Candidate Profile: Kevin Rinke, MI Governor

Troy MI

22 July, 2022

3:11 PM

Description

MICHIGAN — Bloomfield Hills business man Kevin Rinke is one of five Republican gubernatorial candidates seeking to challenge Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this November. He has spent millions funding his own campaign. Rinke will face other Republican hopefuls, Garrett Soldano, Ralph Rebandt, Ryan Kelley and Tudor Dixon in the Aug. 2 primary. A recent Detroit News/WDIV poll showed he was trailing Tudor Dixon by four percentage points with 38 percent of voters still undecided. Here's how he filled out his candidate profile: Name Kevin Rinke Campaign website https://rinkeformichigan.com/a... City or town of residence Bloomfield Hills Office sought Governor District, if applicable Party affiliation Republican Education Bachelor's in Advertising with a minor in Statistics from Michigan State University Occupation Businessman Family My family consists of my beautiful wife, Janine and our three children, Amanda, Grant and Katie. Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No Age 61 Previous public office, appointive or elective No Why are you seeking this office? I'm running for governor because Michigan has been home for my entire life. I built my business here, I raised my family here, and I love Michigan. Michigan and our country are at a tipping point. Small businesses have shuttered across the state, parents are burdened by an unreliable educational system, forced isolation has put the mental health of our most vulnerable at risk, and continued economic uncertainty has many here worried about the future. People have had enough of the government telling them how to live. I am running to be your governor to reignite Midwestern resilience and put the power back where it belongs – in the hands of the people. We will rejuvenate our state's economy and small businesses, repair our children's education, restore quality to our elections, and ensure our communities are safe and supported. This will restore the faith of the good people of Michigan. Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it. What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? My business experience makes me the most qualified candidate to be the Chief Executive of the state of Michigan. After four failed years, we need a new kind of leadership. A governor who has decades of executive experience, who has signed the front and the back of a check, who listens to the people he leads, and empowers them to be part of the solution, rather than dictating the terms of their lives. We know business leaders solve problems differently than career politicians. Our next governor needs to be someone with proven leadership and proven results. Experience matters. If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community? Governor Whitmer's decision to shut down our schools and businesses during COVID damaged our children and destroyed our local economy. It was also the wrong decision to not move forward on the new Line 5 Tunnel. Her attempts to shut down the existing Line 5 ignored the positive economic impact of Line 5, as well as the jobs it creates and how it protects the environment. I could go on but the last failure I want to address is how Governor Whitmer allowed CRT and gender studies in our public schools. Our teachers should be focused on teaching our children how to think, not what to think. Almost 50% of our children are illiterate and I believe we should focus our teacher's efforts on reading, writing, arithmetic and civics. Do you think the federal government can or should do more to curb inflation, which has led to an increase in prices for food, gas and other goods? While I can't order the Federal Reserve to stop printing money or order Congress to stop its wasteful spending, I can stop wasteful spending at the state level. Governor Whitmer promised to run on kitchen table issues, but the kitchen table is bare. Our cost of living has skyrocketed due to inflation. My plan is to eliminate the personal income tax by January 1, 2024 so Michigan families and small businesses can spend money on their priorities, not on the priorities of the government in Lansing. When I am governor, Michigan families will keep more of what they earn. Do you support changing the state's constitution to ensure that women have to right to get an abortion? I am pro-life with exceptions and against taxpayer funded abortions. My position is the same as President Trump and President Reagan. I believe the issue of abortion should be addressed by the people of the state of Michigan. Do you support the Raise the Wage ballot initiative, which would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027 and provide cost-of-living increases in later years? The Raise the Wage initiative will not appear on the ballot this year so my support or opposition doesn't really matter. What I'm focused on is creating a stronger economic environment in Michigan that will allow our state to grow economically, attract great paying jobs and compete with other states across the nation. That starts by eliminating the state personal income tax that will give every person in the state a raise. Would you support an election initiative to require another audit of the 2020 presidential election, to transfer authority over the audit from the Secretary of State to a newly created auditing panel, and to change how elections are reviewed in the future? People should have confidence in the administration and outcomes of our election system and it is incumbent on leaders to restore voter confidence. It is not just Republicans who've questioned the outcome of our elections. In 2016, Democrats claimed Russian interference was the reason Donald Trump won the presidency. In 2000, Democrats claimed the election was stolen from Al Gore, and in 2016 the Democrats claimed it was stolen from Hillary Clinton. As governor, I will start an Election Integrity Unit to ensure our elections are secure. I will ensure voters are alive, properly registered and show a government issued photo ID before they cast their ballot. We must clean up our voter roles that Secretary of State Benson has allowed to deteriorate. I will call upon the legislature to deliver legislation that requires the voter rolls to be audited and for our state's voter ID law to be enforced. We can restore confidence in our elections, and I will lead the effort. What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign? I want to shrink the size of government and get it working for the people. I promise to eliminate the personal state income tax by January 1, 2024 so we can let Michigan families and small businesses spend money on their priorities, not on the priorities of the government in Lansing. Fixing our broken election system and restoring faith in our election process will also be one of my top priorities. And lastly, I want to repair our public education system by focusing on reading, writing, arithmetic, and vocational opportunities. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?