Joshua Vissers/Daily Mining Gazette (From left to right)Ken Summers, Jack Bergman, Ed McBroom, Scott Dianda, Greg Markkanen, Matt Morgan, Leann Davis, Katie Waara and Polly Schaefer at the American Legion Post 144 in L’Anse for a Meet the Candidates event.

Ed McBroom, currently the Republican candidate for the 38th state Senate seat in Tuesday’s election, has served in Michigan’s House of Representatives previously from 2011 through 2016 in the 108th district. In that time, he voted on a wide variety of topics including welfare, campaign finance, the minimum wage and more.

In 2015, McBroom supported three bills that gave adoption agencies in Michigan the right to refuse service based on their religious beliefs.

“They’re operating these adoption agencies really as an extension of those beliefs,” McBroom said.

He believes it was in the best interest of the state because most of the adoption agencies in Michigan are religious based. In other states, agencies have closed down rather than provide service to same-sex couples, McBroom said, citing Massachusetts as an example. He also pointed out that the Michigan bill does require agencies to refer people they refuse to agencies that will serve them.

In 2014, McBroom voted in favor of SB 275, which required drug testing for recipients of Family Independence Program (FIP) assistance. McBroom said he has been on welfare himself and knows that some people abuse the program, using the assistance to enable drug habits instead of providing for their kids.

“I’d have no problem with a requirement on legislators to do it, too,” McBroom said.

McBroom also voted against the increase in minimum wage to $9.25 that passed in 2014. He said that he was concerned that it would discourage businesses from hiring young people and temporary workers. He also saw it as a way around a ballot-initiated law that was being worked on at the time.

“I thought we should take the issue head-on,” McBroom said.

McBroom voted in favor of the 2013 regulatory bill for medical marijuana that established licensing requirements.

“I’ve had a significant education in regards to medical marijuana,” he said.

He said he’s met people who never dreamed they would ever use marijuana finding great relief from severe symptoms, which makes it worth the effort to him to make the medical marijuana laws work.

In 2013 McBroom also voted against SB 661 that increased campaign finance limits and allowed for the anonymous payment for “issue advocacy” that doesn’t encourage any specific vote.

“I think that is egregious,” McBroom said. “That money should be public.”

He voted against Michigan’s Medicaid expansion, too.

“I felt it was very shortsighted for the state to accept this huge responsibility with no significant plan for how that responsibility would continue to be funded going forward,” he said.

McBroom says that it’s important to address the rising cost of healthcare and not just work on the insurance side of things.

McBroom also voted no on a bill in 2012 that required insurance companies cover autism treatments. The bill still passed.

“My no vote was not so much against autism as it was trying to force my colleagues to adopt a broader stance,” McBroom said.

He thinks mental health issues should be covered better and treated more like other issues and did not like the limited scope of SB 414.