Northern Michigan Native Seeking To Serve On U of M Board of Regents

When it comes to the regents of the University of Michigan, for most voters it’s a choice of several candidates they’ve never heard of.

Democrat Paul Brown wants people from Northern Michigan to remember his name when they reach that section of the ballot on Tuesday.

Brown says his grandfather, who was from St. Ignace, was a Congressman and the only U.S. Senator from the U.P. and is known as the “Father of the Mackinac Bridge.”  “I guess much like today, there was dysfunction in Washington and Lansing and the politicians couldn’t get anything done so he built the bridge privately, funded it privately, and gave it to the state for free the day it opened,” Brown said.

The Boyne City resident says he can do a lot to help residents of the Upper Peninsula when it comes to access to Michigan’s top school.  Brown said, “Those of us from Northern Michigan are experiences, in essence, taxation without representation. We pay our taxes to support the University of Michigan and there isn’t a single member of the board from anywhere north of Flint.”

Voters will also be selecting the regents for Michigan State and Wayne State Universities.