Like all of Michigan, we watched last year as Jennifer Granholm and the state legislature foisted a $1.4 billion tax increase on the hard working people of our state. We were told by the Governor and her allies that increasing the income tax to 4.35%, expanding the sales tax on hundreds of services and ultimately, imposing a new 21.99% surcharge on top of the new Michigan Business Tax was the “solution” to our economic challenges.

Nothing could have been further from the truth as the economic hole we find ourselves in is getting deeper by the day. Michigan leads the nation in unemployment. Residential foreclosures in Oakland County in January 2008 were the highest of any month on record. Michigan is next to last nationally in personal income per capita. And Michigan is only one of two states actually losing population as over 30,500 have left our state since 2006!

You and I – and all Michigan families - are continuing to pay a tremendous price for this lack of leadership and wrongheaded thinking in Lansing. It’s time to stop digging!

Lansing is badly broken and will only continue to get worse with more of the same. State government can only be fixed by shaking up the existing power structure through dramatic reform and real world experience that understands what it takes to create jobs and drastically improve our business climate. There is no time to waste.

Because the time is now to shake up Lansing, I wanted you to be among the first to know that I have decided to become a candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives in the 37th District representing Farmington and Farmington Hills. And I am asking for your support.

As you may know, I have been fighting for conservative common sense government all of my adult life. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party, I have created jobs and met payrolls as owner and manager of several successful business ventures. I know what it takes to run a business and put people to work.

Can I count on you to join me now to stop Michigan’s economic melt down and bring real change to Lansing?

I served for many years as Chief of Staff to US Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) where I worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the Congressman to cut over $50 billion in wasteful government spending in the 1990’s. We made government more efficient and it is critical that we do so now in Lansing.

Thanks for your anticipated support!

Paul Welday, Candidate
37th State House District