Michigan Candidates Eye 78th District House Seat

THREE OAKS, Michigan -- Every two years, residents in Michigan's rural, sprawling 78th State House district have an opportunity to meet, question and size up their prospective representatives in a whole host of face-to-face encounters.

This election cycle, four Republicans - Bill Baber of Berrien Springs, Gary Campbell of Baroda, Bruce Hipshear of Buchanan and Sharon Tyler of Niles -- are contenders for the seat that's been held by Baroda Republican Neal Nitz for the past six years.

Under Michigan's term limits legislation, Nitz will return to life on his Baroda farm when this year's legislative session winds to a close.

The 78th District stretches across portions of Berrien and Cass counties, an area of the state where the winner of the Republican primary is nearly always the de facto winner of the election. But Democrat Judy Truesdell of Niles ran a surprisingly tough race against Nitz in the general election two years ago, and local political observers suggest that, given the sour mood of the electorate this year, she's got at least a fighting chance to snag the seat this time around.

Gearing up for what they know will be a spirited battle, the GOP primary competitors are already on the streets and on the Web with their campaign rhetoric. They're all aware that, in this tight-knit, largely agricultural district, there's a whole summer full of local parades, festivals, fairs and rodeos where politics is played aplenty before the Tuesday, August 5 primary.

The four gave their messages a test-run recently during the monthly meeting of the South County Republic Club in Three Oaks.

The session, held in the History Room of the 105-year-old Three Oaks Township Public Library building, was a friendly audience for the quartet. Campbell, an attorney as well as a former superintendent of Lakeshore Public Schools, is the Club's current chairman and a knowledgeable speaker on the plight of Michigan schools, a hot and controversial topic in these parts.

He says he's fed up with "government that's involved in every aspect of our lives," and vows to work to detangle the state legislature from many aspects of local agriculture, business and education. "We've got to step back and take a serious look at the tax changes we passed earlier this year," he says.

Baber is a local businessman whose decades of experience running gas stations gives him a solid background in the frequent bio-fuels debates that are of particular interest to farmers here. He came close to nudging Nitz out of the State House in the 2006 GOP primary.

"We don't have the type of business expertise that we need in state government, and I can provide that," he says. He's looking to emphasize agriculture and tourism as local economic supports.

Hipshear is also a return contender for the seat, and is a familiar face in south county for his active involvement in the Buchanan Community Schools sports programs and more recently, their curricular committee.

He vows to slash what he calls "over-taxation and over-regulation" in the state capital. "There's plenty of room in our state budget to cut excess, and that's what we need to do," he says.

Tyler's spent three decades working in economic development and business retention, most recently as executive director of the Southwest Michigan Economic Growth Alliance. She's also been director of the Berrien County Manufacturers Council, and she says she understands the struggles that Michigan businesses face.

"But it's important to stay positive and keep in mind that this is a great place to live and do business," she says. "Location is still the key, and our location is prime."

Winner of the GOP August primary meets Truesdell in the general election slated for Tuesday, November 4.