Michigan 2012 Elections: Michigan State Board of Trustees

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(By Andrew MacKie-Mason)

The obsession with having in-state students isn't as bad in the context of MSU as it is for UMich, since slightly more of MSU's General Fund budget comes from the state (about 23% compared to 17%). But it's still absurd, given that apparently over 80% of MSU students are in-state (and out-of-state students pay about twice as much to attend.)

On the bright side, Melanie Foster (R, incumbent) thinks the 80% number is good — she doesn't seem to be pressing to increase it. However, she does think it's important enough to be the first issue she addresses on her website. The rest of her issues profile talks in broad terms about tuition and cost control.

Jeff Sakwa (R) is pretty average. He avoids the "in-state/out-of-state" fight pretty deftly (saying only that "we must also avoid depending on out-of-state students as a means of keeping our fiscal house in order," which is true). There isn't much content in his statements about cutting costs — the one about "brain drain" is particularly odd, since he doesn't even come close to providing a solution to the "brain drain" problem — but at least they aren't terrible.

Brian Mosallam (D) is running heavily on his MSU football background. That may be politically savvy, but it makes me hesitant about him — does he think success in football is a strong qualification for an MSU Trustee? To make matters worse, there doesn't seem to be a single issue statement or description of his goals for MSU anywhere on his website. I don't know anything about him, except that he's a good offensive lineman, got a 3.45 at MSU, and has a dad who was in army and the UAW.

Joel Ferguson (D, incumbent chairman), Michael Miller (L), Bill Mohr and Stephen Young (UST), and Lloyd Clarke (G) don't appear to have campaign websites. Please correct me if I'm wrong. (It's also worth noting that Bill Mohr probably has no specific interest in Michigan State, given that he ran for the Wayne State Board of Governors just two years ago.)

Summary: I'm supporting Jeff Sakwa. He's not great, but he avoided the pitfalls and seems, all in all, seems reasonable. I won't be supporting a second person, for lack of any good options.