Lansing — Newly elected state Rep. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) was officially sworn in today as State Representative for Michigan’s 18th district, which includes St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe, and part of the Village of Grosse Pointe.
“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 to repeal harmful laws, such as the retirement tax that has made life difficult for retirees, restoring funding that was cut from our public school classrooms and restoring revenue sharing to our local governments so that they can provide the services resident and local businesses need.”
He is looking forward to continuing the work of his predecessor, Representative Sarah Roberts, in both creating a child abuse registry and helping children who suffer hair loss affordably acquire wigs.
Hertel supports the environment, students, and seniors. He is proud to take part in the efforts to save Lake St. Clair and better our environment. He also plans to work to support quality, equitable public schooling for all students regardless of race, class, or gender and to ensure that students have access to higher education without extreme student debt burdens. Hertel also intends to work to repeal the retirement tax that has burdened local seniors over the past few years.
He is also deeply concerned about the state’s levels of revenue-sharing with cities, and hopes to help improve infrastructure and public services, including police and fire, through a re-prioritizing of the state’s budget.
Hertel comes from a family of public servants, and he is honored to continue this tradition. He lives in St. Clair Shores with his wife, Ann. He is available by e-mail at kevinhertel@house.mi.gov and by phone at (517)373-1180. Visit his website hertel.housedems.com