Sternisha enters race for 70th District seat

By Holly Setter
Sentinel-Standard writer
Published: Monday, July 13, 2009 11:08 PM CDT
E-mail this story | Print this page

BELDING - Though Election Day is over a year away, Edward Sternisha of Belding has already announced his run for the 70th District State Representative seat.

“I am finishing up law school right now and will be done in December,” Sternisha said. “I had planned on filing after I finished up my classes, but I'm just watching the economy get worse. We all hear it's going to get worse before it gets better... I can't take the chance that I start too late and can't help my community.”

A Republican and a businessman, Sternisha said that the ever-growing loss of jobs in the state is a big concern for him. He believes that the skills he's demonstrated in his personal businesses will translate to the legislative stage.

“The business I'm running is actually growing now,” Sternisha said. “I've got enough experience creating jobs and I can't just do it for myself, I've got to do it for the people around me.”

It isn't just his work as a business owner that has Sternisha thinking he is qualified to represent the 70th District. Sternisha has been a resident of Belding for the past seven years and has worn a number of hats throughout his adult life. He has worked as a police officer, firefighter, insurance agent, bail bondsman and private investigator.

“There is no one thing that qualifies me for this (position),” Sternisha said. “Anyone who has known me in personal or business life, knows that when I make commitment to something, I see it through. It is the combination of who I am and what I've done that qualifies me.”

Entering the race this early means that Sternisha has a long fight ahead of him, though he doesn't foresee it being too rough.

“I honestly don't think this will be a tough race,” Sternisha said. “It might be for the other candidates, but not for me. I plan to work hard, like I do with everything else.”

Sternisha also said that potentially being an unknown in the race doesn't bother him either.

“I've been unknown in the past, and come out to be a top competitor,” Sternisha said. “When I left my (insurance) office after five years, my landlord came up to me and told me that he didn't think I'd make it at first. I was new, and there were all those established agencies in the phonebook. When I left, I was one of their top competitors.”

Sternisha currently lives in Orleans Twp. with his wife and two young children, and said that he can't envision himself anywhere else.

“This is where my wife and I want to raise our family,” Sternisha said.

CREDITS: The Above Is Courtesy Of The Ionia Sentinel-Standard And Written By Reporter Holly Setter.

######


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote For Ed Instead!

 

Ed has held multiple positions at the same time, all the while continuing his education.  In the early 1990’s Ed was a part-time police officer in the Ionia community of Lake Odessa while he began his very first business.  Because his business was new, he worked a third-shift job in order to pay the bills.  Well, that didn’t seem to be enough, so Ed decided to go to night school full time to earn certification as a paralegal and was even continuing his education as an insurance agent.

 

Within a short time, his determination paid off and his insurance business grew into three very busy agencies in West Michigan.  Although Ed was no longer working the third-shift job or the part-time police job, he had created a very reputable Bail Bond business and a Private Detective and Security agency.  Ed eventually sold the chain of insurance agencies, and focused on bail bonds, and investigations.

 

Ed has worked on multiple community service volunteer projects, given encouragement speeches at schools, provided aid to families in need, and even traveled on a mission trip to a third-world country to help rebuild after a hurricane.

 

Although a serious back injury from a traffic accident slowed him down, it didn’t stop him.  He taught disadvantaged young adults for about a year at the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center and is currently running a very busy business, going to law school, raising a family, all the while running a full-blown and extremely committed campaign to be your next State Representative.

 

Ed will not make promises he can’t keep.  He will promise you that he will work very hard for you.  If you don’t like the way things are right now, Vote For Ed Instead!  If you don’t think your current Representative works as hard as he should, Vote For Ed Instead!  If your current Representative cannot handle multiple things at one time, Vote For Ed Instead!  If you are tired of hearing that things are going to keep getting worse before they get better, Vote for Ed Instead!

Please Click On The Links At The Top Of The Page To See More Information And Photos.  You Can Also Send Us A Message. 

Thank You Again!