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"Basically, I'm offering to serve and my priority is cutting the cost of government. One of the ways to do that is to have a part-time Legislature, primarily because we can't afford a full-time Legislature," said Ramsey. "In an economy such as Michigan has, you either cut costs or raise taxes and I'm not for raising taxes."

Ramsey is also unique among candidates who seek office in his ability to produce straight answers. Asked what political experience he has he answered:

"None."

Ramsey said his business experience will make him an effective legislator. An entrepreneur most of his life, he has started several small businesses. One such business, Access Graphics, was grossing $1.5 billion in revenue per year when he sold it and left the company in the mid-1990s. Access Graphics is based in Boulder, Colo. and is a computer products distributor.

"Looking at northern Michigan from a business perspective, what the district representative needs to do is receive extraordinary attention for his district's needs. The district needs a strong voice and I have a unique ability that I can bring to the table," he said.
The 105th District is comprised of Antrim, Charlevoix, Otsego and part of Cheboygan counties.

The economy in northern Michigan and Michigan as a whole will be improved if some critical changes are made in state regulations and policies, according to Ramsey.

"We need to restructure the cost of government in the state," Ramsey said. "Besides a part-time Legislature, the state needs to encourage entrepreneurship any way it can."

Businesses tend to stay where they are started, so the state should make it easier for businesses to establish and flourish.

Competition is a key ingredient to an improved economy, Ramsey said.

"The state has to be competitive with other states and we're not. Eight major auto plants have been built in the U.S. within the last 20 years, none of them in Michigan.

"Some things are way out of whack. For instance the cost of workers' comp is higher in Michigan than it is in New York," Ramsey said.

Tourism must be promoted, especially in northern Michigan with the abundance of water and the natural beauty of the area, he said.

Charlevoix County Republican Party Chairman, John Haggard, said he is pleased that Ramsey is running and that he personally supports him, as he did when Ramsey ran for the seat in 2004. Kevin Elsenheimer was elected that year. Haggard said he was speaking only for himself and not for the party.

Ramsey has renewed his Michigan residency after it expired while he was in Atlanta, Ga. with his wife, Patsy, who was ill from cancer. Patsy died on June 24, 2006. His daughter, JonBenet Ramsey, was slain when she was six-years-old in December 1996, in the family's Boulder, Colo. home. He has three other children.

Ramsey, 64, lives in Charlevoix. He is a member of the Charlevoix Lions's Club and is forming an Elks Club, along with other residents. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in marketing, both from Michigan State University.

B.J. Hetler can be reached at citizen@voyager.net or by calling 231-622-2645.