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WSW: Lorence Wenke Seeks Senate Seat as a Libertarian

WMUK

    

Former State Representative Lorence Wenke is running for office again, this time with a different political party. 

Wenke served on the Kalamazoo County Commission and in the state Legislature as a Republican. He had planned to seek the GOP nomination for state Senate in the 20th District, which encompasses Kalamazoo County. But shortly before the filing deadline, Wenke withdrew and announced that he would run for state Senate as a Libertarian. Wenke says he left the Republican party primarily over the issues of gay marriage compensation for public employees. Wenke sat down with WMUK's Gordon Evans and Kalamazoo Gazette reporter Alex Mitchell. Some highlights:

Roads

Wenke says he's not yet convinced that the state should increase the gas tax to pay for road improvements. He wants to know more about how current gas tax money is spent, and what other alternatives exist for additional revenue. But Wenke says the state gets a good value for the money it collects in gas taxes. He predicts that an increase in the gas tax will likely be approved. And Wenke says he would likely support it, but not without knowing more about it. 

Internet Sales Tax

When asked about purchases over the Internet, Wenke says they should be subject to the same sales tax that they are in "brick and mortar" retailers. Wenke says that would be specifically for purchases, not using the web. But he says taxing purchases over the Internet is fair to business owners such as himself. 

Gay Rights

One of the issues where Wenke parted company with the Republican Party is discrimination against gay people. He would support amending the state's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Wenke says it's not fair that people can be fired for being gay. He also believes gay marriage should be legal. Wenke's vote against an amendment to the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage caused a furor in 2004. At the time, Wenke says he was still not for legalized gay marriage. But Wenke says since then has seen that civil unions are not equal to marriage, and now he supports gay people being allowed to legally marry. 

Minimum Wage

Wenke says he would have voted for the minimum wage increase approved earlier this year. He says it should be indexed to inflation, but not the full rate of inflation. Wenke says the minimum wage can be too high, but he thinks this increase will not have a major impact on business. 

Switching Parties

A life-long Republican, Wenke says compensation costs for government workers is a major issue for him. And he says Republican office holders haven't done enough on the issue. Wenke says Attorney General Bill Schuette's decision to continue appealing a federal judge's ruling that Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional also led him to change parties. Asked about some issues such as minimum wage and an Internet sales tax where he doesn't appear to hold "pure Libertarian" views, Wenke says the party is right on the big issues. Wenke says Libertarians like members of other parties have debates within over the proper role of government. 

Discussion of other issues can be heard in the web version of the interview.

lorencewenke91614-web.mp3
Interview with Lorence Wenke - web version

More on Roads

As part of the discussion on infrastructure, Wenke said he would be willing to consider raising vehicle registration fees. But he ruled out toll roads, which he says are harmful to economic development. 

Kalamazoo Retirement Costs

Asked about the city of Kalamazoo considering issuing bonds to help retire debt related to pension costs, Wenke says cities shouldn't be in that position. But he says they should reduce spending in other areas or consider raising taxes to pay that debt. Wenke says cities should not borrow to service debt. He says that's in part how the city of Detroit got into financial trouble. 

Poverty

Wenke says at some point the state should cut off aid for people that have children that can't be cared for. He says having a child may be the best option for a woman who doesn't have employable skills. Asked if the state should provide free birth control to people on public assistance. Wenke says he would make free birth control available at any place that offers prescriptions. He says the state would have to take custody of children when it's known that a parent can't take care of and support a child. 

Marijuana

Asked about medical marijuana and legalization for recreational use, Wenke says he voted for the medical marijuana ballot initiative in 2008. But he says right now he would not vote for full-blown legalization. Wenke says he would like to see what happens with legalized pot in Washington and Colorado. 

Campaign

Wenke says he's running "a full campaign" and spending some money in the state Senate race. Wenke says he's not concerned about his potential role as a "spoiler" who could split the Republican vote and elect a Democrat in the state Senate race. Wenke says the issues he wants to talk about are more important. than the results And Wenke says he's not sure which candidate he will draw the most votes from. 

Gordon Evans became WMUK's Content Director in 2019 after more than 20 years as an anchor, host and reporter. A 1990 graduate of Michigan State, he began work at WMUK in 1996.
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