Joel Sheltrown

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Joel Sheltrown bigraphy, stories - American politician

Joel Sheltrown : biography

1947 –

Joel Sheltrown (born 1947) is a Democratic state legislator from the state of Michigan. He currently serves in the Michigan State House of Representatives, representing the 103rd District. The 103rd District is located in the northern Lower Peninsula and includes all of Iosco, Missaukee, Ogemaw and Roscommon Counties. He was elected on November 2, 2004 to replace outgoing Rep. Dale Sheltrown, his brother.

Political career

Joel Sheltrown was elected from the 103rd House District to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2004,Lynch-Morin, Kathryn (2010) "", Michigan Live, April 12, 2010, retrieved 2011-07-11 and subsequently re-elected in 2006 and 2008. Over the three elections, Sheltrown has performed 15 points above the Democratic Party base in the 103rd House District. He is the only Democratic legislative candidate in Michigan history to win a majority of votes in Missaukee County, the second most Republican county in the state.

As a member of the Democratic majority in the Michigan House of Representatives, Joel Sheltrown was appointed to chair the House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee in 2007 and re-appointed in 2009. Sheltrown has focused the committee’s attention on economic development by increasing funding for promotion of Michigan’s tourism industry through the award winning Pure Michigan campaign and by supporting broader recreational opportunity and access. Joel Sheltrown was the primary sponsor of a new state law allowing All-terrain vehicles to access county roads. He organized a hunters’ coalition that won broader inclusion of crossbows in the archery deer hunting season.

Joel Sheltrown is a centrist Democrat. He takes traditionally conservative stands on constitutional issues such as the right to life, the Second Amendment, personal freedoms and parental rights. Joel Sheltrown is a life member of the National Rifle Association. He is a supporter of the labor movement, public education and a progressive tax structure. He has been an advocate of a hybrid economic model pursuing both an active state role in job creation and job security and a passive role through the elimination of many regulations that hinder business growth. Sheltrown favors the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and Michigan’s personal property tax and their replacement with either a state Value Added Tax or a progressive consumption tax.

In 2007, Joel Sheltrown led the successful effort to build a wide body aircraft hangar at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport furthering development of the aviation industry in northern Michigan. He has also focused on alternative energy development including wind energy, biodiesel, ethanol production including wood cellulose based ethanol and cleaner coal technology. Joel Sheltrown is currently working on legislation to increase career technical education in Michigan to train workers for these emerging fields and legislation to provide for residential green energy production and efficiency municipal loans.

Biography

Joel Sheltrown is a lifelong resident of northern Michigan’s Ogemaw County. He graduated from West Branch High School in 1965 and then attended Western Michigan University and Kirtland Community College.

In 1966, Joel Sheltrown enlisted in the United States Navy and was sent to Viet Nam. He achieved the rank of 2nd Class Petty Officer as a Communications Technician with a Top Secret Crypto Clearance. He received an honorable discharge in 1970 following two tours in Viet Nam, and service in the Philippines and West Germany.

Following his wartime military service overseas, Joel Sheltrown returned to West Branch where he managed his father’s John Deere dealership. In 1978, he purchased a propane dealership in West Branch. He continued in that business until being elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. Joel Sheltrown is married to Teresa Sheltrown. They have three children: Alison, Nick and Don and two grandchilden.