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Democratic State House Candidate Says We Have to Figure Out "Who's Working For Who" In Lansing

Gordon Evans
/
WMUK

Mark Ludwig says government transparency isn’t as sexy as other issues. But the Democratic candidate in the state House district which includes most of Allegan County calls it the “key to unlocking the rest of it.”

Ludwig is running in the 80th state House District. He won the Democratic primary in August for the right to challenge Republican Representative Mary Whiteford in the general election. He says transparency is needed for “figuring out who’s talking to who, and who’s working for who” in Lansing. Ludwig says the governor’s office and the Legislature should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. He says there should be more transparency of campaign contributions and how lobbyists spend to influence lawmakers.

The 80th District includes the city of Otsego where tests showed elevated levels of Dioxin and PFASes. Ludwig says more testing is needed to find possible drinking water contamination. He says improvements have to be made to water plants, and some rural residents will have to be hooked up to municipal water systems. Ludwig says people in rural areas may have to use water filters.

Ludwig says the “march of technology” is leading to more jobs being susceptible to automation. But he says there is still plenty of work to do, including cleaning up ground water and improving infrastructure. Ludwig says he is glad there is bipartisan interest in skilled trades. But he says political will is needed to raise the money for those programs.

Among the things that Ludiwg says causes high auto insurance rates, is the poor quality of Michigan’s roads. He says the unique system of paying lifetime benefits for people who suffer serious injuries in auto accidents is also part of the reason. Ludwig says “maybe Michigan has to go first” for a single payer health care system. He says that could take some of the pressure off the auto insurance system in Michigan.

Gordon Evans became WMUK's Content Director in 2019 after more than 20 years as an anchor, host and reporter. A 1990 graduate of Michigan State, he began work at WMUK in 1996.
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