Congressman Peters visits Marquette main street

In March, Michigan’s longest serving U.S. Senator, Carl Levin, announced he would not seek a seventh term and will retire in 2015. One of the suitors for the soon to be vacant seat has been making his way through the U.P. on what he calls his “Michigan First” Listening Tour.

U.S. Representative Gary Peters has spent the past few days touring small businesses throughout the region and talking with owners and their clients about what he can do in Congress to strengthen the local economy.

“I’ve always emphasized that I take the job of being a representative very seriously. The only way that you can be a representative is if you’re in a community doing a lot more listening than talking,” said Peters. “You’ve got to spend time really hearing what people are concerned about, and taking those concerns to heart. Then, when I got to Washington D.C., to be a vigorous advocate to fight for the things that people care about.”

Peters has represented Michigan’s 14th district since 2009 after working for 22 years as an investment advisor in the Greater Detroit area. In Congress, Peters serves as a member of the Financial Services Committee and the Wall Street Reform Conference Committee. He also co-chairs the bipartisan Auto Caucus, which helped rescue the car manufacturing industry in Detroit.

“I worked and was the principal sponsor of the Small Business Jobs Act that made sure that our small community banks had the resources they needed to loan to small businesses on main street. I made sure that the state had access to resources to allow small manufacturers to diversify,” Peters added. “Manufacturing is critical, but in Michigan we need more than just manufacturing. We also need to make sure that we’re supporting our agriculture industry, our mining industry, as well as our small businesses on main street.”

Peters has received support from Northern Michigan state officials past and present, with his latest endorsement coming from former Congressman Bart Stupak.