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Al Pscholka
Al Pscholka is a former Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 79 from 2010 to 2017. Pscholka previously served as the Majority Caucus Leader.
Pscholka did not seek re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2016 because he was term-limited.
Biography
Pscholka earned his B.S. from Western Michigan University. His professional experience includes working as a broadcaster and part-owner of two radio stations, and vice president of Cornerstone Alliance.
Noteworthy events
Recall efforts
On April 28, 2011, Benton Harbor City Commissioner Dennis Knowles filed a formal document to recall Pscholka from office. It stated the Pscholka should be removed "for sponsoring and supporting Public Act 4 that has robbed the citizens in District 79, namely the city of Benton Harbor, of their democratic rights ... empowering a non elected emergency financial manager ... (and) striking local municipal government representation for, of and by the people."[1]
Following the document's rejection by the Berrien County Election Commission, Knowles submitted new language seeking recall on May 11.[2] At a meeting on May 22, the county election commission approved the language. The recall language was valid for 180 days, but Knowles had to collect 6,718 signatures within a 90-day period in order to put a recall on the ballot.[3]
In early August 2011, Knowles announced he had collected nearly half of the required signatures and planned to turn in the petitions on September 15.[4]
The recall never made it to the ballot.[5]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Pscholka served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Pscholka served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Appropriations, Vice chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pscholka served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
Campaign themes
2014
Pscholka's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[6]
Fighting Obamacare
- Excerpt: "State Representative Al Pscholka believes the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, is bad federal policy. A one-size fits all, top-down federal health care system is neither affordable nor caring."
Education
- Excerpt: "As someone who started a mentoring program in Benton Harbor Area Schools 18 years ago, Al has witnessed the power of having a support system in place for our children. It is time that policy makers, educators, and parents work together to increase standards, provide vocational choices, and put our kids first."
Roads and Bridges
- Excerpt: "While this will not solve all of our issues, it does give us a steady revenue source, streamlines the bureaucracy, and ends our reliance on one-time money to try and repair a long-standing problem. State Representative Al Pscholka looks forward to your input as we continue to rebuild Michigan."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 19, 2016. Incumbent Al Pscholka (R) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.
Kim LaSata defeated Marletta Seats and Carl Oehling in the Michigan House of Representatives District 79 general election.[7]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 79 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Kim LaSata |
58.78% | 23,657 | |
| Democratic | Marletta Seats | 38.42% | 15,461 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers | Carl Oehling | 2.81% | 1,129 | |
| Total Votes | 40,247 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Marletta Seats ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 79 Democratic primary.[8][9]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 79 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Marletta Seats (unopposed) | |
Kim LaSata defeated Ryan Arnt, Mary Brown and Troy Rolling in the Michigan House of Representatives District 79 Republican primary.[8][9]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 79 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Kim LaSata |
54.17% | 3,622 | |
| Republican | Ryan Arnt | 30.06% | 2,010 | |
| Republican | Mary Brown | 5.17% | 346 | |
| Republican | Troy Rolling | 10.59% | 708 | |
| Total Votes | 6,686 | |||
2014
Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Eric Lester was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Al Pscholka defeated Cindy Duran in the Republican primary. Carl Oehling ran as a U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate. Pscholka defeated Lester and Oehling in the general election.[10][11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al Pscholka Incumbent |
58.6% | 14,742 | |
| Democratic | Eric Lester | 39.4% | 9,911 | |
| Constitution | Carl Oehling | 2% | 497 | |
| Total Votes | 25,150 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Al Pscholka Incumbent |
65.6% | 5,755 |
| Cindy Duran | 34.4% | 3,022 |
| Total Votes | 8,777 | |
2012
Pscholka won re-election in the 2012 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 79. He was unopposed in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Jim Hahn (D) and Carl G. Oehling (I) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al Pscholka Incumbent |
52.8% | 21,490 | |
| Democratic | Jim Hahn | 45.7% | 18,630 | |
| Independent | Carl G. Oehling | 1.5% | 613 | |
| Total Votes | 40,733 | |||
2010
Pscholka won election to the District 79 seat in 2010. He defeated Bruce Gorenflo and Paul Peterson in the August 3 Republican primary. He defeated Mary Brown (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[15][16]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 77 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Al Pscholka (R)
|
17,293 | |||
| Mary Brown (D) | 8,761 | |||
| Carl Oehling (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan) | 908 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Pscholka's endorsements included the following:
- Right to Life of Michigan[17]
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.[18]
January 2011 - March 2012
Al Pscholka received a 79% rating on the January 2011 - March 2012 Tea Party Scorecard.[18]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Pscholka and his wife, Suzanne, have one child.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Al + Pscholka + Michigan + Legislature
See also
- Michigan State Legislature
- Michigan House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Michigan state legislative districts
External links
- Office website
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Vote-USA
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ WSJM, "Recall Language Filed Against Pscholka," April 29, 2011
- ↑ WSJM, "New Pscholka Recall Language Filed," May 12, 2011
- ↑ WSJM, "Pscholka Recall Wording Approved," May 23, 2011
- ↑ Michigan Messenger, "Pscholka recall effort nears halfway mark," August 8, 2011
- ↑ Herald Palladium, "Recall effort against Pscholka fails," December 6, 2011
- ↑ alforstaterep.com, "Ideas & Issues," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed April 22, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Results," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing," accessed May 27, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Michigan - Summary Vote Results," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ Right to Life of Michigan, "Elections," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Michigan Votes, "Tea Party Scorecard Jan 2011-Mar 2012," accessed June 25, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Proos, IV (R) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 79 2011–2017 |
Succeeded by Kim LaSata (R) |
