West Coast Chamber Forum: 89th District State House Candidates

West Coast Chamber Hosts Local State House and State Senate Candidates

In the 89th, Price Touts Voting Record While Wiedenhoeft Says There Is Room For Improvement

The West Coast Chamber (formerly the Holland/Zeeland Chamber) held a candidate forum at its Government Affairs Breakfast this morning in Holland. The event featured candidates from local State House and State Senate races... Fred Upton also spoke, updating the crowd on what was happening in Washington.

In the 89th District State House race, State Rep. Amanda Price spoke first, confidently listing multiple pieces of legislation she was proud to be a part of.

"GDP was 50th before, now we are 6th...We repealed the MBT. We repealed item-pricing. We limited welfare benefits. Our 1.8 billion dollar budget defecit is gone...we reduced unemployment benefits...and we passed right-to-work..."

Price says the legislature has shown bold leadership.

"I ran to turn our state around," Price said. "I was lucky to have a team that had the same goal. We put the pedal to the metal...and made tough decisions to turn Michigan around."

Price's challenger, Matt Wiedenhoeft, a former semi-professional hockey player, warned the crowd of his predilection for sports analogies, and his warning was prophetic.

Wiedenhoeft told the crowd about his work at Baker and Davenport, his consulting company, and said his family has a history of being self-employed business owners.

"I understand you don't stop thinking about your business when you get home," Wiedenhoeft said. "You don't punch a clock and stop thinking about your business when you get home."

Seemingly playing off of Price's comment about the "team" in Lansing, Wiedenhoeft said that "We are reinventing Michigan, we have a great team, but we aren't making the playoffs."

Wiedenhoeft said Price's votes to raise the minimum wage and to support Governor Snyder's "Healthy Michigan" program were not helpful to the business community. As someone who has started four businesses since he was 18, he says he has what it takes to represent the interests of area businesses.

Wiedenhoeft, left, with Rick Albin of WOOD TV 8.