There are four candidates running in November for Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District set.
This is a federal election, and the winner will be a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Most of Wexford County is in the 2nd Congressional District, along with Osceola and Lake counties. The 2nd District also includes many of the counties in the central part of the state, including Kent County, with the exception of the Grand Rapids area.
Incumbent Republican Congressman John Moolenaar is seeking re-election and will face three challengers for the seat: Democrat Michael Lynch, Libertarian Ben DeJong and US Taxpayers candidate Scott Adams.
The Cadillac News sent the candidates a questionnaire to help voters get to know who they are and where they stand on certain issues. The following are their responses.
John Moolenaar
• Tell us about yourself. (Age, education, children, approach to government, etc.)
My name is John Moolenaar, and I am honored to represent Michigan’s Second Congressional District. This district spans 20 counties in mid, northern and west Michigan. I bring years of leadership experience in the private and public sectors to Congress. I have worked as a chemist, a business development director and as a school administrator. I currently serve on the House Appropriations Committee and Chair the House Select Committee on China. My wife Amy and I have raised six kids, and have two grandchildren with one on the way.
• Why are you a good choice for the position?
I am running for reelection to get our country back on the right track. I believe the Biden-Harris Administration and the Democrats have put America on the wrong track: rising prices hurting seniors and families, excessive mandates costing jobs in agriculture and manufacturing, a crisis at our southern border contributing to rising crime and lawlessness here at home and across the country. In Congress, I will work to cut taxes and reduce inflation so that Michigan families can keep more of their hard earned money, secure our southern border, protect our Constitutional freedoms and win the strategic competition against the Chinese Communist Party.
• What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing Michigan and the U.S. over the next decade? With this in mind, what will be your plan to address at least one of these issues?
— Continued out of control inflation that is increasing the cost to do business.
— Labor shortages and the need for a skilled workforce.
— Burdensome government regulations.
I believe the high inflation rates we have seen are a direct result of the Democrats’ excessive spending packages over the last few years, including the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act. We need to rein in government spending in order to bring down inflation and spur economic growth. Additionally, in order for Michigan and our nation to maintain its world leading edge in both manufacturing and workforce talent, we must get the government out of the way, reduce burdensome federal regulations and let American ingenuity drive our economy forward so that our small businesses can hire new workers. We also need to make sure our residents have opportunities to acquire new career and technical skills for good-paying jobs here in our state.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s housing shortage?
High inflation and excessive federal regulations are negatively impacting our housing market. It costs builders more to build affordable homes and it costs Michigan families more to purchase homes. We need to curb government spending and reduce burdensome regulations in order to bring down inflation, lower costs and spur more development. I also support providing affordable housing incentives for builders to increase the supply of homes.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s drug addiction problem?
I believe we must first and foremost secure the southern border to stop the flow of illegal immigration. This is a national security issue, and we must address it head on. We also know that China is manufacturing the precursor chemicals for fentanyl, the ingredients that are poisoning hundreds of thousands of Americans. China subsidizes its companies making the chemicals and then partners with the drug cartels in Mexico to bring fentanyl across our Southern border. We must put an end to this.
• Would you be in favor of raising taxes to pay for federal programs, projects or services? If so, what would those be?
No. I support reforms to the tax code that let hardworking Michigan families and businesses keep more of their hard-earned money. I supported the 2017 tax reform package which lowered tax rates for every American. I also supported recent legislation which renewed and expanded several tax deductions for small businesses.
• Would you be in favor of removing certain kinds of liberties to improve public safety or the health of society in general?
No. I support our law enforcement and have voted against defunding the police.
• Do you believe the electoral process is adequately safeguarded against fraud? Should additional measures be implemented to improve election security?
I believe there is more work to be done to restore confidence in our election process and it is of the utmost importance to ensure the integrity of our elections. I support a voter ID requirement for all elections. I have demanded the Secretary of State clean up Michigan voter lists and get dead people off the rolls.
• If you had the power to immediately change how the federal government works, would you change anything? If so, what?
I would continue to work to rein in government spending so that Michiganders are able to keep more of their hard earned tax dollars.
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If so, please explain.
No
Michael Lynch
• Tell us about yourself. (Age, education, children, approach to government, etc.)
My name is Michael Lynch and I live in Alma along the Pine River. I received a business degree in Economics from UCF, an MBA with a concentration in Corporate Finance from LSU, and a Ph.D. in Hospitality Management from Iowa State University. I have a wonderful daughter who is a professional musician, a medical professional, and a pilot. I believe in serving my constituency, not moneyed interests or large donors. My job as a member of the U.S. Congress would be to improve the quality of life of the citizens of my district. This means improving public education, building affordable housing that will not be controlled by large investors, improving access to reliable, affordable childcare and healthcare. We need to be good stewards of our environment. We need to expand broadband internet for commerce, education, entertainment, and increased farm production. We need to support our veterans and active duty military personnel.
• Why are you a good choice for the position?
My dedication to service started as I worked toward becoming an Eagle Boy Scout. At 17, I worked with members of a Native American tribe to help them get laws passed to improve their economic opportunities. Once I graduated from LSU, I joined the faculty as an adjunct professor. I did not do this solely to make extra money. I did this to enrich the lives of my students. I taught part time at DePaul University and West Virginia University where I was awarded with Professor of the Year awards at both universities. I have worked in business development domestically and internationally. I worked with the Ministries of Tourism in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, and the Philippines. I worked with the Ministries of Agriculture in the Republic of Georgia and Germany. In each case, service was not my main job. This service was done to improve the lives of others.
• What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing Michigan and the U.S. over the next decade? With this in mind, what will be your plan to address at least one of these issues?
According to a University of Michigan study, four of the five most impoverished counties in Michigan are in the Second Congressional District. I will work hard to bring good paying jobs to my district. As more people feel the effects of our changing climate, they will consider Michigan as their new home. Access to affordable housing, access to healthcare, and the availability of reliable childcare in rural areas will need to improve. Americans have been set one against the other by misinformation and dangerous rhetoric. We need to find ways to come together as a nation. I have personal relationships with current members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. They do not have Democratic ideas or Republican ideas. They have ideas that will move our country forward. Members of Congress need to learn to work together for the sake of our country.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s housing shortage?
The federal government should offer tax credits to first time home buyers to make home ownership a reality, very often for the first time in a family’s history. This will help to create a cycle of improved multi-generational wealth. We need to remove barriers that discriminate against any group from qualifying for a mortgage or moving into a neighborhood. I have seen instances where new, affordable housing is quickly purchased by investors. Laws need to be in place to regulate who purchases these homes. The federal government should encourage local governments to amend zoning laws to facilitate the building of affordable housing.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s drug addiction problem?
I have found that drug addiction is as much a mental health issue as it is an issue of the availability of drugs. Mental health should be considered as important as physical health as mental health can lead to a deterioration in physical health. Funding for mental health facilities and professionals has decreased over the past 40 years. We need to increase funding and eliminate the stigma associated with mental health issues. Law enforcement needs to continue to fight the production of dangerous drugs domestically as well as the introduction of dangerous drugs from outside our borders. Anyone who aids in the importation or production of dangerous drugs needs to be arrested and prosecuted, including members of international drug cartels.
• Would you be in favor of raising taxes to pay for federal programs, projects or services? If so, what would those be?
I am not in favor of raising taxes to pay for additional federal programs, projects and services. I am in favor of everyone paying his or her fair share. During the Eisenhower administration, top wage earners and our wealthiest citizens paid for the Interstate highway system. They funded public universities and their contributions helped to create the programs that took us to the moon and back safely. Corporations have fouled our waters and lands in many parts of the country. Increases in corporate taxes should be allocated to repair the damage left behind by corporations. Corporations need to be held responsible for maintaining and improving our environment. I would support any programs that improve our national security or help to lead us into the future.
• Would you be in favor of removing certain kinds of liberties to improve public safety or the health of society in general?
I believe in personal freedom. I do not agree with parts of the Patriot Act and I do not think that those parts make us safer. I do not believe in the ability of the government to monitor telephone or online communications without cause and judicial approval. I was born during a time when telephone conversations could not be monitored without a warrant. When America was suffering from COVID-19, I was vaccinated and I wore a mask. I did not do these things primarily to keep myself healthy. I did these things to keep the people around me healthy. In a society, we should not only be responsible for ourselves. We should be responsible for our neighbors. Ending COVID quickly could have saved many lives and lessened the disruption to our economy.
• Do you believe the electoral process is adequately safeguarded against fraud? Should additional measures be implemented to improve election security?
Our electoral process is extremely secure. Saying otherwise is an insult to poll workers, volunteers, county clerks, and Secretaries of State. Anyone who would move to have a valid election overthrown does not deserve to serve as an elected official. Election fraud has proven to be extremely limited in this country. That limited fraud has come from voters who are registered with either major party or registered as independent. Non-citizens do not vote in federal or state elections. Some areas allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. That is the right of the jurisdiction and that right should be respected. Those who claim that electoral fraud exists are doing so for their own purposes and to restrict the rights of legal voters. To me, this is a form of voter fraud.
• If you had the power to immediately change how the federal government works, would you change anything? If so, what?
The first thing that comes to mind is ending the filibuster. The filibuster stands in the way of the legislative process. I would support a move to return to more co-equal branches of government. We have seen a movement to increase the power of the presidency. We have also seen the Supreme Court move from their correct role of interpreting the law to making law. I would encourage changes in campaign funding. We need to get big money out of our elections. In the current environment, the wealthiest person too often wins, not necessarily the person who can best represent his or her district, state or country.
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If so, please explain.
I have never been convicted of a crime. I used to drive fast when I was younger, but I have given that up. My reflexes are not what they once were.
Ben DeJong
• Tell us about yourself. (Age, education, children, approach to government, etc.)
My name is Ben DeJong, I am 45 years old and I have two girls ages 10 and 12. I am a big proponent of strengthening local government to bring real day-to-day decision making as close to the individual as possible. Government in Lansing and in Washington DC work for special interests, not the American people.
• Why are you a good choice for the position?
I want to return government to your local towns, cities, villages, counties and townships. This is the only way government will be responsible to you, the voter. I have been active in my local village, serving on the Village Planning Commission and running for Village Council. I am also the District 2 representative on the Libertarian Party of Michigan Executive Committee, Director of Communications for the Libertarian Party of Michigan and Social Media manager for the National Libertarian Party.
• What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing Michigan and the U.S. over the next decade? With this in mind, what will be your plan to address at least one of these issues?
The biggest challenge that faces Michigan and the US is centralization of authority which allows for easy corporate capture, run away spending that is destroying our currency and endless wars that kill our young people and continually risks an eventual nuclear exchange. My plan to address all of this is drastic decentralization and returning power to the people.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s housing shortage?
Yes, get out of the way. The perfect example of this is currently happening in Argentina. As soon as President Javier Milei removed the government from the housing market, rents have collapsed and a surge in available properties. The government causes problems, it never solves them. If it did, it would no longer be needed.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s drug addiction problem?
Take the money it spends on incarcerating addicts and spend it on rehabilitation programs. Criminalizing addiction will never solve the problem, it only creates future criminals.
• Would you be favor of raising taxes to pay for federal programs, projects or services? If so, what would those be?
Taxation is theft and ends up simply transferring money from those who can’t afford it to those who are super wealthy and connected with government. There is nothing that the government can provide that the free market can better at lower costs with better quality. Just look at all of the crowd funding programs out there and all the good they have done for people in need.
• Would you be in favor of removing certain kinds of liberties to improve public safety or the health of society in general?
The best quote to answer this question is from Benjamin Franklin. “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
• Do you believe the electoral process is adequately safeguarded against fraud? Should additional measures be implemented to improve election security?
The only way to prevent electoral fraud is paper voting, transparent human counting and ID verification. Unfortunately, there is not a clear majority of people who want election security.
• If you had the power to immediately change how the federal government works, would you change anything? If so, what?
It would be reverted to how our founding documents envisioned it. It would only be there to protect individual liberty and protect us from foreign threats on our land.
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If so, please explain.
I only have an OWI when I was in my early 20s. Thanks to the free market providing Uber and Lift, these stupid young person mistakes are on the decline.
Scott Adams
• Tell us about yourself. (Age, education, children, approach to government, etc.)
I am 59 years old. Spent one year in college and a trade school. I have been married 30 years and we did foster care in Allegan County for 13 years. We adopted five kids from the foster care system plus our own daughter and raised a kinship child. I am tired of government overreach and both parties failing the American people.
• Why are you a good choice for the position?
I feel I am a good candidate because I believe in the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
• What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing Michigan and the U.S. over the next decade? With this in mind, what will be your plan to address at least one of these issues?
The biggest challenges to me is securing the borders, get the cost of living down and lower taxes by decreasing the size of the federal government. The federal government was never intended to be the largest employer in the world. We need our freedoms back and fewer restrictions.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s housing shortage?
To address the areas housing shortage is a states issue not a federal issue.
• Is there anything the federal government can do to address the area’s drug addiction problem?
The federal government could close the border and starve out the drug dealers by stopping the flow of drugs across the border also shut down the CIA who is profiting big time from the drug trade.
• Would you be favor of raising taxes to pay for federal programs, projects or services? If so, what would those be?
If raising taxes actually helped we wouldn’t have problems. I haven’t seen where the federal government has accomplished anything they set up to do no matter how much money they throw at it.
• Would you be in favor of removing certain kinds of liberties to improve public safety or the health of society in general?
I believe Ben Franklin was correct when he wrote that those who give up liberties for safety deserve neither.
• Do you believe the electoral process is adequately safeguarded against fraud? Should additional measures be implemented to improve election security?
I don’t believe criminals follow laws. So more laws aren’t the issue. I do believe the electoral process is properly safeguarded but I do believe there is cheating going on. Enforcing the laws we already have and holding the media responsible for reporting truth and facts and allowing citizens to make informed decisions. And allowing other parties to be heard.
• If you had the power to immediately change how the federal government works, would you change anything? If so, what?
If I had the power to change how the federal government works I would go back to the founding fathers’ principals of federal government is a necessary evil and is to be controlled and limited. The federal government is to protect our borders and our trade and make sure the states’ governments follow the constitution that should be all the authority they have.
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If so, please explain.
No I haven’t been convicted of a crime.
