PART-TIME MI: Ken Sikkema Interview

Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema was interviewed on a variety of subjects this month and he included his opinion on a part-time legislature:

---

Q. How long do you think Michigan can justify a full-time Legislature when larger states with better economies such as Texas and Florida seem to be getting along fine with a part-time Legislature?

A. I don't have a problem with a part-time Legislature as long as it's structured properly. By that I mean the proposals in the past for a part-time Legislature had the Legislature meeting from like January to May and then they wouldn't meet from May to December. I think what that does is makes it a lot more difficult for some people to serve. For example, when I ran for office in 1986, I was employed at Herman Miller in a management position.

That kind of structure would have prohibited me from running because I had to be full-time for five months and then part-time for seven months. If it's part-time for the whole year, I could do job sharing at a major corporation so I could support a part-time Legislature as long as it's structured properly. Then you still get a diversity of occupations and individuals, which I think is healthy for the Legislature.

---

So his only opposition is because it wouldn't suit his ability to run for office and hold the exact job he wants. Come on now, let's not base our legislative structure on one person's individual needs...