Bay City commissioner, state representative facing off for new 35th District Senate seat

Democrat Kristen Rivet is running against Republican Annette Glenn for the seat overseeing the newly created 35th District. The new district encompasses communities in Bay, Saginaw and Midland counties. Photos sourced from Vote411, MLive files.

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BAY CITY, MI - A local commissioner is taking on a current state representative for a chance to serve on the State Senate.

Democrat Kristen Rivet is running against Republican Annette Glenn for the seat overseeing the newly created 35th District. The new district encompasses communities in Bay, Saginaw and Midland counties.

The 35th District was created after the Michigan Independent Redistrict Commission approved a new set of political district maps. Bay County is currently entirely in the 31st Senate District, which is joined by Tuscola and Lapeer counties. The 31st District is currently represented by Republican Kevin Daley.

Rivet currently serves as a Bay City Commissioner as well as the chief strategy officer of MI Health Improvement Alliance and serves as a consultant to Michigan Future, Inc. Rivet holds a BA in History from Michigan State and a MPA from the University of Michigan Flint.

Glenn currently serves in the Michigan House of Representatives and she represents District 98, which includes portions of Bay and Midland counties. Glenn holds a BA in public administration, according to Vote411.

MLive/The Bay City Times partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers.

Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues listed below. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues listed below.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for necessary cuts if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

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Information on other state, county and local primary races can be found at Vote411.org.

What should Michigan do, if anything, to 1) provide an equitable, quality public education for all students and 2) address the shortage of teachers?

Rivet: Our schools are over regulated and our students are over tested. To advance educational equity we must: 1) Adopt a weighted school funding formula to ensure every student has what they need, 2) Redesign the school accountability to focus on real world skills, 3) Strengthen and expand our early care and education system, and 4) Provide supplemental funding to parents for youth development programming. To address the shortage of teachers we must raise salaries, provide stronger supports for early career teachers and decouple teacher evaluations from standardized test scores.

Glenn: The # of teachers statewide is up 2%, while enrollment has declined 300,000 since 2006. Shortages exist in urban and remote rural areas and subjects such as science, technology, engineering, math, special ed, and foreign languages. Schools should be allowed to offer different salaries and bonuses for different subject areas and to pay teachers based on performance rather than merely years of service. We should expand approved alternative certification programs, and schools should be allowed to hire qualified individuals regardless of certification status, such as the many retired scientists, chemists, and engineers who live in our district.

What policies do you support to help Michigan residents improve their economic positions?

Rivet: 6 in 10 Michigan jobs pay less than $47,000 a year, which makes meeting basic needs really hard for families. Our state must focus on raising incomes by attracting higher-wage jobs, creating places where people want to live and work as a form of talent attraction and increasing the number of residents with four year degrees. Our economic security is inextricably tied to increasing our population - which is currently trending downward.

Glenn: As state representative, I voted for or introduced legislation to: Reduce the state income tax. Suspend collection of the state gas tax. Eliminate the automatic annual gas tax increase that started this year, a time-delayed provision of a tax hike bill enacted in 2015. Repeal the pension tax and exempt up to $40,000 in seniors’ retirement income from taxation. Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit and the per-child tax credit, helping young and working families in particular. Help restore America’s energy independence by upgrading Line 5. As senator, I will also press the Biden Administration to renew the Keystone Pipeline project.

What state policies do you support regarding Michigan elections, campaign funding and voting rights?

Rivet: Voting is a fundamental right and we should eliminate as many barriers to access as possible while assuring a secure process. I believe in early voting, no-reason absentee, increasing polling locations and ballot drop boxes and setting aside election day as a public holiday.

Glenn: As state representative, I voted in favor of these election reforms: Require a photo ID to vote, a measure supported by 80% of the population, plus state funding to provide photo IDs at no cost. Prohibit connecting voting machines to the Internet and block private individuals and entities from having access to the voter file. Remove dead people from the voter file. Make it a felony to knowingly provide false information on an absentee voter application. Use state records to verify absentee ballot signatures. In order to restore and maintain voter confidence in our elections, they must be safe, secure, and available to all qualified voters.

What actions or policies do you support to protect Michigan’s water, air and land for current and future generations? What is your position on energy efficiency and renewable energy?

Rivet: It is critically important that we reduce our carbon footprint and dependency on fossil fuels. Energy efficiency and renewable sources are obvious solutions. We have to balance the transition to those sources with the reality of today and provide a transition that is both fiscally responsible and grounded in a sense of urgency. I support the transition away from coal plants and an acceleration of alternative sources. Additionally, there is a very real environmental justice issue. Too often communities of color are disproportionally impacted by polluted air and water. I support increased funding for EGLE to address this.

Glenn: As chair of House Appropriations Subcommittee on Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, was honored to receive 2021 Legislative Appreciation Award from Michigan Ground Water Association. WSGW Radio reported: “She has consistently fought for clean water initiatives throughout her legislative career.” I supported state grants to help Auburn, Midland, and Pinconning upgrade water purification systems. Supported funding to test our water supply for PFAS and other toxins. Supported holding govt. officials accountable for failing to act on serious threats to clean water. Support energy efficiency and local control re: wind and solar projects.

How would you address racial, economic, health and education inequities, including Michigan’s 23% of children and 17% of seniors living in poverty?

Rivet: First and foremost, we must compile and make public data that evidences the vast inequities in our public systems - health, education, environmental, etc. We must target funding in communities that are experiencing concentrated poverty and address the disparities that often begin at birth.

Glenn: I am committed to ensuring all citizens are treated fairly, equally, and respectfully before the law without regard to race or income. I voted in favor of increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, targeted to assist middle- and lower-income working families, in favor of a $500 per child state tax credit, and to suspend the state gas tax for six months. I support repealing the Pension Tax and voted to exempt up to $40,000 of retirement income from state tax. I also believe we should establish a mechanism by which all parents are free to choose the best and safest schools for their children, regardless of race or zip code.

What steps, if any, should be taken to curb gun violence in our communities?

Rivet: Increased police funding, gun-sense legislation that keeps firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals, investing in community organizations that engage and empower residents to mobilize in their neighborhoods, increased funding for the programs that strengthen the social determinants of health and strengthening and increasing funding for our behavioral health systems.

Glenn: The city of Saginaw has the 5th-highest murder rate in the nation, and residents there have an equal right to safe streets and neighborhoods. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on State Police, I voted in favor of increased funding for law enforcement personnel, including $7.5 million for mental health programs, $20 million for signing and retention bonuses, and $10 million for more School Resource Officers. As vice-chair of the Subcommittee on School Aid, I voted for an additional $300 million in school safety risk assessments and initiatives, including grants for firearm detection software.

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