Chris Ward, a former chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, is a member of the newly created “Republicans and Independents for Hertel” coalition supporting Democratic 7th District Congressional candidate Curtis Hertel. The coalition also includes former Republican Sen. Wayne Schmidt, who previously served with both Hertel and his Republican opponent Tom Barrett.
Ward is the former Brighton Township Clerk who served the 66th state House district as a Republican for three terms, from 2002-2008, representing the townships of Brighton, Green Oak, Oceola, and Genoa, and part of Marion, as well as the City of Brighton, and Milford city and township in Oakland County. (The boundaries of the district have since been redrawn.)
While in the State House, Ward was majority leader from 2005 to 2006, and minority leader in 2007. Ward was also the long-time chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. Elected to the Brighton Township Board at the age of 18, he was also one of Michigan’s youngest legislators when he took office.
The open mid-Michigan congressional seat is likely to be one of the most competitive races in the state, pitting the two former state Senators — Hertel and Barrett — against each other.
According to a Hertel team spokesperson, the coalition will include two dozen plus former Republican elected officials, state legislative staffers and Republican and Independent community leaders.
They will spend the next four months engaging with their communities and making the case for Hertel as a candidate who will advance bipartisanship.
Schmidt said he “had the good fortune to serve with Curtis in the State Senate, and knew him to be one of the few legislators who was willing to look past partisanship to build meaningful relationships with Senators across the aisle.”
“He was an honest broker who understood the virtue of compromise and collaboration,” Schmidt said. “It is for these reasons he served his constituents well as their State Senator and why he will represent our communities well in Congress.”
Other Republican and Independent elected officials on the initial list of Hertel supporters includes: former MI-07 Congressman Joe Schwarz; former state Sen. Bill Sederburg; former state Rep. Chris Ward; former Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell; former Michigan District Court Judge Louise Alderson; Grand Ledge City Councilmember Brett Gillispie; former Michigan Assistant Attorney General John Pirich; former MIGOP Executive Director Gary Reed; former MIGOP Executive Director Jeff Timmer; Dennis Muchmore, chief of staff to former Gov. Rick Snyder; Richard McLellan, former chair of the Michigan Law Revision Commission; Jim HAVEMAN, former director of the Michigan Department of Community Health; and former Chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) Eric Schneidewind.
Schwarz said when he represented the 7th District in Congress, one thing became clear to him.
“It’s not the loudest voices in the room who get things done,” he said. “I had a front-row seat to those things that make someone an effective legislator, and what doesn’t. Effective legislators are people who are willing to work with anyone to accomplish the right result. That is who Curtis is, and I am proud to support his campaign for Congress.”
In response to the coalition announcement, Hertel said his campaign is building a coalition of reasonable people of all parties who are tired of politics as usual, and ready for leaders who actually deliver results that matter.
“I am honored to have the support of Republicans and Independents across the district who know we need a representative with a record of finding common ground and bipartisan governance and see me as the only candidate in the race who is willing to put people over party,” he said.
Jason Roe, Barrett’s campaign strategist, said it’s a “group of has-beens and bottom feeders.”
“This list is nothing more than the corporate welfare Republicans that the Teamsters President talked about at the Republican National Convention on Monday,” Roe said. “It is a list of people that have had their hand out from government for most or all of their careers, and have supported taking taxpayer money to give to corporations and special interest groups. Curtis Hertel can keep them. We are going to fight for the working people of Michigan that this group has been exploiting for decades.”
