Democratic candidates, from left, Tom Curry, Sara Cambensy and Jeremy Hosking participate in a forum Monday at Ronn Hall in Negaunee. The three, along with Joe Derocha, who was unable to attend the forum, are vying for the 109th District seat in the Michigan House, most recently held by the late John Kivela. (Journal photo by Ryan Jarvi)

MARQUETTE — A large crowd gathered Monday at Ronn Hall in Negaunee to hear the political perspectives of three of the four Democratic candidates vying for the 109th District seat in the Michigan House.

The post was vacated by the late John Kivela, a Democrat from Marquette, who died of an apparent suicide earlier this year.

The Aug. 8 primary will decide the top Democrat who will advance to the November general election to face the only Republican challenger Rich Rossway, of Marquette.

During the forum Monday, candidates Sara Cambensy, Tom Curry and Jeremy Hosking answered questions on education, energy and the economy, among others. Candidate Joe Derocha, a current Marquette County commissioner, was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, organizers said.

Cambensy is a member of the Marquette City Commission and an employee at Marquette Area Public Schools.

Curry has served as Limestone Township’s supervisor for 25 years and is a small business owner.

Hosking has worked in the legislative branch of government for 10 years, most recently serving as U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s Upper Peninsula regional manager.

Candidates mostly agreed that the state needs to appropriate more funding for schools and teachers.

“Education and skilled labor are the pillars of what Michigan was built on. We need to get back to that,” Cambensy said, adding that she opposes teacher pension cuts and that she’s seen newly hired teachers having to work second jobs.

“That is not acceptable for your kids, your grandkids and going forward,” she said. “We live in the greatest Great Lakes state and we can do better, we can do much better. So, education, we’re simply not funding it.”

Curry said if elected, he would work to increase funding for education and supported finding a way to finance schools other than relying on property taxes.

“The K-12, those kids are our future, and taking money from the schools and giving it elsewhere, to businesses or the rich … that’s killing our future, and we need to get the money back in the schools, keep it in the schools and educate the kids the way that we would want to be educated when we were there,” he said.

Hosking said since Gov. Rick Snyder took office, there’s been a shift in the tax burden, and that corporations have been receiving more tax breaks, but that it doesn’t always equate to more jobs.

“We need to be having this conversation, a robust conversation in Lansing, on how we go about making sure that the tax burden is shifted and that those that really need help — our colleges, our universities, our schools — are getting the help that will help people attend college, cheaper than what it is now,” he said.

Addressing the economy and jobs, Hosking said the state needs to look at different opportunities to export its natural resources.

“We take minerals out of the ground, whether it be iron ore, or copper and nickel, … and it’s good to export them, but also maybe we should be looking for a value-added product, so that we can take that product, you can add value to it here, … because then we would have jobs here, and then take whatever that end product is and export it; preferably out of state, so that we are bringing more dollars in,” Hosking said. “And of course out of the country would be just as nice.”

In response to a question on how to create good-paying jobs and the emphasis that’s been placed on growing the state’s tourism industry, which may only provide lower-salary positions, Cambensy said the state may not realize Michigan already has a diverse economy.

“I believe in our roots,” she said. “I believe that we are a region of forestry and iron ore mining, and I think that’s been lost, and I think we haven’t had the leadership to bring that forward to kind of balance our economy up here.”

Considering the closure of the Empire Mine, Curry said the state’s “Project Empire” plan to get displaced employees back to work through job training is “insufficient.”

“It’s a good theory, but it hasn’t done its job totally,” Curry said. “There’s still a lot of people that I know that were miners that are out of work. It needs to be improved.”

The candidates generally agreed on other topics, including finding an alternate transportation route or method for the oil being moved through Enbridge’s Line 5, which runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. They also indicated they would continue working to close the “dark store” loophole, which many big box retailers and other businesses have used to cut their property taxes by having recently constructed buildings compared to others that have closed and are no longer in use.

Candidates also agreed the state and the U.P. needs to diversify its energy portfolio, by investing in more renewable energy sources.

“Fossil fuel generation, it might sound good right now with natural gas, but you’re at the mercy of the oil companies as to what you’re paying,” Curry said. “Right now, natural gas is cheaper, but it’s going to be going up. … We need to invest in a lot more hydro, wind and solar power in our district.”

Hosking agreed with lessening the state’s dependency on fossil fuels and advocated for more control at the local level.

“We should probably be looking at how we can have more local control of our energy grid,” Hosking said. “For example, the (Marquette) Board of Light and Power project that’s going on right now. The people on that board made a decision because they weren’t getting any answers from Lansing, and so, following a model like that, I think, is a step in the right direction.”

Cambensy also supported local control, and said she wants to see the U.P. take a microgrid approach to energy.

“If we do this, and take (control) into our own hands, we might see some of the municipalities going back into the energy business and partnering with a lot of the investors who want to bring large scale solar and wind up here,” Cambensy said.

The forum was hosted by the Upper Peninsula Regional Labor Federation, Marquette County Democratic Party, Forward Action Michigan U.P., 906 Dems and United Steelworkers Local 4950. It was moderated by ABC 10/CW 5 News Director Jerry Taylor.

“I think the forum gave people the opportunity to hear from a majority of the candidates who were all in the same room,” Taylor said. “That’s hard to do.”

Taylor said his channel will broadcast the forum in advance of the primary election to allow viewers another opportunity to hear from candidates.