FeedsCandidate launches campaign at Plymouth Tea Party event
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Patrick ColbeckThe Republican field for the senate seat being vacated by Bruce Patterson is growing a little more crowded.
Patrick Colbeck, a Canton Township resident and small business owner, announced his intention to run for the 7th District last week amid of the flurry of an anti-tax rally in the City of Plymouth.
“I wasn’t very happy with the direction the state was heading in,” said Colbeck, a Canton resident of 14 years. “I kept waiting for someone to take the lead in Lansing, then I decided to step in myself.”
Colbeck is a published author and management consultant who is also the treasurer of the Canton Charter Academy Board.
Although he is an engineer who has designed systems currently in operation on the International Space Station, he said it doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out how to return Michigan to prosperity. He said the key to the comeback is a return to the concept of free enterprise and limited government.
He said his top issues were promoting excellence in education and improving the job market.
“I think there’s enough there to keep folks busy for quite a while,” he said.
Helping the business climate could be as simple as making things easier for businesses in the state. He pointed to the Michigan business one-step link on the state’s own web site as an example. Clicking on it and describing the business one wants to start explains what needs to be done; there can be more than 41 forms to fill out.
“We should be helping, not just telling them what forms they need to have, but helping them by simplifying what they need to do,” he said.
He said he has experience in that area through his management consultant company, which seeks out efficiencies in business.
He said educational reform is the key to improving the public system. The Canton Charter Academy operates with less funding per pupil than public schools—they receive the same foundation allowance, but not the local property taxes—but is still rated among the top schools in the state. They do that by getting parents more involved and keeping administrative and overhead costs down.
“They optimize their resources so that teachers can focus on what they do best,” said Colbeck.
He said if elected he would seek appointments to the government operations and economic development committees so that he can streamline processes there and eliminate red tape that is prohibiting business growth.
“Everyone has a different way of looking at things. It’s not linked together very efficiently,” he said.
He joins Republicans Colleen McDonald of Northville and Abe Munfakh of Plymouth Township in the race for the seat. Democrat Marc Corriveau, who is in his second term as a state representative, is also running for the seat. The 7th Senate District includes Plymouth, Northville, Canton, Van Buren Township and the City of Belleville.
