By David Fleet

Editor

Ortonville

-The new 46th State House District Representative Republican John Reilly visited the village last month.

Reilly, 59, an Oakland Township resident, succeeds term-limited Rep. Bradford Jacobsen.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve and represent the community in Lansing,” he said. “There’s plenty to work on and I welcome interaction with the constituents of Ortonville and Brandon Township. We will schedule coffee-hours in the near future. Typically we are in the districts on Friday and Monday and in Lansing Tuesday through Thursday.”

The 46th Michigan House of Representatives represents residents of northern Oakland County including Oxford, Orion, Oakland (partial) Addison, and Brandon townships. In the 2014 state primary election, Reilly was defeated by incumbent Republican Brad Jacobsen with 56 percent to 44 percent. Reilly eked out a narrow 15-vote victory over challenger Joe Kent in the August 2016 State House primary race. He tallied an 18,431-vote, 69 percent landslide win over Democrat challenger David Lillis in the November 2016 election.

Last month the 99th Legislative session opened and House Speaker Tom Leonard announced committee assignments. Reilly was assigned to Education Reform, Energy Policy, Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Vice Chair of the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

“I’m a pro-life candidate and will seek the removal of Common Core in the school,” he added. “I will support local control, the federal government should not be in our school district.”

The Common Core State Standards purpose is to raise student achievement by standardizing what’s taught in schools across the United States.

“As part of the Energy Policy committtee, I’ll work to open up the energy markets to provide more competitive prices for consumers along with some options,” he said.

Reilly graduated from Royal Oak Kimball High School and received an automotive technology engineering associate’s degree from Oakland Community College. He worked for 20 years in automotive test engineering before starting his own home service business, Log Cabin Handyman, which he has owned and operated for the past 12 years. He served as a precinct delegate captain from Oakland Township.

Reilly has been married to his wife, Karen, for 31 years. Their four adult children are: Katie, Renae, Hillary and Tom. They have two grandchildren.

Reilly enjoys outdoor activities, including backpacking, camping, hunting, and fishing “while living on God’s creation.”