Former WSA Presidents face off in state House campaign

By David James
Western Herald

The upcoming Democratic primary for the 60th district of the Michigan House of Representatives is set to have a strong Western Michigan University connection, as former Western Student Association presidents Sean McCann and Chris Praedel vie for attention leading up to the Aug. 3 vote.

While the two candidates agree that issues such as job creation and the continuing support of public education in Michigan should be of primary concern in the coming years, McCann and Praedel come from different professional backgrounds, with contrasting political motivations.

Praedel, an educator with two years of experience in the Teach for America program, is concerned that the current legislature is not experienced enough in the field.

“I really want to make sure that there’s an education influence in the legislature,” Praedal said. “Out of the 110 members [of Michigan’s 95th House of Representatives], there are only seven or eight members that have ever been educators, roughly 8 percent. Almost a third of every dollar that you give in your taxes goes toward education. That’s not right to me.”

McCann, on the other hand, comes from a more experienced political background, having served for five terms as a Kalamazoo City Commissioner. His career also includes work for the American Red Cross as well as more than six years as executive director of the Vine Neighborhood Association.

“I feel like all of these experiences have prepared me exceptionally well to be a State Representative for the area,” McCann said. “The 60th District has had a long tradition of constituent service, and that’s a situation that I intend to continue to foster.”

A critical issue for voters this fall will certainly be stimulation of job growth, as unemployment in the state stands at a national high of 14.6 percent as of December 2009, according to the Michigan Bureau of Labor Statistics.

McCann acknowledged that digging out of that hole would be a “slow and difficult process,” but showed optimism that it could be done, hand in hand with educational improvement.

“We have to continue to have a highly educated work force in order to attract companies to Michigan,” McCann said.

McCann also lamented the business tax system’s shortcomings.

“We may have a system that doesn’t hit on all the right cylinders as far as supporting the growth of business in Michigan,” he said.

Praedel also showed concern that the tax system is hurting development in the state, particularly in the case of the Single Business Tax (SBT), the state’s only general business tax. He said that the inconsistencies in the way this tax has been applied by the legislature have hurt business growth.

“There was a year where [the SBT] fluctuated 22 percent in the middle of the year. If you’re a business owner trying to plan for the coming fiscal year, how are you supposed to plan?” Praedel said, adding that ultimately he would like to lower these taxes in order to encourage expansion, hiring and innovation.

Though many of these issues are uncertain leading into the fall campaign, one principle that is unwavering among the candidates is pride in their Alma Mater.

Praedel sports a laundry list of accomplishments in his term as WSA President in 2007-08, many of which continue today. Among them are creation of Western Wednesdays, a large increase in the Student Activities Fund, the building of a non-denominational prayer room and development of the Student Association of Michigan, which brought together all of the state’s fifteen public universities to fight depletion of education funding.

“I really feel that [WMU]is a more prideful place because of what we did during our time there,” Praedel said. “We’ve seen a transformation from being a backup school to being the school that everybody wants to come to.”

McCann’s WSA accomplishments also live on today. A 1993 alumnus, his administration helped build a connection between the president’s office and the student body through internet forums, laid groundwork for professor evaluations, and worked on improvements in race relations on campus.

“I bleed Brown and Gold, and I weigh that very heavily in my hopes to serve in the state legislature and make [WMU] a better place for students,” McCann said. “I also have a special place in my heart for the Western Student Association and its role.”

McCann enters the spring as the frontrunner in the campaign, having an impressive list of endorsements from various city and county officer holders and constituents who appreciate his long-term work in the city.

Praedel, for his part, acknowledges that he is playing the challenger’s role in the campaign, but shows optimism that his status as the “hometown boy” will help, having lived in Kalamazoo his entire life.

While being clear that he intends to run a respectful campaign, Praedel emphasized that he wants to give a choice to voters in this heavily Democratic district.

“This may be a David vs. Goliath scenario right now, but history only remembers the underdog,” he said.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=15391

Posted by heraldstaff on Mar 7 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

http://HeraldStaff