Candidates compete in state rep primaries

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by Cynthia Price

 

The first thing to remember about the August 7 primaries in Muskegon is to vote.

The second is, you cannot split your vote between parties. So if you choose to vote in the Democratic race for state representative, for example, you must vote only for other Democrats in other races (some of which will be discussed in next week’s combined Examiner/Muskegon County Legal News coming out on August 3.) You may choose not to vote in any given race but not in the Republican column.


The 91st House includes all of Muskegon County except a section carved out on the West that includes Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, and parts of other adjacent cities – the 92nd District. There is only one Democrat (incumbent Terry Sabo) and one Republican officially running in the 92nd.


But there are two in each party running for the 91st, for which current State Rep. Holly Hughes cannot run due to term limits. They are Tanya Cabala and Andy O’Riley on the Democratic side, and Alan Jager and Greg Van Woerkom on the Republican side.


All of the candidates have some type of governmental experience. They are detailed here in alphabetical order within party.


Tanya Cabala was on the Whitehall City Council for 12 years and is a lifelong resident of the area, who lives in the house where she grew up. She was initially a schoolteacher and then pursued her work protecting the environment, opening up the Muskegon office of what was then called the Lake Michigan Federation. She now substitute-teaches, runs a consulting business, and writes on a variety of issues, including for the White Lake Beacon and a monthly column for the Norton-Lakeshore Examiner  until she decided to run for office.


She has won many awards over the years, and Sierra Club has endorsed her, which the organization does not do in too many primary races.


As far as priorities, Cabala says, “There’s a huge array of issues that we are faced with. and it’s hard to choose which are the most urgent, but I have four that I consider basic building blocks; in order for everyone in Michigan to have opportunities for a good life, we have to get these right.”


She starts with education, and funding it equitably. She feels strongly that teachers should make a decent wage. “The teacher pool is getting very small; they don’t feel appreciated. I know some teachers who haven’t had a raise in seven years,” she says, adding that a recent change mandating that in the 2018-2019 school year “40% of teacher’s annual year-end evaluations shall be based on student growth and assessment data” (that is, test scores) is counter-productive. (It was 25% previously.)

Cabala’s next priority is affordable health care for all, and she believes its benefits are felt by everyone. She understands that health care is primarily dealt with at the federal level, but knows there are many states doing something about it as well, and would like to explore those models.


Third, she wants to see good-paying jobs and is a strong union supporter. She would fight to eliminate the Right to Work law, and the recently passed prevailing wage repeal, which was done in a way that avoided the governor (who opposed it).


“Supporting good jobs is very tied in with education, since some big employers like Amazon won’t come here because our work force isn’t educated,” Cabala said.

Finally, she supports protecting the Great Lakes and other critical natural resources.


Cabala feels that her advocacy work, along with her city government experience, will mean that she can hit the ground running. “I’ve worked with local, state and federal governments for nearly 30 years, and I’ve worked across the aisles. I’m a strong person with strong values, and I know the district. I’ll speak up and speak out in Lansing,” she says.


Andy O’Riley is a member of the Roosevelt Park City Council. A well-known radio announcer, he broke with his last employer on principle and started his own consulting business as well as the Positively Muskegon Facebook page, blog, and online broadcasts.


He has been honest about his previous struggles with alcohol, and says he is ever-grateful for his second chance at life. O’Riley recognizes that being a representative is a lot of hard work, but notes, “It was hard when I started in radio, it was hard going into recovery, it was hard when I started my own business. I’m not above hard work.”


Education is one of O’Riley’s priorities too, and he feels that “teaching to the test” is not the way to go.


“Public education to me is a trust,” he says. “I have grown stepkids, but I’ve never had young children myself, so it’s not about my own kids, it’s about an investment in society.”


Probably O’Riley’s top priority is well-paying jobs. “Like any politician, I want to bring in better jobs. I’d like to see our business owners take a look at some history, go back to the 1920s and look at Henry Ford. He said, ‘If I pay these people enough they’re going to get the job done for me.’ All he did was pay them enough to afford the car that they were building, and he made himself a billionaire too.”


He also prioritizes improved infrastructure. “I would look at our underground piping, our energy pipelines, our drinking water. We need to modernize completely.
Broadband is a part of that too. And take a history lesson again, we can put a lot of people to work rebuilding infrastructure,” he says.


But perhaps O’Riley’s strongest motivation is to tell the world about the assets of Muskegon County. “I have such pride in this community,” he says. “We need to get somebody in Lansing that’s going to advocate for us.”


Alan Jager is a former Muskegon County Commissioner and current Holton Township Supervisor. He owns a company called Press’s Demolition which tears down houses and other small buildings.


Jager does not have a lot of strong priorities, mostly because his topmost concern is paring down the size of government. “We need to stop the big government and go back to more local control,” he says. “That would be all the way from the schools to things like the better business bureau. The government has taken so much authority away from the local people.


“I think we need to stop giving money away. Take bike paths - it’s not that I don’t like them, but why put money toward that when we can’t afford to fix the roads?”

But, he says, “We still need to protect the environment,” and adds that he is more “socially lenient,” for example on gay marriage, than a lot of his colleagues. 


Also like both Cabala and O’Riley, Jager thinks that the amount of money in politics is an affront. “I don’t want to be bought and paid for by anybody,” he comments.


His opponent Greg Van Woerkom has not been an elected official, but his career has been as an assistant to those who are.


He was Director of Public Policy for U.S. Representative Peter Hoekstra for eight years, and since 2011 he has been the District Director for U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga.
“For Congressman Hoekstra, I was responsible for a portfolio of issues including the economy, budget, agriculture, Great Lakes issues among others. I would write, review and make recommendations on legislation and was responsible for watching the House floor. [For Congressman Huizenga] I meet with constituents about problems that they are facing with the federal government and work to solve them, and find out what issues are important to the district.”


His father Jerry Van Woerkom was a state representative and a state senator.


Van Woerkom says his priorities are “continuing the economic progress we have made as a state,” improving infrastructure, and increasing educational achievement. He adds, “Muskegon-specific [goals are] removing Muskegon Lake as an Area of Concern and potentially expanding the reach of the wastewater facility.”


His message to the voters: “I am a public servant who has worked behind the scenes to improve our community. In an era of strict term limits, I am ready from day one to serve you and continue the comeback we have seen here in Muskegon County and Michigan.”


 

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