Challenging Levin
12th District Republican Randell Shafer takes on
Sander Levin for Congress.
HARRY KI RS BAUM
Staff Writer
A
ccording to Republican can-
didate Randell Shafer, Rep.
Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak,
has underrepresented the 12th
Congressional District
in his 22 years on the
job.
Levin's tax voting
record has allowed the
district to be squeezed
at tax time.
"For every tax dollar
collected here in
Michigan and sent to
Washington, D.C., we
only see a return of 67
cents coming back to
our state," said Shafer,
Levin
40, of St. Clair
Shores.
The 12th District
includes parts of
Macomb County and
the following Oakland
County communities:
Southfield, Oak Park,
Lathrup Village,
Huntington Woods,
Hazel Park, Ferndale,
Pleasant Ridge, Royal
Oak Township,
Madison Heights and
Shafer
parts of Royal Oak.
The two-year con-
gressional term pays $150,000 annu-
ally.
Shafer has never held elected
office, and said he will work to
ensure a better return on tax dollars
for the working families and small
businesses in the district. He is mar-
ried and has three children.
Levin, 73, said he has "consistent-
ly worked for a tax policy that assists
most families, rather than the Bush
emphasis on assisting the very
wealthiest 1 percent of American
families."
"For that reason and many others,
including the serious mistakes in the
[Bush] administration's approach to
Iraq, I am devoting my time and
resources to elect a President, John
Kerry, who will not turn the clock
back on the economic, social and
health programs and vital freedoms
expanded these last 70
years."
Shafer said he would
bring to Congress his
experience serving as a
logistics officer in the
U.S. Army from 1982-
2002.
"I have managed
budgets in the millions;
I have managed proper-
ty and equipment in the
billions," he said. "I
have always worked to
ensure all people are
fairly treated and never
disenfranchised."
Shafer said he has
raised about $4,000 for
his campaign.
Levin, who is married
and has four children
and seven grandchildren,
said he expects to spend
more than $500,000 on
the campaign.
Richard C. Gach, 78,
of Bloomfield Hills,
who is Jewish and has
run for the House seat
several times, is running as the
Libertarian candidate for the 12th
District.
On his Web site, Gach states that
punishments for users and small-
time drug possessors are "immoral
and must be stopped, particularly in
the case of marijuana, which has not
been known to cause any death to
date.
"We are circulating petitions for a
Michigan Constitutional amend-
ment that will require treatment for
addiction before an addict can be
imprisoned for drug abuse."
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2004
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