MI mission

Hey there!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Before you dive in, allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Mikayla Bouchard, I just finished my junior year at Michigan State University where I am majoring in Theatre and International Relations. Interesting combination, you say! I know, and I'm the first to admit it. I have a passion for relationships; the ones we see develop in a story onstage or on film and the relationships that drive society and public policy. I jump at the opportunity to combine expression with politics and here is one such opportunity!

I am blessed with the most amazing family and friends in the world. They have supported me in my every endeavor so when my dad, Mike Bouchard, announced his campaign for Governor, I was eager to do my part to help. This election comes at an integral point in both of our lives. I have seen my dad's career as a legislator, police officer and entrepreneur develop to the point where he is uniquely prepared to become our next Governor. At the same time, I near the end of my college education and look to begin a career of my own. Like many of my friends, I fear that the current status of Michigan and her economy will not provide the life and job I am looking for.

For those reasons and many others, I am bringing a new voice and perspective to this campaign. I want to introduce you to my dad and give you a behind the scenes look at our journey on the campaign trail. Along the way, I hope to meet and talk with many of you who also want to see a brighter future for our Great Lake State! Let's put an end to job loss, debt, corruption and moving vans heading out of Michigan. It's time we, as the next generation, make a difference in this next election. I encourage you to get to know the candidates. I'm sure that you will agree that Mike Bouchard is the best choice for Governor!

Mikayla

Monday, July 19, 2010

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!


       Not even a week after the campaign's Right to Work announcement, national media attention has focused in on our campaign. Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal that talks about how this issue has changed the race and could "catapult Bouchard to the nomination"...
In Michigan, the Unions Are Losing
By Stephen Moore – The Wall Street Journal
GRAND RAPIDS – Michigan is one big industrial state in the Midwest where Republicans think they can win the governorship in November. Voters are suffering from what many here call “Granholm fatigue” — eight years of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm aggravated by an unemployment rate now topping 14%.
The Michigan GOP primary is crowded and tight with contenders. Right now the latest polling has Mike Bouchard, the sheriff of Oakland County, in a tie with Congressman Pete Hoekstra at 19%. Mike Cox, the attorney general, is at 15%. Rick Snyder, a businessman, is at 12%. Last week, though, Mr. Bouchard made a play to separate himself from the pack going into the Aug. 3 vote. He endorsed a plan to make Michigan, one of the most union-dominated states in the nation, a right-to-work state. That means union membership and paying union dues would no longer be a requirement for getting certain jobs.
A political pro in Michigan tells me that right-to-work is “enormously popular with Republican primary voters.” I’m also told that the issue so resonates with conservative and independent voters that it could even single-handedly “catapult Bouchard to the nomination.” Backers of the idea note that former NBAer Dave Bing won the mayor’s race in Detroit by promising to take on the public employee unions. “Companies are going elsewhere and taking their jobs and our kids with them,” Mr. Bouchard said in announcing his position. He added: “Someone shouldn’t be forced to join a union to get a job.”
Already conservative groups are applauding the gutsy decision by Mr. Bouchard. Scott Hagerstrom of Michigan Americans for Prosperity says: “This is definitely a pro-growth reform for us. Michigan is the historical center of union power in the country.” An AFP study finds that since 1990 right-to-work states have grown jobs at twice the pace of forced-unionization states.
Some see the move as politically risky because of labor’s historic muscle in the state. “The union bosses will probably come after me,” admits Mr. Bouchard. But labor’s influence is dwindling because voters increasingly see heavy-handed union strategies as a reason for Michigan’s job losses. Even on the Democratic side, the union chokehold in the Wolverine State is waning. Labor’s handpicked gubernatorial choice, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, is losing in the polls to Michigan Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon, who has made waves by challenging the union’s power in the state.
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