Election 2004

Battling On Point

Familiar names in West Bloomfield fight for 39th House seat.

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

R

epublican David Law and
Democrat Michael Alan
Schwartz, who is Jewish, are
vying for the state House of
Representatives seat being vacated
because of term limits by State Rep.
Marc Shulman. The 39th district
covers most of West Bloomfield, and
all of Commerce and Wolverine
Lake. Salary for the two-year term is
$79,000 a year.
Both Law and Schwartz are
lawyers and live in West Bloomfield.
Law, the son of West Bloomfield
Clerk Sharon Law and retiring
Oakland County Commissioner
Thomas Law, defeated three candi-
dates — including Shulman's wife,
Lois — in the August primary.
Schwartz ran unopposed.
Neither candidate appears to be
too keen on informing the public
about his party affiliation. Law's lat-
est four-page direct mail pamphlet
doesn't mention the word
"Republican," although his cam-
paign signs do. Schwartz's signs don't
say he's a Democrat.

recent cuts in spending on educa-
tion, calling education the state's
top-priority issue.
He added, "There are 'wants' and
there are 'needs' in the state — and
education is certainly one of the
`needs.' The Legislature has to be
practical and not spend on 'wants'
while cutting 'needs.' I'd rather cut
spending on frills for the prison
inmates, such as air conditioning,
TV sets and their education, and
spend more on education for our
children."
Law says he has an "excellent
understanding of finance," and is
"well-suited to maintain a responsi-
ble budget." He wants to encourage
job growth through less regulation,
lower taxes and cheaper utility rates
for businesses. "Too much regulation
burdens out economy," he asserted.
"The hard-working character of our
business people should be allowed to
flourish."
Law wants to pursue federal grants
in research and development to
attract high-quality jobs.
"Senior citizens deserve every ben-
efit they've earned throughout their
lives, especially health care, and the
Legislature needs to prioritize spend-
ing to care for them," said Law.
"The state should purchase prescrip-
tion medications in bulk and pass
along the savings to senior citizens.
"Also, I favor tax-credit incentives
for employers who provide health-
care benefits. We also must allow
new medical facilities to be built in
our community so people no longer
have to drive to downtown Detroit
for treatment."

David Law Profile

David Law

Law, making his first run for elective
office, is proud of his parents' long
record of public service and wants to
"follow in that tradition." He decries

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10/ 8
2004

36

An assistant Oakland County prose-
cutor for six years, Law says he has
handled about 2,000 felony cases,
and has been especially aggressive in
prosecuting criminals who prey on
elderly residents. He was in private
law practice for three years before
that.
He graduated from Detroit
Catholic Central High School, got a

finance degree from Notre Dame
University in Indiana and a law
degree from Detroit College of Law.
Single and 35, Law lived in the com-
munity for 27 years before moving
to Berkley; he returned last March.
He serves as a mentor in the Teen
Court program. He belongs to the
West Bloomfield and
Commerce/Lakes Area chambers of
commerce. He's "proud of strong
support from the Jewish communi-
ty." He's affiliated with the Prince of
Peace Catholic Church in West
Bloomfield.

corporations to outsource jobs to
foreign countries." He explains, "We
ask for patriotism from individual
citizens, so corporate citizens should
be no less patriotic. We should pro-
vide disincentives to corporations
that decide to outsource jobs by
denying them tax advantages and
other benefits."
Schwartz supports initiatives like
bulk purchasing of prescriptions and
prescription drug coverage to count-
er the high cost of drugs. He wants
to insure tax dollars are not
siphoned away from public schools.
Asserting that West Bloomfield
and Commerce are charged "much
more" for water than neighboring
communities, he supports legislation.
that would make rates more equi-
table.

Michael Alan Schwartz Profile

Michael Alan
Schwartz

As a lawyer for 31 years, who served
a four-year term on the West
Bloomfield Board of Trustees,
Schwartz feels he knows "how laws
are implemented, what laws are
Constitutional, and what laws are
needed on a state level to be in tune
with our community's needs."
As a trustee, he said, he helped
keep township operating costs down.
He's not a "tax and spend advocate"
and he prefers not to "squeeze the
taxpayer," but would rather try sav-
ing than spending. "I also want to
insure that vital services are funded
properly," he said.
Pointing out that job growth and
job retention are related issues,
Schwartz claims it's "not patriotic for

Born in Brooklyn, Schwartz, 56, is
graduated from Long Island
University with a B.A. degree in
political science and from the
Fordham University Law School in
New York. He worked in the
Brooklyn District Attorney's Office
before coming to Michigan in 1979
to become administrator of the
Michigan Attorneys Grievance
Commission.
Schwartz served as an adjunct law
professor at Wayne State University
and the University of Detroit. He
later spent 10 years with the
Southfield law firm of Fieger, Fieger,
Kenney and Johnson. He now is a
partner in the Farmington Hills law
firm of Schwartz, Kelly and Oltarz-
S chwartz.
Sara Oltarz-Schwartz is his wife.
They've been married for 30 years,
have two sons and have lived in
West Bloomfield 22 years.
He formerly was on the West
Bloomfield Wetlands Review Board.
He belongs to the Anti-Defamation
League Michigan Region and the
family is affiliated with Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield. ❑