A Few Minutes With... Outgoing State Rep Scott VanSingel

Scott with his wife Desiree and daughter Sophia

N3- Scott VanSingel has been what is now a rarity in public service. An elected official who focuses on legislating, votes his conscience and isn’t swayed by the allure of popularity that can be achieved simply by echoing the conspiracy du jour. While many speak of reaching across the aisle it too often remains restricted to verbiage rather than action. Scott not only reached across the aisle, he reached across the community often meeting with groups and individuals who may not have shared his party affiliation nor his conservative views but knew he was a legislator who listened.
N3 caught up with the soon-to-be-ex State Representative to pose a few questions as he concludes his third and final term.

 How does it feel to be leaving a job you’ve held for 6 years?
It was the fastest 6 years of my life.  I was able to accomplish around 80% of the goals I had set, but I still feel like I’m leaving with unfinished business and was so close to getting some of my last priorities across the finish line.  I’m leaving with a few regrets, but overall, a sense of accomplishment.

What will you miss about it?
The sense of fulfillment.  With every vote we potentially had the opportunity to impact, for better or worse, the lives of 10 million people.  Being able to shape these policies as one of 148 legislators and witness firsthand the positive impacts they have on people’s lives gives me a feeling of satisfaction I will likely never be able to replicate again in my life.

Biggest challenge during your incumbency?
Misinformation.  The constant bombardment of extremely biased “news” sources and outright propaganda made it difficult to work on real issues.  Especially in my last two years in office, we constantly received calls and emails about outrageous conspiracies and people demanded to know what I would do about them.  Out of fear, so many people have stopped listening to reason and when we would try to explain the truth, many lashed out in anger. 

What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment while in office?
Two things. First, for my district, I would say obtaining the funding for the Newaygo County Fairgrounds renovation.  This is something our community will enjoy for generations to come.  
For the state as a whole, I was personally asked by Governor Snyder in 2017 to share my ideas for reforming the teacher pension system.  The Republican House and Senate had presented a plan which would close the system, but potentially cost $20B or more.  I sat down with the governor and presented my ideas on how to stabilize the retirement system, while protecting retirees at the same time.  He agreed with my ideas, and they were eventually incorporated into a revised bill and signed into law.  The reforms will save the state billions of dollars over the long term.

Who were your mentors when you got to Lansing and why?
While I did not work face to face with him very often, Governor Snyder was an inspiration to me as he couldn’t care less about partisan politics and weighed each issue on its own merits.  I tried to do the same as a legislator.  My first-term roommates in Lansing also provided some wise counsel including Senator Arlan Meekhof, Rep Triston Cole, and Rep Jim Lilly.  We had great conversations each night after work and each of them were pragmatic and effective legislators.

You’ve been a part of the whole Lansing Legislative Life for three terms. How do you see it now that you’re leaving? 
There were some pleasant surprises.  We are conditioned to think that there is a daily battle of good vs. evil occurring in the legislative process and all those on the opposite side of our political beliefs hate America.  I very quickly learned this is not at all the case.  People from diverse backgrounds from all over the state ran for office because they want to make their communities better.  The overwhelming majority of the people I served with are incredibly decent and honest men and women.  
One of the disappointments was that keeping majority and winning elections is extremely important.  So important in fact, that people are willing to say and do anything it takes to win.  Far too often, good policy was set aside and we were forced to vote on ridiculous bills that were pandering to our bases or designed to make the other side look bad.  This is probably the biggest shortfall I see in our political process and don’t have a simple answer on how to fix it. 
Finally, I am disappointed to see that there is a growing anti-intellectual bias in the political process.  One of the low points I experienced was giving a presentation on the science and physics behind electrical vehicles.  Afterwards, all of my findings were immediately dismissed by the caucus, and it felt like I was going to be burned at the stake for heresy.  One caucus member even got in my face and shouted at me.  It will be extremely difficult to solve problems in the future if this trend continues to grow.

You are a long time conservative Republican and yet faced some hostility from those within your party. Care to comment on this?
This is perhaps my biggest surprise.  I’m an evangelical Christian, small business owner, avid outdoorsman, NRA life member, and a social conservative. These beliefs are the very definition of a traditional Republican. As a result, I thought most of the attacks would come from the far left, however, most of the attacks I endured came from people on my side of the aisle who generally believe the same things I do.  The key to winning elections is to build your base which historically was done by having better ideas than the opposition.  In recent years, there has been an effort to purge anyone from the party who has a remotely dissenting point of view.  This is a recipe for failure and we have already seen the results of this in the 2022 elections.

Is the political system as broken as many say? 
No.  Currently we have a very diverse group of people who serve in elected office who for the most part are honest and caring individuals who want what is best for their district and their state.  I do see some alarming trends though.  The short term limits Michigan enacted has resulted in us rapidly burning through the crop of qualified candidates and we are seeing more and more candidates in their early 20’s with very little life experience.  I do believe the passage of Proposal 1 will help this.  The other alarming trend I see is that both parties have embraced extremism and it is increasingly difficult for pragmatic legislators to get through the primary process.  Some of those elected recently at the state level are downright dangerous and if we ever get to the point that they are the majority of the governing body, the entire system will collapse.

Do you feel party loyalty has taken priority over governing?
There has always been a push to follow the party as maintaining majority is vital to governing.  I have seen this worsen in recent years, however, I don’t feel the push was coming from party leaders, but more led by far-right and far-left primary voters who demand absolute loyalty to the party rather than thoughtful deliberation of each issue.

What would you do differently knowing then what you know now?
I can’t say I would change much about my style or voting record, but I would be much more careful about who I trust.  I was disappointed to see colleagues fighting for leadership spots who would say or do whatever it takes to reach a position of power.  Some who I considered friends worked against me behind closed doors and I should not have been so trusting.  I also would not have trusted our outgoing Speaker as he was probably the worst example of this.

If asked what advice might you give to your successor?
“Good policy makes good politics.”  Focus on fixing the issues the people in your community care about and the votes will be there when election time comes around.  Too many of my colleagues agonized over bills that were meant to manipulate or scare our constituents, rather than working on substantive issues.  If you fix the real-world problems, you can be much bolder in voting your conscience on all the other bills as you will have earned the trust of those who elected you.

What are your plans going forward?
This is the only question I don’t have an answer for as of yet.  I have several areas of interest including higher education, natural resources, transportation, and energy.  I would like to obtain a role as an advocate in one of these areas, but I am open minded and eagerly awaiting where the Lord leads me next. 

Well done, Mr. VanSingel. Well done indeed.

​