Tyler Lautner
— Lautner cites unbalanced emphasis on urban over rural interests, high taxes and imprudent spending, and aggressive over-reach of government bureaucracies –
THOMPSONVILLE, MI – June 24, 2024 – Today, longtime resident Tyler Lautner announced his campaign to represent Michigan House District 104 as a Libertarian Party member. Including parts of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee, and Wexford counties, District 104 encompasses a mix of urban and rural constituencies.
“The political discussion in Lansing,” says Lautner, “focuses way too much on urban concerns, leaving rural residents out in the cold. It’s as if those people never met — or even spoke to – anyone who didn’t live in a city or in some tightly packed suburban area. They have no idea what’s it like to live half a mile away from your nearest neighbors or in groups of five or six homes separated by large tracts of space.”
In particular, Lautner cites the following three issues:
- “In Lansing, it’s all about oil and gas special interests or urban zoning ordinances. But in a huge district like ours where people are scattered over miles of varied terrain, these concerns simply don’t apply to most of us. Why should urban zoning restrictions dominate how you use your home or the land surrounding it? It’s ridiculous! They have no skin in the game, yet they’re always issuing orders to the rest of us.”
- Regarding tax-funded spending, Lautner said “rising costs make the tax burden even heavier on all of us – especially since housing prices are increasing as rural areas are urbanized. Worse yet,” he added, “after taking so much money from us, they misspend it. They hire expensive firms from outside the area, and far too often, the people they hire show no familiarity with the normal range of weather conditions we experience here in northern Michigan. They simply don’t understand how to address our four-season climate.”
- Finally, Lautner believes that the central problem is a general tendency for government bureaucracies to interfere too often and too aggressively in the day-to-day details of people who just want to live peacefully without being given endless lists of orders and to-do lists. “It’s like we’re ruled by people whose goal in life is to issue permission slips to people they’ve never met. Where do these people come from? And why won’t they just leave us alone?” he asked.
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Now 31 years old and employed by the Benzie County Road Commission and a towing-and-recovery company, Mr. Lautner understands both the rural and urban issues in his district. He was raised in Traverse City and graduated from Traverse City West High School. He enjoys Michigan’s natural beauty as well as fishing, hunting, and camping.
