Why Am I Running?

Chris Praedel, speaking on the steps of the State of Michigan Capital Building, fighting to maintain responsible funding for Higher Education. (Official Chris for Kzoo Photo)

A simple answer: my children. During the course of my two year national-service commitment, I have had the privilege of educating over two-hundred children from the Southside of Chicago to Los Angeles. Each child brought to me a unique story about the unnecessary trials, burdens, and tribulations that such young children endure on the daily basis. Such stories are not unique to the areas I taught. Similar stories exist in our backyard and throughout the State of Michigan. The stories have been of economic hardship that is shared with over 15.4% of the unemployed Michiganders, the thousands of displaced mortgage holders, and those that are waiting for an education system that fairly serves ALL our children.

It has often been said that where a collective people allocate their resources largely correlates to their values. In our state, we send the message to our children that we value incarcerating our citizens more than educating our citizens. We need to show the country that we highly value & invest in the most precious of all resources—minds. Human capital is the most invaluable resource to any state and we need to invest in it. I would like to take my extensive training and first-hand experience in education to work in Lansing.

Furthermore, it is time for our state to diversify its economy and attract and capture the best in high-tech research and the entrepreneurial spirit. We need to send a message to the world and the rest of the country that Michigan will be the leader and model at the forefront of economic resurgence. We can do precisely that by incentivizing entrepreneurial start-ups and business relocation or expansion, expounding upon the enormous growth potential of tourism within the state, and attracting and incubating research in conjunction with our world-class universities.

There comes a time for each generation to step up and lead. That moment is now. There would be no greater pleasure, no more humbling honor than to serve the people that I live beside and among.