Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox is running for the Michigan House of Representatives because he's waved goodbye to his generation. He's committed to ensuring a brighter future for Michigan's next generation.

As representative, he will be a strong voice for families and businesses from across Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Otsego counties.

“Lansing is broken. The twenty-first century challenges facing our great state require twenty-first century solutions that put Michigan first and politics second. We must work together, as Republicans, Democrats and independents did in the days of Governors Romney and Milliken.” — Dennis Lennox.

Jobs for Michigan

Dennis Lennox understands politicians don't create jobs.

He's focused on rebuilding Michigan to make her economically competitive and welcoming to innovation and job creation.

Years of poor leadership, from Republicans and Democrats, has resulted in high taxes, job-killing government regulations and too many levels of bureaucratic red tape — stifling innovation and discouraging entrepreneurs from creating jobs on main streets across the state.

This has resulted in a Great Diaspora of one family leaving Michigan every 12 minutes.

To get Michigan working, Lennox will cut taxes and adopt right-to-work laws, which would make the state's economy instantly competitive with more than 20 other states.

This will also require an end to the era of government picking winners and losers. Michigan must be open for business to all job-creators and innovators. The state can't afford to continue losing her best and brightest.

It's also time to crackdown on illegal immigration, which denies Michiganders real jobs and costs taxpayers over $500 million a year.

“Our great state's challenges may be unprecedented, but they aren't insurmountable. After all, it was Michigan ingenuity, Michigan entrepreneurship and Michigan innovation that built this country of ours. Job losses aren't Republican or Democrat challenges. They are Michigan challenges. By putting our political differences aside and working together, we can rebuild — and reshape — Michigan for the twenty-first century.” — Dennis Lennox.

Cutting taxes

Increasing taxes is never the solution to the economic and budgetary challenges.

Dennis Lennox has signed Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to increase taxes. He's the only candidate that has never supported a tax increase, and he's the only candidate pledging to never support a tax increase in the future.

On his first day in the House, Lennox will repeal both the Michigan Business Tax and Governor Granholm's $1.4 billion tax increase on working families, which, as you may recall, was suppose to solve Michigan's challenges when it was enacted in 2007.

Lennox also supports real tax reform that replaces the income and business taxes with a simple, flat and fair tax, such as the Michigan FairTax.

To ensure job opportunities exist for the next generation, Lennox will grant tax incentives to businesses who create jobs for recent college graduates.

But cutting taxes isn't enough. State government spending must also be reduced, which is why Lennox will cut spending from $4,800 per person, per year to $3,500 per person, per year. This will reduce spending by $13 billion per year.

“Raising taxes on the cash-strapped wallets of working families and the cash registers of main street is never the answer to budgetary and economic challenges.” — Dennis Lennox.

Reforming government

Lansing is broken.

Government, at all levels, must become efficient and responsive to the needs of the taxpayers who fund it.

Michigan's system of government with its archaic and often overlapping structure must be reformed, consolidated and streamlined. In Cheboygan County alone, there is one politician for every 166 people. In all, Michigan elects more politicians than almost any other state in the union.

At the local level, it's time to reorganize Michigan's 83 counties for the first time since 1891. By having these artificial lines reflect the realities of 2010, taxpayers could save hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Whether it's consolidation or ensuring the system and structure are flexible to accommodate local communities, real reform must occur to bring government into the twenty-first century.

It's also time to require all levels of government to publish the checkbook expenditures on the internet for taxpayer scrutiny and review.

When state government shutdown in 2007 and Governor Granholm's tax increases were passed, Lansing bureaucrats suddenly found a previously unknown budget surplus of $350 million.

The tax increase would certainly have been lower — if not rejected — had taxpayers been able to visit a website, click a computer moose and scrutinize the budget and the government's checkbook.

By disclosing all expenditures in all governmental entities, over-spending could be curbed and the process used to develop a state budget in a timely manner would be made easier.

It's also time to encourage taxpayers to scrutinize government expenditures by awarding a monetary prize to taxpayers who recommend cost-cutting measures. If the auditor general verifies the cost savings of the recommendation, the scrutineer should receive a commission of 5 percent (up to a maximum of $10,000) of the identified first-year savings as a reward for identifying waste and excess in government.

Reforming the budgetary process is also fundamental to ensure a stable and functional system of government.

The constant threat of government shutdowns in recent years is an embarrassment and must end. It's absurd to expect school districts and local governments to pass a budget without knowing the budget of state government.

Under Dennis Lennox’s plan, which has been endorsed by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson:

• The Legislature would adopt a two-year, rolling budget with quarterly adjustments determined by a budget task force to ensure budgetary management and forecasting.
• Requires all legislation to include fiscal notes that specify the cost of the legislation and funding mechanism.
• Mandates each house of the Legislature pass a balanced budget, unlike the current requirement that only the enacted version of the budget be balanced.
• Initiates an independent audit of state government's finances.
• Moves the commencement of the fiscal year from October 1 to July 1.
• Prohibits the Legislature from taking up any other legislation until a budget is passed.

“Lansing is broken. Our structure and system of government needs to be reinvented for the twenty-first century. It's time for a serious discussion on what government is and isn't suppose to do. This may mean radical reform to right the ship-of-state.” — Dennis Lennox.

Defending our values

The pro-life, pro-family and pro-Second Amendment values of Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Otsego counties will be defended, advocated and supported with Dennis Lennox in the House.

He is committed to making Michigan the most pro-family state in the union, which is why he's been endorsed by the Pro-Life Federation of Michigan and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice.

Lennox has also received an "AQ" rating from the National Rifle Association, which is the organization's highest rating for a non-incumbent candidate.

“Dennis Lennox is a strong voice for pro-life issues in this election. He will be a strong advocate for our traditional family values.” — Jerry Zandstra, president of the Pro-Life Federation of Michigan and state chairman of Americans for Prosperity.

“Dennis Lennox's record of supporting traditional values is clear. He understands that strong families are vital to Michigan's future. As Northern Michigan's next voice in Lansing, he will be defend our most important values.” — Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice and former chairman of the Romney for President National Faith and Values Steering Committee.

Improving education

Dennis Lennox understands the next generation won't succeed when schools are crumbling and college tuition is doubling every year.

K-16 schools and colleges should receive equitable, per student funding instead of the current unfair funding formulas that punish families for living in Northern Michigan or attending colleges without the political clout of the biggest institutions.

And education is best when the local community — parents, teachers, principals — control the schools instead of state and federal bureaucrats.

One size fits all mandates hurt the next generation and discourages them from finishing school, and school bureaucracy must be done away with so education focuses on each student's real needs.

Lennox will ensure education is re-focused to teaching the next generation and not complying with unfunded mandates and the mandatory 200 reports that K-12 districts must submit each year to state bureaucrats.

When Michigan spends more on corrections than education, it's clear Lansing's priorities aren't in order. Money spent on education should get to the classroom — it shouldn't be tied up in administrative and bureaucratic costs.

“The focus of educators should be educating our next generation and not the unfunded mandates imposed by bureaucrats in Lansing and Washington. Teachers need to teach and principals need to be principals. The idea that school districts are required to submit over 200 reports a year to Lansing alone is absurd.” — Dennis Lennox.