James Lower (born April 10, 1989) is an American politician who has served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

representing the 70th district since 2017. Lower previously served on the Ionia County Board of Commissioners, was the Village Manager of

Edmore, Michigan Edmore is a village in Montcalm County, Michigan, Montcalm County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,210 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Edmore was founded and platted by Edwin B. Moore, a real estate man, ...

, and was the campaign manager for

Brian Calley Brian Nelson Calley (born March 25, 1977) is an American politician who served as the 63rd Lieutenant Governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously elected to the Michigan House of Representatives f ...

's state senate campaign in 2010.

Elected office and political career

Lower was elected to the

Ionia County Ionia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,804. The county seat is Ionia. The Ionia County Courthouse was designed by Claire Allen, a prominent southern Michigan architect. Ion ...

Board of Commissioners in 2010, becoming one of the youngest elected officials in Michigan and the board's youngest member as a 21-year-old. In 2012, Lower ran an unsuccessful campaign for Ionia County Clerk. In 2014, Lower accepted a job as the Edmore Village Manager, earning an annual salary of $45,000. He resigned from this job after 18 months when he announced his candidacy for the

. Michigan state representative Rick Outman was term limited out of the 70th District House seat in 2016. Lower announced his candidacy for the seat in January 2016 and won the 2016 election with 63% of the vote, beating

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate Ken Hart and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate Michael Anderson. In December 2018, Lower sponsored a bill during the lame-duck session which would make it harder to get signatures for ballot initiatives. ''The Detroit Free Press'' noted that the bill came "on the heels of three successful ballot proposals that were overwhelmingly approved by voters... but were opposed by many Republicans." The bill would require that a ballot initiative cannot get more than 15 percent of total signatures from any one of Michigan's 14 districts. Lower said that the intention behind the bill was to "get more transparency in the process and more input from voters." During 2019-2020 legislative session, Lower sponsored 15 bills of which only three became law. Lower was the only sponsor of a bill which eased restrictions on sex offenders, eliminating the requirement that they appear in person to update information and eliminating school safety zones which had previously prohibited sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school. Lower lives in

Greenville, Michigan Greenville is a city in Montcalm County, Michigan, Montcalm County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,816 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Greenville is named after its founder, John Green, who settled in t ...

with his wife Kristen and two young children. In May 2019, Lower announced that he was challenging independent U.S. Representative

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (and, ...

for

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry and Ionia, as well as all except the northwestern portion of Kent, including the city of Grand R ...

in the 2020 election. He withdrew from the race in November 2019. On December 7, 2020, speaker-designate

Jason Wentworth Jason Wentworth (born September 23, 1982) is an American politician serving as a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Prior to his election to the House, Wentworth worked for the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and was a ...

announced that he had hired Lower to be a strategic advisor on his staff beginning in January 2021. During the 2020 elections, Mr. Lower drew criticism that he was accepting unlawful payments through a shell company "Eureka RDC" in exchange for his endorsement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lower, James 1989 births Living people 21st-century American politicians People from Ionia County, Michigan People from Greenville, Michigan Michigan State University alumni Grand Valley State University alumni County commissioners in Michigan Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives