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Erik Nordman

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Erik Nordman
Image of Erik Nordman
Elections and appointments
Last election

August 4, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

State University of New York, 1995

Graduate

State University of New York, 1998

Ph.D

State University of New York, 2006

Personal
Birthplace
Mineola, N.Y.
Religion
Roman Catholic
Profession
Professor
Contact

Erik Nordman (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 89. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020.

Nordman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Erik Nordman was born in Mineola, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York - College at Geneseo in 1995 and a master's degree in 1998 and a Ph.D. in 2006 from the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Nordman's professional experience includes being a professor of natural resources management at Grand Valley State University, a visiting scholar for the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University, and a Fulbright Scholar at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. He also consulted for Nordman Sustainability Solutions.

Nordman has been affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of American Foresters, the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics, and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.[1]

Elections

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Jim Lilly defeated Anita Brown in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 89 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Lilly
Jim Lilly (R)
 
61.7
 
36,345
Image of Anita Brown
Anita Brown (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.3
 
22,578

Total votes: 58,923
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 89

Anita Brown defeated Erik Nordman in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 89 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Anita Brown
Anita Brown Candidate Connection
 
64.5
 
5,624
Image of Erik Nordman
Erik Nordman Candidate Connection
 
35.5
 
3,098

Total votes: 8,722
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Jim Lilly advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 89 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Lilly
Jim Lilly
 
100.0
 
14,544

Total votes: 14,544
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Erik Nordman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nordman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a husband and father of two teenagers. I work as a professor of natural resources management at Grand Valley State University where I teach classes in environmental economics and natural resource policy. In 2012 I was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant from the US State Department. My family and I moved to Kenya for one year while I taught at a university in Nairobi. I am currently writing a book about Dr. Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. I actively participate in the community. For example, I serve on advisory boards for the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and the Careerline Tech Center. After living in the district for 14 years, I understand the voters' values and aspirations. As a teacher, researcher, citizen, and father, I am committed to building a vibrant lakeshore community for all.
  • I listen to and am responsive to the concerns of all residents.
  • I believe in empowering communities to solve their own problems and achieve their aspirations.
  • I believe in building resilient people and communities that can bounce back from any setback.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
In inflation-adjusted dollars, the general fund revenues were the equivalent of $14 billion to $16 billion during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan will collect a little over $9 million. Michigan has not collected enough revenue for twenty years. Therefore, state agencies across the board are operating as lean as possible. In my opinion, we cannot cut our way to fiscal responsibility while providing essential services after decades of historically low revenue collection. Our state has a revenue collection problem, not a spending problem.

Well-designed tax reform can address the chronic revenue shortage while addressing other concerns. Income inequality is rising in Michigan. In 2015, the top 1% took home 17% of all income in Michigan. In 1980, their share was less than 10%. Progressive income and estate taxes reduce income inequality and the concentration of inherited wealth. Michigan has neither. I support replacing Michigan's flat tax with a well-designed progressive income tax and instituting an estate tax on the wealthiest households. Thoughtfully designed tax reform could bring in more money to cover the budget shortfall and reduce income inequality.
I teach courses in environmental economics and natural resource policy. I entered this field because I care deeply about being a good steward of our natural resources. I care about the environment for its own sake. However, air and water pollution and resource degradation directly affect people's well-being, including health, economic development, and justice. As an economist, I have seen how improving environmental quality improves the economy. For example, our latest research project showed that cleaning up Muskegon Lake resulted in more than $7 million in additional housing value and more than $25 million in additional recreation value. I have also learned that communities are often capable of managing their own resources and correcting local environmental problems. I support policies that encourage local solutions to local environmental challenges. My expertise in environmental economics and policy is especially useful in dealing with challenges facing Michigan, from high water and flooding to PFAS water pollution.
I am currently writing a book about the work of Dr. Elinor Ostrom. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics (2009). Her work and life definitely inspires me and influences my political philosophy. Before her groundbreaking work, most experts believed that the depletion of natural resource "commons" could only be resolved by either privatizing the resource or having a central government impose regulations on the resource users. Ostrom, however, showed that communities all around the world, from lobster harvesters in Maine to farmers in Nepal, can collaboratively manage their own natural resources. Communities can create and enforce their own rules without government imposing regulations on them. It's messy and it doesn't always work. However, community management can be effective and has often been overlooked by policy-makers. Her work has applications far beyond conventional "commons" like forests and fisheries. Her ideas can be applied to governing communication technologies, the Internet, open-source software, and even space resources. Ostrom's ideas have influenced my academic research and my political views.
I am writing a book about the work of Dr. Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Economics. Her groundbreaking book, Governing the Commons, has greatly influenced my political philosophy. Ostrom's work showed that "common-pool resources" like fisheries and forests can be managed collaboratively by the community members themselves. Most experts thought that privatization and government regulation were the only ways to manage such resources. But Ostrom showed the power of communities to create and implement their own rules. As a legislator, I would consider community-based policy solutions whenever possible.
In my opinion, my expertise in the social dimensions of environmental management would make me a successful legislator. I am trained in economics and policy studies as it relates to natural resources and the environment. So, I have the technical expertise to understand problems like PFAS pollution and Michigan's energy system. But more importantly, my professional experience has shown me that things like trust and community values are the most important things when resolving challenges of all types. Imposing solutions on a community rarely works. Legislators must listen to their constituents, understand the values and aspirations, and earn their trust. I have done that in my work as a professor and I will do that as a legislator.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris is one of my favorite books. It covers Roosevelt's life from birth until President McKinley's death at which point he becomes president. In just over 40 years, Roosevelt endured and overcame tragedy and had a remarkable professional career. His wife died giving birth to their first child. On the same night, in the same house, his own mother died upstairs. He then moved west and became a "gentleman rancher." In New York he became a legislator, police commissioner, and governor. He worked in the federal government reforming civil service. He even published scientific articles on ornithology as a teenager. Roosevelt lived an incredible life even before he became vice president and then one of the most influential presidents in US history.
The state will be dealing with the budget crisis, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, for a considerable time. Before the COVID-19 crisis, Michigan expected to collect about $11 billion in total general fund revenue. This is roughly the same level it's been since we recovered from the Great Recession. However, this is well below the revenue collected in previous decades. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the general fund revenues were the equivalent of $14 billion to $16 billion during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. Michigan has not collected enough revenue for twenty years. Therefore, state agencies across the board are operating as lean as possible. In my opinion, we cannot cut our way to fiscal responsibility while providing essential services after decades of historically low revenue collection. Our state has a revenue collection problem, not a spending problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis that directly affects Michigan and its state budget. The state expects to collect $1.9 billion less than the forecasted $11 billion in general fund revenue as well as additional losses to the School Aid Fund. The people I have talked to in the 89th District are very concerned about the impact of lost tax revenue on state budgets. They are concerned about schools, health, and unemployment. We need a long-term solution to this crisis on top of a chronic budget problem.
Given my expertise as a professor of natural resources management, I would like to participate on committees like Education, Energy, and Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 26, 2020


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