It is with great pleasure that the Observer Readers' Endorsement Panel recommends to you Glenn Anderson for the Democratic seat in the 13th Congressional District of Michigan. After all things considered, we believe Glenn Anderson will best represent our district in Washington.

Glenn is a longtime resident of Westland. Before his tenure in public service, Glenn was a Ford Motor Co. employee for 28 years and has been a member of the UAW since 1972. Glenn has served in a few public service positions which include a councilman for the city of Westland, a state representative and presently a state senator which represents the people of Garden City, Livonia, Redford Township and Westland.

Since Glenn was elected to his Michigan State Senate seat, he has been known for his “behind-the-scenes” work and has been committed to getting things done. He serves as the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and his legislative priorities include improving Michigan's economic vitality, strengthening consumer protection laws, the safety of our children, quality health care and more affordable insurance through reform of present laws.

Some recent accomplishments of Glenn's include the anti-bullying bill he championed and his strong efforts to ban legal synthetics K-2 and bath salts.

Glenn has many goals set if elected as U.S. representative for our district. His top priority is to create long-term and sustainable jobs which the panel recognizes is an extreme necessity to our state specifically as it has been missing for far too long. He is firm in his stance that we must offer incentives that will encourage our companies to create jobs here in Michigan. One such effort is to rid the current incentives our current tax code gives to companies to leave our shores and instead encourage them through incentives to stay here, which the panel agrees is very important to our economic success and job creation.

The panel recognizes that mortgage reform is something that really needs to be sought for many areas of our district. Glenn would go about this by stressing to Congress to provide incentives for banks that choose to re-negotiate with homeowners rather than foreclose. He also insists that banks and mortgage holders do this all in good faith, including when modifying a homeowners' interest rates. If they don't, Glenn finds it right to end the tax write-offs and close any other loopholes the banks and mortgage holders benefit from. Mortgage reform is also part of Glenn's “Urban Policy.” It would restore our neighborhoods in both the urban and suburban communities by first acknowledging those homeowners who have been suffering most. This effort along with collaboration between the suburbs and urban communities in building an efficient public transportation system throughout southeast Michigan as well as maintaining our existing roads, bridges and highways is essential.

The panel believes Glenn has the key to strengthen both Detroit and the suburbs. When it comes to education, Glenn has been present in the schools for a long time. Glenn believes that each and every child deserves the best education possible. He wants to put more money into the schools while making sure that each student is still the top priority of each administration. Something we, the panel, recognize are the faults of federal government programs, such as No Child Left Behind. We believe our district's children and children everywhere need the right instruction, and Glenn is dedicated to empowering teachers to do what they need to make a difference. He also understands the reality of the world and that we are living in an ever growing competitive place where we must continue to fund programs to make higher education more affordable and accessible for our students.

In our endorsement of Mr. Glenn Anderson, we would also like to acknowledge our “runner-up” who we also believe would do a good job at representing our district in Washington behind Mr. Anderson, and that is Shanelle Jackson. Shanelle is a daughter of Detroit and has shared a longtime love of community.

Currently she serves as a Michigan state representative where she shows leadership in getting laws passed that we, the panel, find essential to Detroit and our communities at large. Those laws include mandating that mortgage loan officers be licensed by the state; empowering the insurance commissioner to issue refunds when a customer is overcharged; and one that mandates that mortgage companies must sit down with homeowners before foreclosing.

Shanelle's goals for office include making sure that Michigan becomes an innovative leader in alternative energy, manufacturing, and agriculture; letting parents decide where they think their children would receive the best education; protecting and strengthening Medicare; and working with auto-manufacturers to improve the fuel economy in such a manner that would save us money at the pump.

Shanelle is also very dedicated to women's rights when she speaks of “Girl Power” and one thing she would like to see passed is pay equity.

Our diverse panel hopes to have identified the main issues our 13th district at large faces and more so has identified the candidate that would do the right stuff for us in Washington. We hope you are able to digest the issues presented and hopefully ease your transition to the voting booth on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

Caitlin Burns,

Debra Fowlkes,

Bill Mills,

Josh Lowe,

Readers' Endorsement Panel

Thaddeus McCotter and his failed bid for re-election in the 11th Congressional District has overshadowed the battle that has been brewing in the new 13th Congressional District. A crowded field of candidates, including a respected veteran congressman, are vying for the right to be the Democratic nominee in the November general election.

John Conyers, the second-most senior member of the House of Representatives and dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, is making a bid for a 24th term in Congress, moving from the 14th District to the new 13th District that includes part of Detroit and Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Garden City, Highland Park, Inkster, Melvindale, Redford Township, River Rouge, Romulus, Wayne and Westland.

Also in the running are State Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland; Wayne-Westland school board Vice-President John Goci; State Rep. Shanelle Jackson, D-Detroit, and State Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park.

By virtue of his years of service and seniority, Conyers would seem to be the logical choice, but in our view, the 13th District needs new and effective representation. The district is as much suburban as it urban. Three of the communities - Detroit, Ecorse and Inkster - are in financial distress. The need is for a representative who will go to Washington, get in the trenches, and fight to bring federal dollars back to Michigan and the 13th District.

Selecting that candidate has not been an easy task. Conyers has a track record of success and serves on influential committees in Congress, but appears to be relying on the past rather than getting out and meeting with people in this district. Name recognition alone isn't grounds for a another term in office.

The four newcomers all believe they can do the job. They all say that they will not be a “seat warmer,” but rather an energetic representative who will work hard for the benefit of the district. They maintain that they can cross over to the other side of the aisle and work with Republicans to get legislation passed that will benefit the district, the state and the country.

In listening and in talking to those four candidates - Conyers did not participate in the Observer interview process (despite repeated attempts to schedule a one-on-one session) - we believe the candidate who can best do those things is Glenn Anderson.

Anderson has extensive legislative experience at the local and state level. He is tenacious and committed. He takes up issues and champions them, working behind the scenes to get support. He proposed anti-bullying legislation as a state representative and continued to press for its passage as a senator. He worked diligently with his colleagues and was successful in retaining enhanced funding for the Garden City and Wayne-Westland School Districts in the State School Aid Act for several years.

He has done a good job representing Westland, Livonia, Garden City and Westland as a state senator. Part of representing people is to be available to them, and Anderson does that. He is involved in his district and provides excellent constituent services.

We also are impressed that, in pursuing the Democratic nomination, Anderson has meet with all of the mayors, except Dave Bing, of communities in the 13th District, to find out the issues they face. He doesn't want to guess, he wants to know what needs to be done.

The August primary will be a partisan election. Voters will need to register their party preference. For those who plan to vote in the Democratic primary, we recommend Glenn Anderson as the candidate who should move on to the November general election. We believe he has the ability to represent both the suburbs and Detroit in Washington equally and effectively and that his legislative experience and ability to connect with constituents will benefit the entire 13th Congressional District.

Thaddeus McCotter and his failed bid for re-election in the 11th Congressional District has overshadowed the battle that has been brewing in the new 13th Congressional District. A crowded field of candidates, including a respected veteran congressman, are vying for the right to be the Democratic nominee in the November general election.

John Conyers, the second-most senior member of the House of Representatives and dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, is making a bid for a 24th term in Congress, moving from the 14th District to the new 13th District that includes part of Detroit and Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Garden City, Highland Park, Inkster, Melvindale, Redford Township, River Rouge, Romulus, Wayne and Westland.

Also in the running are State Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland; Wayne-Westland school board Vice-President John Goci; State Rep. Shanelle Jackson, D-Detroit, and State Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park.

By virtue of his years of service and seniority, Conyers would seem to be the logical choice, but in our view, the 13th District needs new and effective representation. The district is as much suburban as it urban. Three of the communities - Detroit, Ecorse and Inkster - are in financial distress. The need is for a representative who will go to Washington, get in the trenches, and fight to bring federal dollars back to Michigan and the 13th District.

Selecting that candidate has not been an easy task. Conyers has a track record of success and serves on influential committees in Congress, but appears to be relying on the past rather than getting out and meeting with people in this district. Name recognition alone isn't grounds for a another term in office.

The four newcomers all believe they can do the job. They all say that they will not be a “seat warmer,” but rather an energetic representative who will work hard for the benefit of the district. They maintain that they can cross over to the other side of the aisle and work with Republicans to get legislation passed that will benefit the district, the state and the country.

In listening and in talking to those four candidates - Conyers did not participate in the Observer interview process (despite repeated attempts to schedule a one-on-one session) - we believe the candidate who can best do those things is Glenn Anderson.

Anderson has extensive legislative experience at the local and state level. He is tenacious and committed. He takes up issues and champions them, working behind the scenes to get support. He proposed anti-bullying legislation as a state representative and continued to press for its passage as a senator. He worked diligently with his colleagues and was successful in retaining enhanced funding for the Garden City and Wayne-Westland School Districts in the State School Aid Act for several years.

He has done a good job representing Westland, Livonia, Garden City and Westland as a state senator. Part of representing people is to be available to them, and Anderson does that. He is involved in his district and provides excellent constituent services.

We also are impressed that, in pursuing the Democratic nomination, Anderson has meet with all of the mayors, except Dave Bing, of communities in the 13th District, to find out the issues they face. He doesn't want to guess, he wants to know what needs to be done.

The August primary will be a partisan election. Voters will need to register their party preference. For those who plan to vote in the Democratic primary, we recommend Glenn Anderson as the candidate who should move on to the November general election. We believe he has the ability to represent both the suburbs and Detroit in Washington equally and effectively and that his legislative experience and ability to connect with constituents will benefit the entire 13th Congressional District.

Thaddeus McCotter and his failed bid for re-election in the 11th Congressional District has overshadowed the battle that has been brewing in the new 13th Congressional District. A crowded field of candidates, including a respected veteran congressman, are vying for the right to be the Democratic nominee in the November general election.

John Conyers, the second-most senior member of the House of Representatives and dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, is making a bid for a 24th term in Congress, moving from the 14th District to the new 13th District that includes part of Detroit and Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Garden City, Highland Park, Inkster, Melvindale, Redford Township, River Rouge, Romulus, Wayne and Westland.

Also in the running are State Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland; Wayne-Westland school board Vice-President John Goci; State Rep. Shanelle Jackson, D-Detroit, and State Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park.

By virtue of his years of service and seniority, Conyers would seem to be the logical choice, but in our view, the 13th District needs new and effective representation. The district is as much suburban as it urban. Three of the communities - Detroit, Ecorse and Inkster - are in financial distress. The need is for a representative who will go to Washington, get in the trenches, and fight to bring federal dollars back to Michigan and the 13th District.

Selecting that candidate has not been an easy task. Conyers has a track record of success and serves on influential committees in Congress, but appears to be relying on the past rather than getting out and meeting with people in this district. Name recognition alone isn't grounds for a another term in office.

The four newcomers all believe they can do the job. They all say that they will not be a “seat warmer,” but rather an energetic representative who will work hard for the benefit of the district. They maintain that they can cross over to the other side of the aisle and work with Republicans to get legislation passed that will benefit the district, the state and the country.

In listening and in talking to those four candidates - Conyers did not participate in the Observer interview process (despite repeated attempts to schedule a one-on-one session) - we believe the candidate who can best do those things is Glenn Anderson.

Anderson has extensive legislative experience at the local and state level. He is tenacious and committed. He takes up issues and champions them, working behind the scenes to get support. He proposed anti-bullying legislation as a state representative and continued to press for its passage as a senator. He worked diligently with his colleagues and was successful in retaining enhanced funding for the Garden City and Wayne-Westland School Districts in the State School Aid Act for several years.

He has done a good job representing Westland, Livonia, Garden City and Westland as a state senator. Part of representing people is to be available to them, and Anderson does that. He is involved in his district and provides excellent constituent services.

We also are impressed that, in pursuing the Democratic nomination, Anderson has meet with all of the mayors, except Dave Bing, of communities in the 13th District, to find out the issues they face. He doesn't want to guess, he wants to know what needs to be done.

The August primary will be a partisan election. Voters will need to register their party preference. For those who plan to vote in the Democratic primary, we recommend Glenn Anderson as the candidate who should move on to the November general election. We believe he has the ability to represent both the suburbs and Detroit in Washington equally and effectively and that his legislative experience and ability to connect with constituents will benefit the entire 13th Congressional District.