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Jewish state reps share an interest in helping citizens.
Shari S. Cohen I Special to the Jewish News
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Moss and Wittenberg serve districts
with sizable Jewish populations, both
located in Metro Detroit. Schor repre-
sents the Lansing area and Callton serves
rural Barry County and part of Ionia
County, located west of Lansing.
Despite the focus nationally and in
Michigan on the sharp divisions between
Democrats and Republicans, Callton and
Schor cite positive examples of bipartisan
efforts during the last legislative session.
Callton mentions passage of the "Grand
Bargain" legislation, which helped to off-
set pension cutbacks and facilitate reso-
lution of the city of Detroit's bankruptcy.
"The outcome is always better when
there is bipartisan support," he said.
Schor led Democratic efforts to expand
Medicaid in the state. Despite resistance
from some Republican legislators, bills
were passed with Gov. Snyder's support
that enabled many Michigan residents to
afford and acquire health insurance for
the first time.
While Callton and Schor each have
different areas of legislative interest,
they joined together last year to cospon-
sor legislation to support Holocaust and
genocide education in Michigan's public
schools. The bill was approved by the
Michigan Senate in December, but it
failed to make it through the House dur-
ing the lame-duck session.
Schor is particularly interested in
attracting and retaining talent in the
state. He has re-introduced a bill (HR
4118) to encourage Michigan's college
graduates to remain here by providing
them with tax credits of up to $2,000 for
qualified student loan payments for five
years. While a comparable Senate bill
was introduced, Schor noted that Snyder
doesn't support such a tax credit, partly
because of its unpredictable impact on
state revenues — the number of gradu-
ates who would use it is unknown.
Callton chairs the House Committee
Positive Outlook on page 10
Meet The Representatives
State Rep. Mike Callton,
R-Barry County
Callton, 56, grew up in Oak Park and
West Bloomfield, had a bar mitzvah at
Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township
and was active in BBYO. However, for
most of his adult
life, he has lived in
Nashville, Mich., a vil-
lage of 1,701 without a
traffic light and where
he is the only Jew.
He earned a
degree in biology
from Michigan State
University and a doctorate in chiropractic
medicine from the National University of
Health Sciences. He moved to Nashville
to purchase the Nashville Chiropractic
Center at terms that fit his tight budget.
Not knowing anyone in Nashville,
Canton visited the library often and
eventually became a board member of
the Friends of the Library. Local teachers
then convinced him to run for the school
board, and he became its president.
Subsequently, Canton was elected to
the Nashville Village Council and served
as a Barry County commissioner and
chairman for six years. He was first elect-
ed to the state legislature in 2010, repre-
senting Barry and part of Ionia counties.
As the only Jew, Callton says he is a
"stranger in a strange land" One local
minister told him he couldn't vote for
him because he was Jewish. Most voters
felt otherwise, as Callton has won elec-
tions by large margins. He is married
and has two adult sons. He attends the
Chabad House in East Lansing.
8
February 26 • 2015
JN
State Rep. Jeremy Moss,
D-Southfield
Prior to his election as a state rep-
resentative in 2014, Jeremy Moss,
28, was the Southfield City Council's
youngest member ever. His legisla-
tive district includes
Southfield, Lathrup
Village, Beverly Hills,
Bingham Farms and
Franklin.
"I was always
interested in public
affairs:' he said. "I
wanted to provide
a voice for people under 50 and the
Council didn't have that representation
at the table"
A lifelong resident of Southfield,
Moss graduated from Hillel Day School
in Farmington Hills and Michigan State
University, where he majored in jour-
nalism and political science. During
college, he participated in a race rela-
tions program and served as a commu-
nity volunteer in South Africa as part
of MSU's Michigan Political Leadership
Program Fellowship.
He also worked for former Southfield
Mayor Brenda Lawrence while still a
college student. After graduation, he
served as district director for State Rep.
Rudy Hobbs. When Hobbs entered
the U.S. Congressional race, Moss ran
successfully for his seat in the state
legislature.
Moss is a board member of
Congregation Beth Ahm in West
Bloomfield. He is single.
State Rep. Andy Schor,
D-Lansing
Schor, 39, was born and raised in Long
Island, N.Y. He came to the Midwest
to attend the University of Michigan,
majoring in political science and his-
tory.
His career has
been devoted to gov-
ernment and politics.
He was an Ingham
County commis-
sioner for 10 years,
including serving as
its vice chair. Schor
notes that Ingham County has a small
Jewish population, and he remembers
initiating the commission's first recog-
nition of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
At the state level, Schor was assistant
director of the Michigan Municipal
League and worked for former State
Sen. Gary Peters for five years, as well
as for State Rep. Paul Condino.
His first term as a state legislator
went very well, Schor said. He led the
Democratic effort to expand Medicaid
through the Healthy Michigan pro-
gram. More than 500,000 people who
previously lacked health insurance
acquired coverage — exceeding the
projection of 380,000. He is also proud
of saving the city of Lansing $1 million
in tax revenues that were in jeopardy
due to a "glitch" in the bill that changed
the tax exempt status of Blue Cross Blue
Shield.
Schor and his wife have two children
and live in Lansing; they are involved
with Kehillat Israel.
State Rep. Robert
Wittenberg, D-Oak Park
Wittenberg, 34, represents a district
that has had a Jewish representative
for many years. It includes Berkley,
Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington
Woods, Pleasant
Ridge, Royal Oak
Township and Oak
Park, where he lives.
He received a
bachelor's degree in
business manage-
ment from Indiana
University, where
he was active in student government
and founder of the Hillel Business
Leadership Initiative.
After college, Wittenberg returned to
the Detroit area where he worked as a
life and health insurance agent for nine
years.
His father was politically active and
served on the school board; his mother
teaches first grade.
"I was frustrated with what I saw in
Lansing:' he said, especially the state's
priorities and its negative impact on
public education, so he decided to run
for State Rep. Ellen Cogan Lipton's seat
as term limits prevented her from run-
ning again.
Wittenberg serves on the board
of the Oak Park Jewish Community
Center and has been active in
NEXTGen Detroit and Partners in
Torah. He is single.