My name is Cynthia Kallgren, Republican candidate for United States Congress in the 12th district of Michigan.  In a recent article published in the Dearborn Patch earlier today, John Dingell referred to his opponents as having traits such as "Ignorance," and "Inexperience."  As one of his opponents, I would like to say that I am experienced and knowledgeable about the issues facing us here in the 12th district.  I, unlike others in the race, have political experience. In 2010 I ran for State Representative in the 13th district. I personally knocked on over 7000 doors and made hundreds of phone calls to voters. I spent my time listening to my community members in the 13th district which is now a part of the 12th congressional district. I came close to winning but unfortunately came up short. However, that did not stop me. I decided to use my own time to work on legislation in Lansing to help the people of Michigan and my district. The bills that I worked on addressed the needs of everyday people.

One concern that I was confronted with in 2010 was the abuse of women by their relatives who would force their family member to have an abortion when they did not want it.  As soon as I heard this I began working with current Michigan legislators to write legislation to prevent these situations from happening.  This bill currently sits in the Michigan Senate (MI H.B. 5134). While working for the people of the 12th district, my opponent, John Dingell, has been working against us. Congressman Dingell voted against the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act that would have prohibited having an abortion based solely off of the gender or race of the unborn child (H.R. 3541). If elected to Congress I will fight all forms of discrimination and never vote for a bill that allows for discrimination like my opponent has done.  Experience is not brought by time but by work ethic and devotion to family and community.