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As a Democrat, I never really dug into the candidates I voted for. This political season is different though. There are questions coming at me from my family, friends and neighbors. Be they Republicans, Democrats and everything in between, so I decided I need informed answers to their questions.

As I researched Sen. Gary Peters, I was really impressed. His father was a WWII vet and later taught in Michigan public schools for 30 years. His mother survived Nazi invaded France and became a war bride. Here she was a long-time nurse’s aide at a local nursing home where she helped organize a union and was a steward. He knows about families that are blue collar hard workers.

Sen. Peters worked his way through Alma College, University of Detroit, Wayne State University and Michigan State University. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1993 at age 34 until 2000. After 9/11 he rejoined for seven more years and retired with the rank of Lt. Commander.

In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Peters is the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee and Governmental Affairs Committee as well as serving on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senate Armed Services Committee, the Joint Economic Committee. Not bad for a first-term senator. If you go to govtrack.us, you can read about his accomplishments, too many to list here.

Sen. Peters has won the Non-Partisan Lugar Center award two years running. He won as the 12th Most Bipartisan Senator and 3rd Most Bipartisan Democrat for work in 2019. His rankings for bipartisan work in 2018 are similar.

He’s even an Eagle Scout. I know this because he received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2019. This award is given to an Eagle Scout of at least 25 years and have achieved nations-level recognition.

Please educate yourself so you don’t just vote, but you vote with conviction.

Carolyn Rygg

Niles