Markkanen Adjusts To New Role As Representative

With nearly 10 million neighbors, Michigan residents are bound to not always agree on certain things, and through the legislative process we have elected officials who represent the residents of Michigan.

“There’s 110 representatives down here representing the ten million people in Michigan and every district has its concerns, its needs, and its wants,” said State Representative Greg Markkanen.

Markkanen was elected in the November election winning the 110th district seat against democratic opponent Ken Summers who was the party pick of predecessor Scott Dianda. And although the office has changed political party affiliation, Markkanen says that it’s his job to represent all residents of his district and he believes he will do that fairly.“I’m here to represent the 110th on a bipartisan basis while trying to do the best job possible each and every day,” he said.

New to lawmaking, but not new to the study of laws and culture, Markkanen has made the transition of a Baraga Schools Social Studies teacher to his current seat in public office.

Markkanen said, “It’s been an incredible experience. It’s like a full day of teaching with no prep hour. The learning curve is very steep. There are a lot of things to pick up on, a lot of reading, a lot of research, and a lot of networking. It’s just an honor to serve the people of the 100th district down here in Lansing. The weather has been bad, but we’ve driven through it to get down here.”