“Ooh, what a lucky man he was.” — Emerson, Lake and Palmer
“If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” — Albert King
The election for 72nd District State Representative easily could be said to be a contest between a lucky man and an unlucky man. The lucky man is Republican Steve Johnson of Wayland Township. The unlucky man is Democrat Steve Shoemaker of Leighton Township.
The 72nd District, which includes the City of Wayland and Wayland, Leighton and Dorr townships, has been represented in Lansing by Ken Yonker since January 2011. Yonker is serving his sixth year and now must step down at the end of 2016 because of term limits.
The district also includes Gaines Township and the City of Kentwood in Kent County.
Johnson is a lucky man because just a little more than six months ago he was an unemployed 25-year-old living at home with his parents and now he stands a good chance to rake in $80,000 a year in salary for the next six years.
His victory in the primary over four other Republicans was heralded as a huge upset. Because of his massive support from the Christian Reformed Church, he was able to pick up more than 30 percent of the vote in a five-way race. None of the other four was able to muster much more than a quarter of the vote.
So Johnson won by plurality, largely on the strength of his membership in his church and his high school diploma from South Christian High School. It didn’t hurt that he served in the U.S. Air Force after high school. It didn’t hurt that he went on to graduate from Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
Not at all surprisingly, Johnson says on his web site that he’s Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Pro-Second Amendment, Pro-Business, Pro-School Choice, supports fewer taxes and regulations and is anti-Common Core standards for education.
He’s even more lucky in avoiding breaking the law in his campaign. He took a selfie of himself voting in the primary in August, which was against the law, but the State Legislature just passed a law making it legal. Many of his supporters, unlike other candidates, have left their lawn signs intact after the primary election, which in bygone days was illegal, but now ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court to be acceptable as freedom of speech.
So Steve Johnson, despite having virtually no experience, is the perceived favorite in the general election Nov. 8.
Shoemaker, a journeyman skilled tradesman, has lived in Leighton Township for a long time after growing up in Byron Center. He and his wife have six children.
Shoemaker is unlucky in that after many years of turning down requests by his party to run, he finally did. Though he considered it politicial suicide to seek the office in a Republican stronghold, he said he believed this would be the best year to give it a try.
The State Legislature had just passed a law making it illegal to vote straight ticket without marking each race on the ballot. This, he believed, would encourage voters to split their ticket and give him a better chance. However, a court ruling later struck down the new law, so he’s faced with the same challenge.
Shoemaker also believed this might be a good year for a Democrat to run because of widespread dissatisfaction with the state’s inaction on roads, the Flint water crisis and the negative news about emergency managers.
But only time will tell if that makes a difference.
Shoemaker deliberately has tried to portray himself as a moderate, who also opposes abortion and wants to reach across the aisle to solve problems. He has been a frequent attendee at Leighton Township Board meetings and has helped local officials, despite being Republicans, with a number of tasks.
PHOTOS: Steve Shoemaker Steve Johnson