Marquette, MI – April, 2014 – This month on StraightTalk, Brian Cabell sits down with State Representative John Kivela at Babycakes in Marquette.
BC: A few years ago you were selling cars and repairing cars, and now you’re in the state legislature. How’d that happen?
JK: It really started with someone asking me to serve on a board. I served on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Loved it. Ran for the City Commission. Loved it. Worked with public policy. Loved it. When I was selling cars, it was always relationships with people. In politics, it’s the same thing.
BC: You’re a Democrat but you seem to get along well with Republicans. Why is that?
JK: When I was running, I told people I was fiscally conservative but socially liberal. Keep the government out of our bedrooms. It’s the social issues that drag us down so many times. But fiscally, when I was with the city, we balanced our budgets. At home I balance my budget. If I don’t make my payments, they take away my car. That’s how it works. Shouldn’t government be the same way?
BC: You’ve met Governor Snyder. What do you think of him?
JK: I think generally he’s done an all right job but there are some question marks. For example, a non partisan agency reported dollars into the Treasury from individuals are up more than 30% this year. But when you look at what large corporations are paying into the treasury, that number is down 82%. That would be fine if you did it to create jobs but in 2010, Michigan was ranked 48th in unemployment. Where are we today? We’re still 48 th. Someone’s got to answer for that.
Read the full interview here: http://www.marquettemagazine.com/straighttalk-with-state-representative-john-kivela/