VanderWall announces candidacy for 101st State District.

Curt VanderWall

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Curt VanderWall has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Michigan’s 101st state representative seat. If elected, VanderWall would be the first Mason County resident to represent the district in decades. VanderWall is currently a Mason County commissioner and was elected this morning as county board chairman.

“I’ve been involved with politics for quite awhile and I have been involved in the community,” VanderWall told MCP. “I just really believe at this point in time we need someone in Lansing who is going to look out for our area. We need to keep fighting for what this area believes in and for the businesses that are here.”

VanderWall and his wife, Diane, own Turf Care Lawn & Pest Control Services/ Mole Man. They have three adult children.

He is currently the only Republican running for the seat currently held by Ray Franz (R-Onekama), who is term-limited at the end of this year. There are two Democrats running: Former 101st House Representative Dan Scripps of Northport and retired school superintendent Tom Stobie of Manistee, who unsuccessfully challenged Franz in 2014.

The 101st House District covers Mason, Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau counties.

“I think as we move forward in Lansing, the area that concerns me the most is that the legislature passes a lot of laws and we have to implement them down to the county level,” VanderWall said. “These laws sometimes impose financial burdens on the county. I think we need to be very careful of any type of changes in laws that force counties to pick up any more burden. These counties have strapped budgets and implementing these laws often mean cutting services or asking the tax payers for more money. Our people are taxed enough.”

VanderWall also said protecting Lake Michigan is a priority for him. “Lake Michigan is one of our greatest natural resources. We need to pay attention to that and we need to figure out how to protect that waterway, especially from invasive species and pollution.”

VanderWall has served on the Mason County board of commissioners for five years. He moved to Mason County from the Grand Rapids area in 1983 when he worked for Eberhard’s Foods. He purchased his current business in 2003.

He said his business experience will give him a greater understanding of growing our economy than any of the other candidates currently running for the seat.