April Osentoski for 98th District State Representative
April Osentoski, a 1992 Bad Axe High School graduate, and her husband Brad live in the Bad Axe area. Combined they have 5 children and three grandchildren. Business management and accounting were the main college education pursuits, however real life has allowed for a varied array of interests including travel, reading, arts and crafts, instrumental music (next instrument to learn is piano), and involvement in community theater. In her professional life, she has worked her way up the ladder in the kitchens, starting out as a dishwasher and rising thru the ranks. While at work, even in the most stressful situations, she remains calm. Maintaining a positive attitude is her way of motivating her staff. She isn’t just someone barking orders and yelling at everyone. She’s right there with you, helping you whenever she can, sharing her knowledge whenever needed as part of the team.
She’s the person you go to when you need to know where to find information. She understands struggles of the working person. She understands that life doesn’t always go as you plan it. She understands trying to balance a demanding work schedule and struggling to find time to yourself for a moment just to breathe.
April has chosen to not let her life experiences harden her heart (although she has a soft spot for animals of nearly all kinds) Instead, she chooses each day to embrace positivity. She leads by example with caring and compassion. When she listens to your concerns, you KNOW she is listening and will do her best to do something about it. Her positive attitude and willingness to work with nearly anyone to accomplish what needs to be done for the good of everyone involved.
Doing what needs done for the good for everyone involved is a life long personally held value for April.
She has been listening to your concerns. She knows that minimum wage workers are struggling to afford housing, auto insurance, and child care. When you factor in the cost of day to day life, it makes it difficult to save for retirement, help care for ailing parents and grandparents, pay for the inevitable life emergencies, and hopefully when you are lucky if when you are done at the end of the week to have a little something to go have some fun with.
She understands that we have more in common than what is at the surface.
Politicians make all sorts of promises. Legislation isn’t passed by just one person. It’s a team effort. Obstructionism isn’t accomplishing anything for anyone. It’s time to work together to achieve common sense solutions. We live in a unique area. Solutions that might work in some parts of the state aren’t always what is best for us in the Thumb. We need to stand up to anyone who threatens the financial welfare of all of our residents. We need better access to healthcare. We need more mental health professionals. We need affordable housing, good paying jobs, and education opportunities. We need to help our small businesses thrive and we need to make sure the family farms can survive. We need to protect our land and our lakes to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same beauty we enjoy today.
We need enable our young people to be able to remain in the area if they wish. We need to make sure our senior citizens are taken care of- that they can afford their medications so they don’t have to choose between gas and groceries. We need to make sure working families can afford childcare and medical care.
I promise that when considering any legislation, I will consider the following: Who does it benefit? This includes who gets side benefits from the implementation of legislation. Who/what does this have the potential to harm? Are there groups or individuals that would be unfairly treated as a result? Would it hurt any wildlife or the environment? How would this impact business and industry in our area? What is the cost? Not just the financial cost, but the human and environmental cost as well. Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Your state representative works for you and the others in your district. I am here to listen to your concerns and help you find the best solutions possible to help make our Thumb the best it can be.