GREENVILLE - The competition for the Michigan House of Representatives 70th seat is heating up with the recent announcement that Greenville resident Mike Huckleberry will try to fill it.

Huckleberry - “Huck” as his friends and supporters call him - believes his bi-partisan platform and his strategies to bring jobs to Ionia and Montcalm counties will be enough to punch a ticket to the capitol in Lansing.

“I've proven I work well with everyone - Republicans and Democrats, city folks and farmers, shopkeepers and the owners and workers at big companies, too,” said Huckleberry, who first gained national attention for his “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” campaign during a 2004 U.S. Congressional run. “I'll take that spirit of bi-partisanship to Lansing.”

Huckleberry has owned Huckleberry's Restaurant in Greenville for 16 years and thus feels a strong connection to small business. When Greenville manufacturer Electrolux threatened to move to Mexico in 2003 - and take with it some 2,800 local jobs - Huckleberry launched a campaign outlining the future consequences Electrolux's relocation could have on Montcalm County. Electrolux ultimately left the county and the country in 2003, a move that significantly impacted Montcalm County and triggered Huckleberry's political aspirations, inspiring him to use his outspokenness for the benefit of others.

“I didn't really have any political intentions up to that point,” said Huckleberry, who recalled numerous conversations he had in his restaurant with Montcalm County citizens describing the effect the job losses could have on the community. “A lot of people were in a state of denial about this, I don't think they knew how much jobs affect small businesses. It's taken two or three years, but you'd find now that they've all been very much affected. People have to make a living, they have to pay their bills. We're all strongly intertwined.”

Edward Wendover, Huckleberry's campaign manager, saw Huckleberry speak at a job rally in Greenville in 2003. Wendover and his wife, Sally, hadn't heard of him before, but they couldn't believe their ears.

“We saw [Huckleberry] and we saw this nervous guy who was a little unpolished, but he spoke entirely from the heart, people could relate to him,” said Wendover. “Huck is his own man and he's as genuine as they come. I think folks'll appreciate his independence, not many politicians go against partisanship.”

But isn't Michigan in a one-state recession? How does Huckleberry plan to bring jobs to the five townships he'd cover in Ionia and 20 townships in Montcalm Counties?

Huckleberry said that because of the auto industry, Michigan used to be known primarily for its manufacturing prowess. He feels there's no reason that can't continue, only tomorrow's manufacturing jobs will be in new markets like renewable energy.

“Montcalm and Ionia (counties) have been hit hard, there's no question. But Michigan is in a state of transition and renewable energy is the future for Michigan,” said Huckleberry, who himself has two solar-power units on his home and has endeavored in the past to utilize windmills as a source of renewable energy. “There's no excuse for why our district can't get its share of jobs in it.”

Huckleberry said the explosion of a new industry in Michigan would spark everything from education - students would compete for positions in a strong Michigan job market - to the entire Michigan economy, as people would have more money to put back into their communities and local businesses.

Huckleberry doesn't yet have opposition in his own party, although that could change if someone opts to run before the May 13th deadline. Already, three Republicans have thrown their name into the ring for the Nov. 4th election: Tom Humphries, Rick Outman and Jonnie VanderHoef.

Whatever the outcome, Wendover promises fireworks.

“You're going to see the biggest Democratic push ever seen in Ionia County,” Wendover said. “This is going to be a big deal.”

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