Roy Schmidt

Roy Schmidt
Michigan House of Representatives District 76
Former member
In office
2009-2013
Party	Republican
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	2008
Term limits	3 terms
Prior offices
City Commissioner, Grand Rapids
1991-2007
Education
Bachelor's	Aquinas College, 1976
Personal
Birthday	October 4, 1953
Place of birth	Grand Rapids, MI
Religion	Roman Catholic
Websites
Campaign website

The information about this individual is current as of when his or her last campaign ended. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors

Roy Schmidt was a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 76 from 2009 until 2013. He previously served as a Democrat, but switched parties just before the 2012 filing deadline.

Rep. Schmidt received his bachelor's degree from Aquinas College. Schmidt and his wife, Donna, live in Grand Rapids. They have three sons, Eric (and his wife, Kim), Ryan (and his wife, Lisa) and Tyler.

Issues

Campaign themes

Schmidt's website highlights the following campaign themes:

Jobs

• Excerpt:"Job creation is the number one issue facing our state right now. We need more jobs, and Roy Schmidt has voted for several new bills designed to create a stronger environment for jobs."

End Youth Violence

• Excerpt:"Children are the key to our future, and creating a safe environment for them to learn and grow is the key to theirs. We have an alarming rate of violent crimes against children, all too often committed by other children."

Education for All

• Excerpt:"We must dig deeper into the education status quo to end the disparity between children from Grand Rapids and their counterparts in the surrounding area. Schools must receive the support they need to succeed."

One City – One Voice

• Excerpt:"Because of the way the 76th District is now configured, we have a tremendous opportunity to unite people throughout the city. The new boundaries of the district appear to divide the city, but Roy believes he can bring people together."

Previous offices held

He was elected to four consecutive terms as Grand Rapids City Commissioner, where he served for 16 years. He was elected president of the City Commission in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Voting record

Key votes of 2009-2010

• Click below to see how this representative voted.
• Super Speedway, Lawmakers voting on whether TO EXTEND A SPECIAL TAX PERK for a super speedway.
• Driver Responsibility Fees, Lawmakers voting on whether TO IMPOSE 'driver responsibility fees.'
• Crony Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether TO RESTRICT THE RIGHT of shareholders to sell their own stock.
• Right to Work, Lawmakers voting on an amendment SUPPORTING RIGHT-TO-WORK zones.
• Dept. of State Cost-Saving, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SLOW DOWN PROGRESS ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S COST-SAVING CONSOLIDATION PLAN.
• Golf Carts, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SUBSIDIZE the production of electric vehicle batteries.
• Home Court Disadvantage, Lawmakers voting on whether TO GIVE MORE TAXING POWER to local government in Kalamazoo so it can finance a taxpayer-subsidized sports arena.
• Fire Safe Cigarettes, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN the sale of cigarettes that are not "fire safe."
• Balancing Act, Lawmakers voting on a budget to CUT REVENUE SHARING PAYMENTS to local governments as a way to balance the state budget without raising taxes.
• Balancing Act 2, Lawmakers voting on a cut of less than 3 percent to K-12 school aid payments so as to balance the state budget without tax increases.
• A Good Tax Gone Bad?, Lawmakers voting on the Michigan Business Tax.
• It’s From the Children, Lawmakers voting on whether to RAID $90 MILLION from the Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority.
• Left Behind, Lawmakers voting on whether TO FINANCE "No Worker Left Behind" with a 59.9 percent increase in general fund spending in the 2009 DELEG budget.
• First Class Schools, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep Detroit Public Schools' "first class" status even though the district no longer meets the population standard.
• Politically Correct Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE SUBSIDIES for plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
• Politically Correct Capitalism 2, Lawmakers voting on whether to GIVE SUBSIDIES for Michigan film production.
• Politically Correct Capitalism 3, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE ELECTRIC CAR SUBSIDIES for a subsidiary of a Korean battery company.
• Secret Ballot, Lawmakers voting on whether to keep a SECRET BALLOT for union elections.
• Property Taxes Assaulted Again, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
• Sneak Attack, Lawmakers voting on whether to allow public schools to EXPAND THE USE OF SINKING FUND property tax spending.
• Grapes of Wrath, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN home shipment of beer and wine to Michigan consumers.
• Subsidize Manufacture of Electric Cars, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a refundable Michigan Business Tax credit for makers of plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
• Authorize Special Tax Breaks for Ethanol Gas Stations, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a non-refundable Michigan Business Tax credit equal to 30 percent of the costs incurred by a gas station to convert existing pumps and tanks, or acquire new ones that deliver E85 ethanol or biodiesel fuel.

More voting record details

• List of all of Roy Schmidt’s roll call votes, bills introduced, and floor amendments from MichiganVotes.org (use site’s “advanced search” to narrow by date range, issue category and/or keyword).
• List of Roy Schmidt’s 2 missed roll-call votes

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Schmidt served on the following committees:

Michigan Committee Assignments, 2012

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Schmidt served on these committees:

Michigan Committee Assignments, 2011
• Energy and Technology, Vice-chair
• Insurance
• Transportation

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Schmidt served on these committees:

Michigan Committee Assignments, 2009
• Commerce
• Health Policy
• Military and Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security
• Transportation

Elections

2012

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2012

Schmidt was initially unopposed in the Republican primary on August 7 in District 76, but was eventually challenged by write in candidate Bing Goei. Schmidt narrowly defeated Goei. He had initially filed as a Democrat, but withdrew and filed again as a Republican candidate and was defeated by Winnie Brinks (D) in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 76, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Winnie Brinks	52.1%	23,530
	Republican	Roy Schmidt Incumbent	27.3%	12,337
	Republican	Bing Goei	12.1%	5,484
	Libertarian	Patricia Steinport	2.4%	1,085
	Independent	William Mohr	3%	1,362
	Independent	Keith Allard	3.1%	1,398
Total Votes				45,196

Controversy

Schmidt found himself embroiled in controversy when a press release from Kent County Prosecuting Attorney William Forsyth revealed that Speaker of the House Jase Bolger and Schmidt were involved in a plan to tilt the election in his favor. Schmidt had defected to the Republican Party just before the primary, and made an arrangement with Bolger to pay 22 year-old Matt Mojzak to run as a Democrat in the election, but not actually conduct a real campaign. On this move, Forsyth claimed, "it is clear that the only logical reason for his [Mojak's] recruitment was to prevent the Democratic Party from mounting a viable write-in candidacy."

Forsyth deemed that no laws were broken, stating, "Although this scheme by Rep. Schmidt and Speaker Bolger was clearly designed to undermine the election and to perpetrate a ‘fraud’ on the electorate, it was nonetheless legal...While Mr. Mojak ill-advisedly agreed to participate in this misadventure, it is clear that he was duped into doing so and is the least culpable of anyone involved in this fiasco.”

In an apology to the people of the district, Schmidt stated, "It’s something that’s been digging in my mind and my heart for over two months. I should’ve consulted. I should’ve said something. In hindsight, I think about it every day, about every hour – why I did this. It was a mistake. It was a poor political decision."

2010

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2010

Schmidt won re-election to the District 76 Seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Marc Tonnemacher in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 76 General election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Roy Schmidt (R)		11,678
Marc Tonnemacher (D)		5,929
Matthew Friar (L)		389
Bill Mohr (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)		352

2008

On November 04, 2008, Roy Schmidt ran for District 76 of the Michigan House of Representatives, beating Marc Tonnemacher, Bill Mohr, and Matthew Friar.

Roy Schmidt raised $109,751 for his campaign.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 76
Candidates		Votes
Roy Schmidt (D)		23,416
Marc Tonnemacher (R)		7,049
Bill Mohr (UST)		1,340
Matthew Friar (L)		1,022

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Schmidt received $121,684 in campaign donations. The largest contributors are listed below.

Michigan House of Representatives 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Roy Schmidt's campaign in 2010
Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association	$3,774
Michigan Association Of Health Plans	$3,047
Michigan Automobile Dealers Association	$2,800
Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan	$2,300
Fifth Third Bancorp	$2,000
Total Raised in 2010	$121,684

2008

In 2008 Roy Schmidt collected $109,751 in donations.

His five largest contributors in 2008 were:

Donor	Amount
Roy PAC	$5,000
Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association	$5,000
United Automobile Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America	$2,500
Michigan Chamber of Commerce	$2,500
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan	$1,500

Campaign contributions

Contributions Report from Michigan Secretary of State

Contact

Rep. Roy Schmidt
N1095 House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
(517) 373-0822
RoySchmidt@house.mi.gov

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Roy + Schmidt + Michigan + Legislature

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Roy Schmidt News Feed

• State Rep. Sean McCann proposes independent commission to draw state's ... - Mlive Kalamazoo
• Fireworks between Brit Hume, Juan Williams over Holder's role in FNC-Rosen ... - Daily Caller
• Jump Start Illinois: Perspectives on helping kids succeed in school and life - The State Journal-Register

Scorecards

Tea Party Scorecard

The Independent Tea Party Patriots, a Michigan Tea Party group, grades the votes of this and every other Michigan legislator on “core tea party issues” in a regularly-updated scorecard. 100% is considered an ideal rating.

January 2011 - March 2012

Roy Schmidt received a 24% rating on the January 2011 - March 2012 Tea Party Scorecard.

External links

Suggest a link

• Roy Schmidt's personal website
• Michigan Legislature - Representative Roy Schmidt official government website
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Michigan Votes - Roy Schmidt
• Campaign Contributions: 2008

References

Political offices
Preceded by -	Michigan House of Representatives District 76 2009–2013	Succeeded by Winnie Brinks (D)