NILES — Jeff Tillman, of Fremont, Michigan, stands next an 18-foot-long pig statue that reads “DON’T TOUCH OUR TERM LIMITS!” on its sides Wednesday, Dec. 18 off of Broadway and Fourth streets in Niles.

Below the pig are the names of two of 110 Michigan state representatives: Brad Paquette and Aaron Miller. On Wednesday, Tillman was wrangling his activism pig across southwest Michigan, a place that Paquette and Miller represent, to protest talks to loosen legislator term limits. A lawsuit filed by former lawmakers has also been filed.

Tillman plans to travel across Michigan to raise awareness of the grassroots coalition, Don’t Touch Term Limits, which his son, Scott, organizes. Last week, he was in the U.P. in House Speaker Lee Chatfield’s district, who is in talks with to loosen limits.

The Michigan Senate can serve two four-year terms, and the House of Representatives can serve three six-year terms.

The term limits were approved by 59 percent of 1992 voters in a statewide ballot initiative.

A poll commissioned by the national pro-term limits group U.S. Term Limits found that 69 percent of Michigan voters oppose term limit changes.

While those against strict term limits said Michigan’s laws prevent work getting done properly and keep incumbents in a constant election cycle mindset, Tillman said other voters think otherwise.

“When they’re in office, they tend to dream about being there as a career and not go back from whence they came,” he said. 

After his stop at 10:30 a.m. in Niles, Tillman headed east toward Three Rivers, stopping at a few schools along the way. (Leader photo/BEAU BROCKETT JR.)