Democrat Omar Ferdin and Republican William Bruck will face off on the Aug. 4 primary election for the 30th District State Representative seat.
The district represents Deerfield and Ridgeway townships and part of Blissfield Township in Lenawee County, as well as Monroe County’s Luna Pier and Petersburg, part of the city of Monroe, the townships of Bedford, Erie, Ida, La Salle, Monroe, Summerfield, and Whiteford, and part of Frenchtown Township.
Omar Ferdin
Ferdin, 45, of Monroe’s Orchard East Neighborhood decided to aim high for his first foray into politics.
“I feel the need to get involved,” he said. “So many times, people say somebody should do something, but nobody ever really does.”
Ferdin is heavily involved in his local community, including being a founding member of the Orchard Food Co-Op, working with the Summer Rankins Community Gardin, and Aid In Milan, a non-profit food pantry. If elected, he hopes to empower and bring resources to these and other agencies he already works with.
Ferdin said that one of the most important things to him is keeping in touch with the community, connecting with and hearing from his constituents.
“I picked the state representative position for a reason,” he said. “The word ‘representative,’ that meant something to me.”
William Bruck
Bruck, 51, of Monroe is running as the incumbent, being first elected in November 2022.
During his most recent term, Bruck helped establish and became the chair of Michigan’s Homeland Security Committee. Homeland security is important to him, as he believes that Michigan as a whole could be doing more to protect itself against Chinese influence especially.
“You know, we depend on the federal government a lot, and I would like to expand the ability of Michigan to do more to protect ourselves,” he said.
He’s also concerned about veteran issues, being one himself, as well as the state’s energy policies around renewable solar and wind energy, which he wants to rescind because he believes they’re unsustainable.
“We just cannot produce enough (solar and wind energy) here in Michigan, and we’re at a threshold where our power needs are out pacing our power supply, especially when and if we lose the Monroe coal plant in the next few years,” he said.
— Contact reporter Connor Veenstra at CVeenstra@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe natives vie for Michigan 30th District seat
Reporting by Connor Veenstra, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Connor Veenstra, The Monroe News | USA TODAY Network
