State representative candidates clash on gun control, education

Published 9:22 am Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Local voters had a chance to watch and listen to four of the candidates in two of the most pivotal races Cass County voters will decide during Election Day next month, during a public forum Monday night at Southwestern Michigan College.

In the first of a double-header debate, Niles’ Mark Herman and Cassopolis’ Scott Teter went head-to-head, telling the audience lining the seats of the college’s student activity center theater why they should be the next man to serve as Cass County Circuit Court Judge.

Immediately following the conclusion of their debate, the two candidates vying for the 59th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives took the stage, with incumbent Republican Aaron Miller, of Sturgis, facing off against Democratic challenger Carol Higgins, of Mendon.

Both debates were moderated by Mary Drolet, deputy director at legal aid of Western Michigan, and were organized by the League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties.

The league is also organizing a debate between 78th District Michigan House candidates Dave Pagel (R) and Dean Hill (D) that will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Berrien County RESA Conference Center in Berrien Springs.

The candidates running for Michigan’s 59th District seat butted heads on many issues, including concealed weapons permits, renewable energy efforts and childhood literacy during a spirited debate Monday night.

Incumbent state Rep. Aaron Miller, R-Sturgis, clashed with Democrat challenger Carol Higgins, of Mendon, during the League of Women Voters’ forum that evening at Southwestern Michigan College. The two fielded questions on a variety of different state and national issues from both moderator Mary Drolet and from members of the audience during the event.

The two are running for the 59th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, which serves a wide portion of residents living in Cass County, including the City of Dowagiac and Village of Cassopolis, as well as Calvin, Jefferson, LaGrange, Marcellus, Mason, Newberg, Penn, Pokagon, Porter, Volinia and Wayne townships. The district also covers the entirety of St. Joseph County.

Miller is currently serving his first term representing the district in Lansing, elected in 2014 to take over the seat from Matt Lori, who had to step down due to term limits. Prior to running for office, the Sturgis resident had served as a high school mathematics teacher Northridge High School in Middlebury, Indiana.

“In Lansing I read every bill,” Miller said, speaking on his record since taking office. “Every non-appropriations bill that comes before me, I have already read it. I am one of two legislators that I know who does that. That means you can trust, while you are living here at home, that I have done my homework.”

Higgins is a former educator with Marcellus Community Schools, serving from 1988 to 2004, and served as part-time substitute after that. She also owned and operated a bed and breakfast from 2005 to 2013.

“I am currently the chair of the St. Joseph County Conservation District Board of Directors, and volunteer many hours to provide programs that protect our natural resources.”

As to be expected with two former educators sharing the stage, many of the questions directed at the candidates pertained to issues concerning the state’s educational system. One such question posed to them were on how legislators can help attract educators to serve in state school districts in a time where spending on pay and benefits continue to see reductions.

“We attract them [teachers] by making the teaching profession just as well respected as the military,” Higgins said. “We thank them for what they do, we tell them how much we appreciate what they do, and we pay them as professionals. That is a key ingredient to attracting anyone to any profession, and that is not something we are not seeing with our current financial issue with schools.”

The candidates were also asked about the recently enacted House Bill 4822, which mandates that students must achieve a proficient level of reading by third grade in order to advance to the next grade, a law that Miller expressed support for.

“We have to take a whatever-it-takes approach to reading, because if they do not learn to read, how will they go on to reach the next stepping stones of their life,” he said. “You do not.  You do not if you cannot read.”

The two also clashed on the topic of concealed weapons, in particular as to whether or not Michigan residents should be able to have them without a permit. Miller co-sponsored legislation in the house earlier this year in support of non-permit concealed carry, a stance that he defended Monday by saying it was in line with the language of the Second
Amendment.

Higgins, however, said she opposed such a measure, and also supported additional gun control measures such as implementing wider background checks for people purchasing weapons as well banning the sale of assault weapons.

“We can own guns, we can protect ourselves, without going to war and using weapons of war,” she said. “It is time for us to be smart. If we can save one life by making sure these background checks or assault weapons are so easy to come by, to me that is worth a lot.”

The two also disagreed on the topic of energy, with Miller saying he opposed federal regulation on emissions from coal plants that are causing some of them to shut down, due to the fact that alternative energy sources such as wind and solar are not yet suitable for widespread use.

“We never left the stone age for lack of stone,” Miller said. “We graduated to iron because we found a better way. Right now, coal plants are the answer. If you disagree, please turn off the lights in your house first.”