward more energy independence and protect the environment.
Yes, we do. Again, this is an issue that merits significant thoughtful study. I am in favor of looking at corrections reform that cuts the state's massive spending in this area but always puts public safety first. I believe we need to evaluate prison sentencing and be honest about the racial and geographic biases that come into play in sentencing and parole.
e.thePeople