Harrison Township

Forlini wins re-election in 24th District

By Julie Snyder
C & G Staff Writer

Harrison Township Republican Anthony Forlini took more than 50 percent of the vote during the Nov. 6 general election, retaining his seat in the state House of Representatives.

Forlini received 54 percent of the vote with 22,360, defeating challenger Philip Kurczewski, who received 18,507 votes for 45 percent.

The 24th District makes up a large chunk of Harrison Township, which he shares with state Rep. Marilyn Lane, D-Fraser, and spills into surrounding communities like St. Clair Shores, Clinton Township and Macomb Township.

After the election results came in, Forlini said he was fortunate to have bipartisan support leading him to a re-election victory.

“I appreciate the courage from those people from other parties to support me,” he said. “What do I get that (support)? I had seven public acts to my name in the last two years; laws that I had enacted that had a 98 percent of the legislative vote. All of my bills had complete bipartisan support.”

Forlini was elected state representative for the 24th District two years ago after working eight years as Harrison Township supervisor.

He said the experience gained in that position has been advantageous to his work in Lansing.

“I sit on the Appropriations Committee, and one of the things I noticed is there needs to be a consistency in leadership in handling state government and the way the bureaucrats have their way, especially with term limits,” Forlini said.

“Being a former township supervisor I know some things about budgets, but in Lansing, with term limits, there is a lack of experience in understanding numbers. I want to bring some common sense to the decisions being made; all decisions, including those being made back home.”

Forlini is also anxious to delve into issues of wasteful recall petitions and elections, which he says are getting out of control and are costly to everyone.

Kurczewski could not be reached for comment about the election results, and Forlini said he only just met his challenger for the first time on Election Day. “We were both surprised that our paths didn’t cross sooner,” said Forlini. “He appears to be very good-natured.”

As for his opinion on the outcome of the presidential election, Forlini only said he was not surprised.

“President Obama is a voracious campaigner,” he said. “Not much different from Jennifer Granholm during her bid for re-election. She’s a tremendous campaigner.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Julie Snyder at jsnyder@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1039.