GAYLORD — Republican State Rep. Ken Borton of Gaylord is facing competition in the Aug. 6 primary. He is being challenged by Christian Marcus of Elmira in the 105th district.
The winner will square off against Democrat James Wojey of Roscommon in the November election.
The Gaylord Herald Times invited Borton and Marcus to respond to a series of questions selected by the paper, which reserved the right to edit the responses to account for space limitations, proper use of grammar and Associated Press style guidelines.
Only Borton responded and below are his responses to the questions.
Ken Borton
Q: Please describe your background (educational achievements, work history and how long you have lived in the area etc.) and if you are an incumbent state how long you have held the position?
A: I have a diploma and certificate from Liberty University. My wife Brenda and I have two children and five grandchildren. I am a lifelong resident of Michigan and I have lived in this area for over 30 years. I have represented Northern Michigan in the state house since January 2021.
I have over 40 years of real estate and property management experience. I served on the Otsego County Board of Commissioners for 10 years before seeking state office. In Lansing, I’m proud to have led the charge to preserve snowmobile trails and end burdensome mandates that threaten folks who have recreational bird feeders with criminal penalties. I also sponsored legislation that helped farmers sell their products overseas which was enacted into law.
Q: As more electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids enter the market, the revenue from gasoline and other fuel taxes that is used for road maintenance is expected to decline. What other revenue sources should the state consider for roads?
A: Everyone agrees that we need to find new funding sources to pay for road repairs. However, while Democrats look outward and find new ways to charge regular people more, I think we should look inward and explore innovative ways to make state government more efficient and effective without asking for more of your money. If we were to cut all unnecessary spending, whether pet projects or ineffective programs, we would likely have a surplus of funding available to dedicate to road funding.
The state captures so much in tax dollars already so the answer to solve road funding shouldn’t have to be asking taxpayers to pay even more. The best part about shrinking government is saving money to address problems just like this.
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Q: If elected in November, will you release your federal tax return every year that you are in office?
He did not respond to this question.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
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