10/25/2006

Two vie for 105th Dist. seat

Indian River Dem challenges incumbent

BY SHERI McWHIRTER

sherimcwhirter@hotmail.com

Elsenheimer

Bauer

GAYLORD — Freshman Republican state Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer's first re-election bid features a race with a political newcomer.

Tom Hay Bauer, a Democrat from Indian River, said he became more politically active in the last two years and decided to run for the seat held by Elsenheimer, the 105th District, which includes Antrim, Charlevoix, Otsego and most of Cheboygan counties.

"I've sat and watched unhappy things happening with the Legislature in Lansing," he said.

Bauer said major challenges to northern Lower Michigan are the loss of jobs in a sluggish economy, health care problems and school funding. State spending cuts in those areas in recent years really signifies cutbacks in investments in Michigan, he said.

Bauer wants to work to eliminate political campaign donations from special interest groups in Lansing, as well as change the formula for the single-business tax, which should not shift the tax burden to smaller businesses and individuals, he said. Bauer, 48, is a college and high school instructor of computer, career and technical classes. He's lived in Michigan the last 10 years, six in Traverse City and the last four in Cheboygan County. Before that he lived in Colorado.

Elsenheimer said he's proud of his work in his first two years in office, including the passage of 15 bills he sponsored. He's especially proud of working to establish a unified zoning act for all local governments in Michigan, which removed about 100 pages of repetitive zoning laws from the books, he said.

He's also glad to have helped secure state funding for the additional Interstate 75 crossover in Gaylord, as well as work to open the West Mullett Lake snowmobile trail in Cheboygan County, he said. Finding a replacement for the single-business tax is a priority, Elsenheimer said.

"We've got to find a balance between replacement of funds and an aggressive method of attracting businesses to come here," he said.

Elsenheimer, 41, is a lawyer from Bellaire, where he served on the school board and had worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Antrim County. He formed his own law firm, specializing in representation of municipal governments throughout the state.