I was contacted by WDIV Ch. 4 to gather up a group of Oakland County moms to watch the debate and comment on the candidates. (The video below is what aired on WDIV). I was excited to participate. There are so many issues Michigan is faced with right now and I was looking forward to how the candidates would address them.

One of the issues I'm most curious about is education. We've seen tons of school budgets slashed, programs cut, and forced teacher retirements in Oakland County. During the debate, I was looking to see who would have the best plan to address this.

I went in thinking Mike Cox is the early leader in the clubhouse. I liked the strength of his background as Attorney General and the tough-minded stance he has taken on everything from crime, reducing taxes and stimulating our economy. I'm not so sure this was conveyed as strongly as it could have been druing the debate. More facts and less generalizations/avoidances in his responses would have been helpful. Additionally, I was hoping to see him just speak from the heart more and lose some of the "political" edge.

I was anxious to see how Michael Bouchard would come off in this debate. A lot of Oakland County citizens are big fans of the work that L. Brooks Patterson has done with Bouchard in maintaining our county's economy. (It would be interesting to see if that success could translate to the rest of the state.) Bouchard handled himself very well during the debate, quite possibly coming off as the most genuine and knowledgeble as he rattled off specific statistics and plans. He seemed less of a politician, and more of a genuine, skilled, and experienced individual.

As a parent, I like Hoekstra's stance on education and his "Parents' Rights Amendment." It's easy to scream "no new taxes" as a platform but I like Hoekstra's JOBS FIRST approach to Michigan. He's definitely aware that Michigan is not an easy fix. Hoekstra was very professional and caring during the debate, and spoke very knowlegeably about the education system. His final words in the wrap up were the best of the group as he kept it all about the people and citizens of Michigan and empowering them.

Tom George is very intense. He does not sugar-coat anything or make wild promises about taxes. He's a bit of a wildcard in this race but he could be a candidate that appeals to Democratic voters if he makes it past the August primary. My concern with his performance at the debate was that he spent too much time criticizing the other candidates and not enough time discussing his intentions. He also focused on a constitutional convention as his number one solution for MI. I'm concerned that this would be too costly and take too long, as well as open the door to institute potentially bad changes.

I was joined by other Oakland County moms for this segment and want to give a special thanks to...

Cheryl Heppard (www.CherylHeppard.com)
Jamina of Great Start Parent Coalition
Linda of Great Start Parent Coalition
My sister Maria, who also kindly offered up her house for the filming
Janice, Suzanne, and Nora - friends and neighbors of my sister.

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