Profile: Keith Allard

Name: Keith Allard

Office you are Seeking: State Representative, 76th District

Current Profession: Securities Regulator

Age: 26

Where Do you Live: Grand Rapids, MI

Marital Status and Children: Not married, no children.  

Questionnaire:

Why did you choose to run for this office?

For decades, career politicians in Michigan have pursued policy goals that only look towards their next reelection, instead of considering the bloated government and financial liabilities they are leaving the next generation.  I have worked in Lansing, observed the legislature up close, and concluded that officials in both parties are not up to the task ahead.  Politicians lie, but numbers don't, and it is time for someone to give people straight talk about the issues our state faces.

What is the most pressing problem facing the State of Michigan?

Excessive state spending and unfunded liabilities harm our state's business climate and affect our ability to create jobs.  Our corrections department is particularly bloated, now taking up 25% of the general fund.  Both Governor Granholm and Governor Snyder have proposed bipartisan, common sense reforms to save us nearly $500 million, but both parties in the legislature have consistently failed to act.  We must begin to defuse the ticking time bomb of public employee compensation, it is unfair to expect future generations to bear the burden of unsustainable promises made by today's elected officials.  We will never have young people moving back to Michigan if our only promise to them is a future of increasing taxes and debt.  

Under the current administration in Michigan there have been both more revenues (taxes), and cuts in the budget.  Do you prefer a more balanced combination of the two to continue balancing the budget or would you prefer more taxes or more cuts?

Michigan has no need for higher taxes.  Our state does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.  Our tax code should not be used to pay-off the interest groups that fill the parties' coffers.  Exemptions that favor politically-connected groups and businesses should be eliminated to ensure a tax system that is low, fair, and shares the burden with everyone.  

What do you bring to this race, and potentially to the office you seek, that would make a difference for the people of Michigan?

I bring a passion for public policy and a perspective focusing on future generations instead of the next election.  I have watched many of my closest friends give up on finding work in Michigan and move to other states.  I am presenting a new way forward so that our eldest citizens can see every generation of their family living and prospering in the state we love.  

Given the political polarization in Lansing and Washington, D.C., is there something you would do to try and change that culture or do you believe that highly partisan politics is simply "the way it is" in today's legislative environment.

In my career, I have seen firsthand the polarization in Lansing, and it is worse than the stereotypes.  I am running as an independent because I want to be accountable to the taxpayers of Grand Rapids, not political bosses.  I have put forth a common sense, majority agenda and am thrilled to have support from members of both parties.  If elected, I will vigorously pursue my policy goals by reaching out to people regardless of party.