EDITOR:

In the congressional race for Michigan’s 1st District, I support Dr. Bob Lorinser to replace Rep. Jack Bergman.

Dr. Lorinser started his medical career with the Indian Health Service in New Mexico. He then worked over two decades as a family physician in Marquette, before serving for 10 years in the U.S. State Department in Pakistan. In 2020 he returned to Marquette, intending to retire. Instead, when COVID hit, he became medical director at the Marquette County Health Department.

The website BergmanForCongress describes Lorinser as a “career bureaucrat.” Does that list of positions sound like the resume of a career bureaucrat? To me, it sounds like that of a man who lives by one of his declared guiding principles: service.

On Jan. 6th, 2021, Rep. Bergman voted twice in Congress to overturn the will of American voters: once opposing certification of Arizona’s electoral college votes, and again, opposing certification of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Only six or seven of 50 Republicans in the Senate went as far as Bergman in supporting the “Big Lie” that the election was somehow stolen, which countless investigations have shown to be untrue. In my opinion, those votes by Bergman have helped to erode confidence of U.S. voters that our elections are fair. What a travesty.

Perhaps that badge of shame explains why Bergman has made so few appearances in the district this election cycle. Indeed, has he made any? I Googled “townhalls Jack Bergman” and found none since 2017, while the same search for Lorinser showed four townhalls just between October 15 and October 19 of this year.

Democracy is fragile. I ask you to vote for a man who believes that the voters’ choice shouldn’t be “de-certified” by any partisan group.

Bernie Arbic

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan