9th District U.S. House/Republicans
Two Republicans are vying for the party nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Andy Levin in the November election. Only Gabi Grossbard responded to Downtown's questionnaire. GABI GROSSBARD
Grossbard of Southfield works at Northland Chrysler. He has not held political office. RESPONSE TO COVID-19 CRISIS How would you rate the response by the Trump administration to the coronavirus crisis that has gripped the country? Specifically, the national supply of personal protection devices and critical supplies for the medical first line responders. Likewise, was there a clear and timely national policy response on containment of the virus? And what about a national policy on reopening the economy? Our system of government sets responsibilities for federal, state and local authorities. Each state regulates the amount of hospital beds, ventilators, PPE, doctors and more. State shortages fall on the state, not the federal government. Though the federal government should have adequate backup supplies. As for a clear national policy, this is a novel virus, meaning it's new. The experts at the CDC did not have a lot of info, mixed in with wrong information. They did have faulty models which they kept updating with new data. We are still learning about this virus, and will continue to learn more for a long time. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS When President Donald Trump came to office, he and his administration began to rollback a number of environmental regulations enacted by the administration of President Obama, and reversed a number of decisions from prior administrations dating back to the Clinton era that were designed to promote a cleaner environment. The last count put the total at over 100 environmental rules that have been weakened or eliminated by the Trump administration. Do you support what the current administration has done on this front? Explain. I can’t speak to over 100 rules, but Iet's talk about a big one, the withdrawal from the Paris Climate accord. That agreement was flawed, especially when it comes to correcting the issue of climate change. That agreement had the U.S. on the hook for three billion dollars per year, and committing the U.S. to reduce our greenhouse emissions by 26 percent by 2020. All the while the largest polluters and wealthiest countries (such as China and India) do not need to reduce, in fact they can increase pollution till 2030. They don’t contribute funds, in fact they collect our money. So yes, we were paying them to increase pollution, and I support withdrawing from such a agreement. NATIONAL HEALTH CARE PLAN Despite attempts by the current administration and Republican members of Congress, a substantial number of persons continue to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare. What is your position on the current Affordable Care Act and the issue of a national health care plan in general? Obamacare is not perfect; the architects of the system knew it. The part that I’d like to see fixed is the premiums for those who do not qualify for the government subsidy part. Some people are paying $24,000 to $40,000 per year for insurance for their family. That’s absurd and must be corrected ASAP. GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION What is your position on the need for added gun control legislation? Which, if any, of the following gun control measures could you support: Requiring expanded background checks? Background checks at gun shows? Banning bump stocks? Raising the age on the purchase of weapons? Banning military style weapons? Several states, government agencies and the military were not reporting about individuals with violent history and mental illness to the background check system, resulting in many approved guns sales that shouldn’t’ve been allowed. The fix NICS act, signed into law by President Trump in 2018, is supposed to close many loop holes and prevent illegal sales. I’d like to see if it works, and if not, analyze where it fails. Just arbitrarily passing laws restricting gun sales to law abiding citizens is not a solution since it won’t prevent any mass shootings. Military style automatic weapons are illegal, and have been illegal for a while. REASON FOR RUNNING You must think there are failings with the incumbent Democrat or you would not be seeking office. What failings to do you see? The incumbent ran on a promise of bipartisanship and compromise. His voting record points to a different story. Progressive Punch rates Andy Levin as the number one most progressive member of the House, voting 100 percent with the left-wing agenda. The constituents of the 9th district are not the most progressive people in the nation. Seems that the incumbent is not representing the people who voted for him, but rather he’s representing his own ideology. WHY VOTE FOR YOU Why should primary voters support you in this Republican primary? Be specific when offering comparison with others on the August ballot. Representation is about representing the people. I am the only candidate in this race who can reasonably represent voters from both sides of the aisle in a reasonable way. Exchanging the extreme left incumbent with my primary challenger who’s from the extreme right wing, won’t solve the problem. Most voters are stranded in the middle. That’s where I stand.
