Long-time congressman Fred Upton, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Paul Clements and Libertarian Lorence Wenke for a two-year term. The post pays $174,000. Wenke did not return candidate information to the South County News.
Fred Upton, Republican
Congressman Fred Upton is known as a sincere, hardworking leader who listens to all perspectives, supports our Midwestern values, and achieves results for Southwest Michigan. As Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred’s focus remains on passing important legislation to encourage job creation, protect taxpayers, help our community and enhance the quality of life for everyone in Southwest Michigan and throughout our country.
The Dowagiac Daily News calls Fred a “breath of fresh air in polarized Washington” who “keeps company at the highest levels of the federal government, but he never forgets where he comes from.” Fred’s hometown paper, The Herald Palladium, calls Fred an “engaged, positive representative” who has “effectively pulled the levers of government that have allowed key infrastructure projects to move forward.” Additionally, in 2016, independent outlet Newsmax named Fred one of the “Top 25 Hardest Working Members of Congress”.
Fred knows how to get things done in Washington and back home in Southwest Michigan.
As Energy and Commerce Chairman, Fred has a bipartisan track record of successful initiatives. During his tenure, he has ushered over 130 pieces of legislation into law, with over 40 bipartisan bills being signed into law during this current session of Congress alone.
These commonsense bills focus on our shared priorities: encouraging economic growth, protecting American families and local initiatives, strengthening Medicare now and for the future, combating drug abuse, banning pollutants that harm our Great Lakes, strengthening pipeline safety laws, updating our out-of-date chemical safety laws, reforming our broken mental health system, and creating good paying jobs for folks right here in Southwest Michigan.
Fred is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and remains a Wolverines and Cubs fan.
He and his wife Amey of 30 years are the proud parents of two children.
Paul Clements, Democrat
My name is Paul Clements, and I am running to represent you in Congress in Michigan’s Sixth District. As the son of Methodist missionaries, I grew up in many places, including India and Hong Kong. My parents’ commitment to serving the poorest people in the world is a driving factor in inspiring me to run for office. I have lived in Kalamazoo with my wife Aedin for 20 years, and I am a professor at Western. We have two grown daughters. In the community, I am active with my church and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and our local food pantry. I am 55 years old.
I am running for Congress to better the lives of residents in Southwest Michigan. We need to create good, sustainable jobs and to fight to make education and job training affordable and accessible. We also need a Congressman who will stand up for Medicare and fight to make prescriptions more affordable to seniors. Unfortunately, my opponent has failed on all of those measures. He has voted for disastrous trade deals including NAFTA and the TPP, and he used his position as the head of the Energy and Commerce Committee to prevent Medicare from negotiating drug costs.
My experience has prepared me for a seat in Congress. I worked my way through college – receiving a BA from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Princeton. After graduating, I became a Peace Corps Volunteer to serve others. As founder of the doctoral program in evaluation at Western, l have carried out program evaluations and consulted on evaluation systems across the U.S. and around the world. Now, I want to put my experience making governments and nonprofits more efficient to work for our district. I humbly ask for your vote.