by Calvin and Kate Holtrop
On Saturday, July 9, 2022, a Muskegon County Meet and Greet was held for gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano at First Congregational Church in Fruitport, Michigan.
Pastor Mike Scott led a prayer for Garrett, for his coworkers, advisors and influencers, and for America. Next, Mick Bricker, candidate for the 88th District House seat, introduced himself, speaking about his faith, family, and Conservative views. Bricker encouraged the audience to support Soldano’s campaign, before introducing Garrett himself.
Soldano made a rousing speech that outlined what his campaign and movement have done, what they will do if elected, and why they can be trusted to represent Michiganders. For over two years, Soldano and many Michiganders have been fighting for our Constitutional freedoms, he said. They also have held Governor Whitmer accountable for the excessive, 28-day emergency lockdown of Michigan during COVID-19 and the limitations on where people could go and what they could buy. Garrett believes that, additionally, by quarantining healthy people and forcing mask mandates, the governor continued to take things too far.
Soldano said that when he couldn’t find anyone in government to stop Whitmer’s state of emergency, he and other concerned citizens stood up and began the Facebook page “Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine.” Before Facebook shut the page down, nearly 400,000 people had joined, being encouraged to contact the legislature about not extending the lockdown. Subsequently, Soldano continued his work, cofounding the “Stand Up, Michigan” page. Soldano’s movement wrote a resolution to get the legislature to press the governor for disclosure of hospital death information. They also put together the Unlock Michigan petition, which forced the legislature to repeal the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act.
“We are doing amazing things,” Soldano said, which is why he promises the gloves are going to come off when he debates Governor Whitmer after the Primaries, just like he hasn’t gone easy on other opponents.
Garrett says that, by the end of this upcoming election, many more amazing people are going to represent Michiganders at all levels of law, including Kristina Karamo (for Secretary of State), and Matthew DePerno (for Attorney General). He added, “We have recruited, and helped recruit, five thousand licensed election inspectors so we can take back our elections and our voices.” And, according to Garrett, his campaign has raised $2,000,000, the majority (roughly 96%) being donations of less than $200.
Soldano believes that if he succeeds in both the primary and the Midterm elections, his win will create a ripple effect that will spread to other states, encouraging them to vote in more Conservatives. He said that his movement will have to work hard, but that they have a strong determination to activate and win Michigan back.
Garrett’s to-do list as governor is pretty long and involves “draining the swamp”, as he said, quoting his hero, former president Trump. Soldano and DePerno plan to investigate the multitudes of abuses they have seen the current state administration commit, touching on mask mandates, over-regulation, excessive lockdowns, government spending, and election integrity, among other issues. Garrett also promised a thorough investigation of nursing home deaths connected with COVID-19 regulations. Getting Liberal ideology out of schools; boosting tourism, small business, and jobs; and making Michigan energy independent, are also high on Garrett’s list. He encouraged his constituents and supporters to vote people who represent them into local school boards. And according to Soldano, mandates to force Liberal ideology on businesses must go as well.
Garrett said that he sees hope for Michigan’s future. He said that his campaign is taking back lost ground. “We have to continue to be engaged,” he said. “We need to continue to be activated, and be involved at all levels, and back those candidates that are going to put Michigan and your families first…I will always represent you. There is no political narrative, or political agenda, or political career [why] I want to do this. I want to get in there and do what’s right.”