| This is nearly as surprising as The Oakland Press' endorsement of Gary Peters. Ideology may well shape many voters' decisions in this high-decibel race, but we offer our endorsement using another standard: Who can better serve this district in Washington? In that respect, Mark Schauer is the better choice.
...snip... The Jackson area needs money to modernize I-94. Michigan's automakers (and, by extension, their local suppliers) need federal assistance. Economic development projects involving government contracts or regulations need attention from a local lawmaker. Walberg's record in this regard has been spotty. Schauer's has been exceptional. As state senator, Schauer was vital to the recent creation of a SmartZone in Blackman Township. From various accounts, he was the one who lobbied the governor to expand the number of these business-friendly zones in Michigan and to make sure that Blackman got a fair shot. Local economic-development leaders identified this as a priority, and Schauer delivered.
The impact of this is apt to be pretty minimal at this stage of the campaign. Everyone's concentrating on executing GOTV strategies and probably there are few, if any, genuinely undecided voters at this point. |
