Scott Dianda

ESCANABA — Michigan state Senate candidate Scott Dianda visited Escanaba Tuesday to discuss his campaign and his goals for the region. In his current position as a state representative, Dianda serves the 110th House District, which is comprised of Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties, as well as Powell and Ishpeming townships in Marquette County.

“I really pride myself on taking care of ‘my people,'” said Dianda. “It’s a pleasure to serve, it really is. And I think the biggest thing that gets lost in the midst of politics today is just being able to take care of the constituent services.”

Dianda is running on the Democratic ticket for the 38th Senate seat, currently held by Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba). Casperson cannot seek re-election because of term limits.

According to Dianda, Michigan has to get “back to the basics” when looking to improve roads, schools, and prisons.

For funding repairs for roadways across Michigan, Dianda said he believes there is enough money to make the improvements needed, but it isn’t being prioritized properly. Gas taxes, license plate and registration fees were recently increased in an effort to create more money for road repairs, Dianda explained, adding because he believes there are excess funds to take care of the roads, they should be repaired without having more increases for taxpayers and motorists.

“The biggest thing we have to do is prioritize the current roads we have,” said Dianda. “In my opinion, I feel that there’s plenty of money to be able to do that now, but the money’s not hitting the street. It’s not hitting the road surface, or the bridge decks.”

Dianda currently serves on the House Committees on Energy and Transportation and Infrastructure. Prior to being a representative, Dianda also worked for the Michigan Department of Transportation as a maintenance worker.

“We have a 1950 model out there,” said Dianda on the current state of road infrastructure. “We need to have a 2018 model.”

If the 47-year-old is elected, one of his top priorities is to create more economic growth and have more jobs readily available — especially for young adults looking to get into the workforce.

“My number one priority is making sure people can afford to live in the U.P. and that starts with having a job,” said Dianda. “The money hits the kitchen table and my priority is one thing: that everyone has a job that wants to work.”

One way Dianda is seeking to encourage economic development is by looking into the various industries Michigan and the U.P. has to offer — including forestry, paper mills, medical, and skilled trades — and offering the proper training needed for people to get those jobs.

By exporting more products out of the U.P. and across the state, Dianda believes more people will be attracted to the region and less likely to leave to find work elsewhere.

A base of building a good workforce is having a quality education, noted Dianda, adding more funding also needs to be distributed into Michigan’s schools.

“We’ve gotta make sure we’re getting money back into schools,” said Dianda. “We’re $2,000 per pupil short. We’ve gotta get that money back into those schools to hire the counselors to make sure that these younger people are getting to the point where they wanna go into something that they’re interested in. We should be able to fund education.”

When asked what makes him a stand out candidate for the position, Dianda said he prides himself being highly involved in the communities that he serves, traveling over 500,000 miles back and forth across the state.

“If somebody wants somebody that’s going to work for them and that’s going to represent the people, I’m your person,” said Dianda.