LANSING — State Reps. John Chirkun (D-Roseville), Patrick Green (D-Warren), Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores), William Sowerby (D-Clinton Township) and Henry Yanez (D-Sterling Heights) took the oath of office today as the Michigan House of Representatives officially opened the 2017-18 legislative session.

“It is an honor to continue serving the people of House District 22,” said Chirkun. “I look forward to continuing my efforts to protect our workers, families, students and senior citizens by making sure that state government understands and is responsive to their needs.”

“I am excited to begin my first full term representing the residents of Warren and Center Line,” said Green. “Working to represent the best interest of families, businesses, and local government is the top priority for the House District 28 team. We are excited to hit the ground running and continue the work that we started in 2016.”

“I am honored to take the oath of office and begin working for the families, senior citizens and communities of House District 18,” said Hertel. “I’ll join my Democratic colleagues to fight for our students, retirees, families and communities, and create common sense policies to ensure that everyone in our state has opportunities and a good quality of life.” 

 “Serving the residents of House District 31 is a great honor and I am excited to begin working on legislation and solutions to issues in my district and our state,” said Sowerby. “I look forward to hearing from and working with the residents, local government officials and business leaders of my district on how state government can best meet their needs.”

  “I am privileged and am humbled to once again have been given the opportunity to represent the good people of Sterling Heights and Warren for a third term in the state House,” said Yanez, who is serving his third term due to term limits. “I remain committed to being the voice of too often overlooked hard-working families within our community to ensure we fix our roads and crumbling infrastructure, ensure our children get the best education possible, and to foster an environment that creates sustainable good-paying jobs. I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues to move Macomb County, and Michigan, forward.”

Chirkun is serving his second term in the House and Yanez is serving his third term. Reps. Green, Hertel and Sowerby are serving their first terms. Green took office in November 2016 to fulfill the remainder of former Rep. Derek Miller’s term.