Mike Lahti announces priorities in run for State Senate seat

HANCOCK -- State Representative Mike Lahti announced on Friday, March 19, that he is a candidate for the 38th District Senate seat, which stretches from Keweenaw County in the north to Menominee County in the south and from Luce County in the east to Gogebic County in the west in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.). He is seeking to replace Senator Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming), who is term-limited out.

Last Friday Lahti spent the day traveling around the District to announce his candidacy and his top priorities: fighting to create jobs, supporting education and protecting our natural resources.*

"As a lifelong Upper Peninsula resident and businessman myself, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and go to work for the people of the U.P. to create good-paying jobs and protect our way of life," said Lahti. "We need to continue to support the mining, timber, manufacturing and tourism industries that are part of our U.P. heritage while also investing in the industries of the future like renewable energy."

Mike knows that this is not the time for partisan bickering. This is the time to work together to get things done for the good of the U.P. and the state.

As a small business owner and developer, Mike Lahti knows what it's like to work hard. He will continue to fight to preserve and create good-paying jobs for the people of the Upper Peninsula, supporting small businesses and investing in growing industries as well as traditional ones. Mike understands the sacrifices families are making now, and he believes that government needs to share in those sacrifices in order to keep Michigan and the U.P. a good place to work and raise a family.

"With the support of the citizens of the 38th Senate District, I will take their issues to the State Senate and work hard to make Lansing responsive to our need for good jobs and educational opportunities that will make Michigan strong now and in the future for our children and their families," said Lahti. "The new economy and the 21st-century jobs that will be waiting for them will demand a good educational foundation from pre-kindergarten to college, and I will make sure that our children and grandchildren have access to the universities and community colleges and the training they will need to succeed."

Having lived in the U.P. and Hancock his whole life, Mike has worked hard to protect Michigan’s natural resources. As a State Representative he has sponsored legislation on protecting our waterways from invasive plants and fought to guard the Great Lakes from Asian Carp. His passion for the Upper Peninsula’s way of life makes him a strong and effective advocate for the communities and businesses that rely on our natural resources for their economic well-being.

Mike Lahti began his public service in 1994 as a member of the Hancock School Board, where he served for seven years. Later that same year, he joined the Board of Trustees of Finlandia University, where he still serves today as Vice Chair. Lahti’s six years of service as chairman of the Houghton County Board of Commissioners gives him firsthand experience of how state laws and regulations affect local governments and the people they serve. Most recently, Mike has served the residents of the Western Upper Peninsula in the Michigan House of Representatives, where he is Chairman of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) subcommittee on Appropriations. He is also chairman of the Capital Outlay committee, as well as a member of the committee on Corrections.

Lahti and his wife, Sharon, have six children and nine grandchildren.

*Editor's Notes: See Keweenaw Now's video clip of Mike Lahti's March 19 announcement of his candidacy.

This press release is courtesy Alex Rossman in Mike Lahti's office.