I've known Dave Hildenbrand pretty much since moving into Grand Rapids in March of 2008.  (The 86th House District currently includes the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, which is where I lived for my first year as a Kent County resident.)  I know him as an honest man who never forgets that his job is to represent the people of his district.  We see eye-to-eye on core issues, and he does meet Reagan's 4/5 rule with room to spare.  Moreover, I know for a fact that one doesn't earn an Independence Caucus endorsement without being provably a constitutional conservative (and Dave was endorsed by I-Caucus in the primaries).

I know that Dave Hildenbrand means it when he says that he'll oppose budgets that spend more than the state collects in revenue; that he'll advocate for a fixed limit on welfare (of any sort) for able-bodied adults; that he'll support a requirement that the legislature pass the budget by July 1st of each year . . . or legislators don't get paid.  When Dave tells me that he'll insist on making the state budget transparent, including posting all state government spending online (in order to prevent waste, corruption, and inefficiency), I believe him.

As much as I may prefer to not admit it, Bill Gelineau is the person who recruited me into the Libertarian Party.  However, after just over two years of off-and-on dealings with him, I'm fairly certain that he doesn't have the temperament that would be expected of a State Senator, which is also the reason that I've allowed my LPM membership to go dormant . . . on purpose.  And I think that any responsible Michigander might have a problem with some of his issue positions.  (Feel free to read them and form your own opinion.)

I don't know David LaGrand personally, but I have done some research on him.  In my opinion, his priorities seem to be skewed . . . and that's putting it kindly.

• Back in 2007, when LaGrand was running for the Grand Rapids City Commission, he received a sizeable campaign contribution . . . from a union . . . that he didn't properly declare.  According to an article in the Grand Rapids Press (Nov 27th of that year), he was fined when this contribution came to light.

• In December of 2009, when Grand Rapids was facing a budget crunch, LaGrand (according to the City Commission minutes of December 1st) voted in favor of the city retaining the services of a DC lobbyist, yet voted to lay off police officers and firefighters in order to justify a millage request.  I know that, of the approximately four dozen officers and approximately two dozen firefighters that were used as human shields to leverage that tax increase, not all were hired back.  The re-hired cops that I talked to aren't even back on patrol duty . . . they're on desk assignments (because the city can't afford to put them back on the beat).

• In a debate on June 27th of this year, David LaGrand said that he's open to raising taxes to solve the state's budget problems . . . because that's worked so well the past seven years or so.

• Apparently, David LaGrand is quite comfortable with spending any reserve money that the state may have.  In an article published in the Grand Rapids Press on October 14th, LaGrand said that he wants to spend some of the $100 million of excess tax money that the state received this year on reviving the Pure Michigan advertising campaign . . . because that campaign has been so wildly successful.  Hildenbrand's position, that the state should set that money aside for future needs, was characterized by LaGrand as a panic-driven, short-sighted reaction.

So of course, within the swing precincts - Kentwood and the east side of Grand Rapids - the 29th has turned into a door-lit war.  If you don't have a yard sign prominently displayed, then you can pretty much count on having fresh reading material every couple of days or so (and sometimes even the yard signs don't help).

The Gelineau/LPM literature is pretty much the standard, "we're right, everyone else is wrong," stuff that tends to annoy those non-Libertarian voters who are otherwise inclined to support a third-party presence on the ballot.

The Hildenbrand/MRP literature depends on the source of that literature.  The Michigan Republican Party has funded several mailings that point out many of the things that I addressed earlier, as well as other contrasts between Dave and David.  The literature coming directly from Hildenbrand's campaign is much more positive stuff that focuses on his intentions once seated in the State Senate, the fact that he does have private sector experience, as well as his endorsement by the current Mayor of Kentwood (Richard Root, 2002 - present) as well as the two most recent past mayors of Kentwood (Bill Hardiman, 1992 - 2002, and Gerald DeRuiter, 1981 - 1992).

The literature being put out by LaGrand and the Kent County Democrats - made in Michigan by Michigan workers, the literature proudly claims - is sort of . . . desperate.  He's resorting to cherry-picking Dave's record (and his I-Caucus interview), distorting the facts, outright lying, and general mudslinging in what should be a campaign about fixing Michigan.  The overall tenor of the LeGrand/MDP/KCDP advertising says much about David LaGrand's character, but not so much about what he's going to do to turn Michigan around.  Truthfully, I really don't think that LaGrand's intentions can be trusted.

The fact that all three campaigns are investing so many resources into something that typically influences about as many voters as a Ouija board does says much about how close the race for the 29th State Senate seat really is.

In comparing endorsements and issue positions between the Daves, the only common ground is that they're both pro-life, and both meet the endorsement criteria for Michigan Right To Life . . . and that's about it.  Dave Hildenbrand supports the Michigan FairTax Proposal, Right-To-Work, and the Michigan Healthcare Freedom Initiative; David LaGrand opposes all three.  Dave Hildenbrand's endorsements are loaded with known conservative organizations (such as Citizens for Traditional Values and the National Rifle Association) and business organizations (such as the Michigan Manufacturers Association and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce).  David LaGrand's endorsements prominently feature pro-gay and pro-progressive organizations, and the unions that back them.

As I said back at the beginning of this article, I'd love to be doing what I was recruited by the Fix Michigan Center of West Michigan to do.  (Seriously, I have at least a dozen potential articles in the draft stage, half of which may be obsolete by the time that I get around to finishing them.)  But there are some campaigns involving my current hometown of Kentwood that are too important for me to step away from the ground game that I'm apparently very good at.

I don't doubt that the Michigan Democrat Party is nervous about the likely outcomes in this year's vote harvest, and with good reason.  Just last week, "outside sources" have funneled sizeable amounts of money (think six figures) into some of the tight local races in Kent County.  The idea, of course, is to buy as much advertising as can be bought between now and All Saints Day.  Evidently, there are some billionaires with so much spare cash on hand that they are of the mindset that they can use their checkbooks to dictate state policy.

The Kent County team of the Independence Caucus of Michigan is focusing their efforts on the local candidates that the caucus has endorsed (Justin Amash, Dave Hildenbrand, Dave Agema - R-74th, and Tom Hooker - R-77th), and they're doing it in a way that brings the entire Republican ticket along for the ride.  This would include Ruth Johnson, who is also endorsed by the I-Caucus of Michigan, as well as Justice Bob Young and Judge Mary Beth Kelly.  It also includes the four County Commission candidates in districts that KCRC has targeted for "flipping" and an additional one on the west side that the I-Caucus believes that they can flip.

As I've said many times before:  All other things being equal, the grassroots will override the greenbacks every time.  The Kent County Republicans, the Tea Party of West Michigan, the Fix Michigan Center of West Michigan, and the Kent County team of the Independence Caucus of Michigan are working to not only hold the seats that are safe, but to also flip the seats that we believe we can return to the Republican column.

And to hang on to one contested seat in particular.