For Immediate Release: February 11, 2010
Job creators, economic experts join
Bouchard campaign advisory round table
Round table to offer ideas about putting Michigan back to work
Oakland County - Mike Bouchard, Republican candidate for governor, today announced the formation of his campaign’s Business, Economic and Finance Round Table, which will share its expertise with him as he encourages job creation in a state hit hard by the economic downturn.
“I’m honored that these well-respected business leaders and economic experts have joined my round table,” Bouchard said. “I look forward to hearing their ideas about how to help put Michigan’s talented men and women back to work. As Michigan’s next governor, I will focus on changing the state’s failing budget and tax structure, and I want people who have firsthand knowledge of creating jobs to be at the table.”
Joining Bouchard’s Business, Economic and Finance Round Table are:
Terry Adderley, Chairman of the Board, Kelly Services
Edwin Adler, Chairman, Foodtown Supermarkets
Nick Antakli, Chairman and CEO, Itraco Corp.
Blair Bowman, Owner, Rock Financial Expo
Steve Brownell, Vice President, The Kirlin Company
Joel Dorfman, Managing Partner of North Star Partners, LLC
Irma Elder, CEO, Elder Automotive Group
Jim Esshaki, Developer, Esshaki Properties
Mike Ferrantino, Shareholder, EQ-The Environmental Quality Co.
Bud Fisher, President, Central Asphalt
Alan Graham, Country Manager and General Counsel, Pilkington North America Inc.
Scott Jacobson, CEO, S R Jacobson Development
Maureen LaFontaine, Owner, LaFontaine Automotive Group
David Littman, Mackinac Center Senior Economist
Spencer Partrich, Owner, Lautrec
Cindy Pasky, President/CEO, Strategic Staffing Solutions
L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive
Marci Rice, VP Account Executive, Gail and Rice Production
Tim Rice, Chairman, Gail and Rice Production
Sydney Ross, President, General Wine and Liquor
Russ Schulte, President and CEO, Metro Aircraft
Russ Shelton, President and CEO, Shelton Pontiac-Buick
Bob Skandalaris, Chairman, Quantum Ventures, LLC
Frank Stella, CEO of The F.D. Stella Products Company; Chairman and CEO of Stella International
Robert Wilson, Wilson Co.
Gary Wolfram, President, Hillsdale Policy Group
Todd Wyett, Partner and CEO, Versa Development
Bouchard said the round table will contribute to upcoming proposals to foster an improved jobs climate in Michigan.
“I’m pleased to be able to help Mike in his effort to fix Lansing and put Michigan back to work,” Jim Esshaki said. “Our state faces challenges right now, but with solid economic policies and Mike’s strong leadership, we will get Michigan’s economy revved up and moving in the right direction.”
Already, Bouchard has proposed a number of important reforms that would help Michigan again be a national leader in job creation while ensuring government lives within its means:
· Generating jobs in the construction trades, by providing homeowners and job providers with tax incentives for construction and remodeling. This will also spur long-term investment in the state.
· Competitively bidding school secondary services, such as busing and food services, and consolidating those services where it makes sense. As Oakland County sheriff, Bouchard successfully bid the jail’s food service, saving local taxpayers $1.6 million annually.
· Pursuing public-private partnerships that ease state spending and create jobs. For example, Bouchard is calling for such partnerships to turn Michigan’s 81 rest areas into service centers. These service centers would provide travelers with a greater array of conveniences while generating additional revenue for the state.
· Reforming the way Lansing does business. Bouchard has called for switching to a two-year state budget cycle based on a three-year outlook, setting a May 15 deadline to approve a budget, and docking the governor and legislators a day’s pay for each day the May 15 deadline is missed. He also is a longstanding proponent of a part-time Legislature.
For more information about Bouchard’s reform proposals and his campaign, visit www.BouchardforGovernor.com.
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Paid for by Mike Bouchard for Governor
P.O. Box 1433
Royal Oak, MI 48068
Mike’s plan to bolster job growth in the residential construction industry is a winner! The sad fact is that the construction sector has been hit with an unforgiving triple whammy economic disaster.
Michigan has many well qualified tradesmen who are desperately searching and struggling to find work to provide for their families. I’ve heard from reliable sources that a masonry union local in Saginaw has over 80% of its membership hit with unemployment on any given day in 2009 . And then there are the tens of thousands non-union workers, such as painters, carpenters,, cabinet builders , etc… who struggle day to day trying to make a living in and around SE Michigan as well as in Michigan’s out-state area.. And we cannot forget that the current stunt in home construction and residential modernization also hits the many interior designers and furniture sales people extremely hard..
Yes, Mike’s plan to create jobs in the construction industry has a lot of positive economic potential that will prove to be a real winner.
Kenneth Hreha
Dryden Mi.
Generating jobs in the construction trades, by providing homeowners and job providers with tax incentives for construction and remodeling. This will also spur long-term investment in the state.