Lake City resident, former state rep. running for State Senate seat.

Bruce Rendon, candidate for 35th Senate District.

Lake City resident, former state rep. running for State Senate seat.

#Election 2018

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

Former 103rd Michigan House District Rep. Bruce Rendon is the second Republican to announce his candidacy for the State 35th Senate seat. The district includes Mason and Manistee counties and is currently represented by Darwin Booher (R-Evart) who will be stepping down at the end of the year due to term limits. Former 101st House District Representative Ray Franz of Onekama, is the other Republican candidate. During the August primary election, voters will chose between the two men to decide who will be on the November ballot.

Rendon, 66, has lived in Lake City, Missaukee County, for 36 years. He and his wife, Daire Rendon, have been married for 45 years and have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. Daire is currently the representative of the 103rd House District, which includes Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Kalkaska, and Crawford counties. She replaced Bruce after he was term limited, serving three two-year terms.

Bruce Rendon was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. He said he was motivated to run because of his experience as a business owner, he owned a building firm along with a dairy farm.

“I was serving as the president of the Michigan Association of Home Builders and was also involved with the state cattle association. Participating in those groups really opened my eyes to the process in Lansing. I have always been an involved person and I saw what over-regulation was doing to the two industries I worked in and how it was hampering us from creating jobs in this state.”

In addition to being involved with trade associations, Rendon also served the appointed position of chairman of the Missaukee County Planning Commission and was also on the county board of review.

Rendon said he decided to run for Senate because he wanted to continue his efforts in Lansing and assuring that the values held by residents of northern Michigan continue to be upheld.

Rendon is running on a platform of being “pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-family.” Here are his views on some current topics:

Abortion

He said during his tenure in the House, he sponsored House Bill 5711 of 2012 which was “the most sweeping pro-life legislation in the country.” The bill required abortion clinics to become certified and operate under the same laws and regulations as medical clinics, Rendon said.

Marijuana

Rendon said he is against legalizing marijuana. “I am not happy that we are going down this road,” he said. “I think marijuana use leads to other drug abuse. Plus, it’s a cash business and they don’t know what to do with the cash. The banks aren’t privy to that cash. I’m not for it and I don’t know how we can stop it. I think the people we send to Lansing will be able to have some say.”

Gun control

Rendon said while serving in the House, he sponsored legislation that helped to clean up the gun transportation laws.

Education

“Our children need choices and we need to design our education system to fit the jobs that are available in this state. As I travel around the 35th District it’s unbelievable the number of jobs that are unfilled and available, especially in industries such as agriculture. I am a big supporter of community colleges.

Tax reform

“I think we need tax reform. Over the past six or seven years the legislature has been successful in balancing the state’s budget. I think our coffers are in good shape, the school aid fund and the general purpose fund have close to a billion dollars. Hopefully we can now start giving back to the taxpayer.

No fault insurance

“I think by we need to offer different levels of coverage, up to a point. We need to address this. It’s been going on for over a decade and consumers need some relief. There are people who are making choices to drive without insurance because their premiums are too high.”

Term limits

“I’m not opposed to term limits but our current term limit system is way too short. Serving three two-year terms in the House means that a legislator is never out of the loop of running for office. A senator serving two four year terms also is limited. I would prefer to see something where the House is two four-year terms and the Senate is two six-year terms with a total amount of years allowed to serve in the legislature, some are advocating for that to be either 14 or 20. You lose so much experience and there is too much reliance on state employees dictating policy rather than elected officials. Ultimately, the ballot box is the true determinant of term limits, however.”

The 35th State Senate District includes: Benzie, Crawford, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Wexford counties.

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