County building rally draws crowd of citizens unsatisified with local state politicians

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State Rep. Kevin Cotter did not shy away from the crowd of protestors assembled Wednesday when he arrived for the Isabella County Township Association meeting.

Instead, the Mount Pleasant Republican chose to walk down to greet some of the constituents and answer questions in front of the Isabella County Building, 200 N. Main St. People with various concerns shouted out questions, as Cotter spoke into a megaphone held by rally organizer, Matthew Sous.

One man asked about Cotter following the Republican agenda and not listening to the people.

“I’m not following any agenda,” Cotter said. “I’m taking things one point at a time.”

Cotter said some cuts are necessary in these times and that it is an honest effort to change Michigan. The heated crowd continued to interject various chants as Cotter spoke.

Local teachers and professors, grade-school and Central Michigan University students, elderly people and youths made up the crowd of about 250 people.

Wendy Epple, Mount Pleasant Education Association president-elect, was in attendance after hearing about the rally through Facebook and word of mouth.

With Michigan preparing for large projected cuts to K-12 education, Epple said she is worried about the effect on local schools.

“We have a great community, supportive parents, fantastic students, and hardworking teachers,” she said. “But we need to fund the process to complete the circle.”

Mike Huckleberry of Greenville came to speak at the rally. Huckleberry is a former state representative for the 70th House District and is also part of Sen. Judy Emmon’s constituency.

He came out to support the rally and show his frustration with the work being done by Emmons, R-Sheridan.

“It’s a cold night and I’m standing here for what America stands for: democracy,” he said. “Democracy belongs to everyone, not just the rich and greedy.”

Mount Pleasant resident and Isabella County Commissioner Jim Moreno also spoke at the rally.

Moreno was happy to see the turnout the event brought despite cold weather.

“I think the callousness and the arrogance of these politicians is really getting to people,” he said.

Rally organizer Mary Barker said she was pleased with the amount of people who came out in support of the cause.

“I was expecting two dozen or so,” she said. “I think this went extremely well.”