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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Leonard Favored In House Speaker Battle, But VerHeulen Remains Competitive


 
By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)
The battle between State Rep. Tom Leonard and State Rep. Rob VerHeulen to decide who replaces Speaker Kevin Cotter in 2017 has been simmering for over a year, but the race is heating up as November approaches.

Lansing insiders say Leonard is the favorite, but don't count VerHeulen out...

Jarret Skroup of Michigan Capitol Confidential recently wrote a great piece on the race. 

"On the GOP side, two current representatives are vying for the speakership — Rep. Tom Leonard of DeWitt Township and Rep. Rob VerHeulen from Walker. Both contenders raised money and provided additional support for a number of candidates in just-concluded primary races. So the outcomes of those races will have a lot to do with which one of these lawmakers gets the nod, assuming Republicans keep their majority.

In the course of the current Legislature and the 2013-14 one, VerHeulen and Leonard have been on opposite sides of other votes.

In the closing days of 2014, the Legislature passed a road-funding package that would have hiked taxes by $2 billion, some of which would have gone to transportation. In May 2015, voters killed the proposal with 80 percent voting against it. VerHeulen and Greimel supported the plan while Leonard voted “no.”

They candidates for speaker also disagreed on taxing internet sales (VerHeulen “yes” with Leonard and Greimel “no”), authorizing funding for Common Core academic standards (VerHeulen and Greimel “yes” with Leonard “no”), repealing a ban on allowing people to freely sell sport tickets (VerHeulen “no” with Greimel and Leonard “yes”), mandating license plate replacements every decade (VerHeulen “yes” with Greimel and Leonard “no”), accepting the Obamacare Medicaid expansion (VerHeulen and Leonard "no" with Greimel "yes"), and a few votes on select corporate tax breaks or subsidies (VerHeulen and Greimel “yes” with Leonard “no”).

 >>>Leonard? Or VerHeulen ? VOTE NOW!



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2 comments:

  1. Two bad choices. Again. Sheesh. http://www.michiganvotes.org/VotingIndex.aspx?ID=959

    ReplyDelete
  2. One good choice and one establishment hack. Team Leonard has Chatfield, Glenn, Runestad, and Theis. You can tell a mans character by who he surrounds himself with.

    ReplyDelete