An urgent care doctor and former teacher is seeking to represent Livingston County residents in the Michigan House.
Donnie Bettes says she wants to bring her compassion for others to dealing with issues affecting the residents of the 42nd House District.
“I started out my career as a teacher and then became a family physician and finally an urgent care doctor. Responding to the needs of others, seeking solutions based on proven data, has always been at the core of my professional life, and that’s how I would act as your representative in Lansing,” Bettes said.
Bettes said she would focus her legislative efforts on three issues:
--Fighting for quality and affordable education for Michiganchildren from pre-school through post-secondary level;
--Protecting health care for all Michigan residents, including fighting the high cost of prescription drugs, and
--Protecting Michigan’s environment and addressing climate change.
“Without a quality education, our young people cannot compete in the global market,” she said, adding that reports that Michigan lags nearly all other states in the growth in school funding is holding our children back. Her career as a math and science teacher in the 1970s and 1980s means she will always listen to the views of professionals in the classroom, Bettes added.
“Health care is on everyone’s minds these days and as an urgent care physician, I want to see health care available to everyone that needs it. With the loss of so many auto and manufacturing jobs in Michigan, many young people, especially those with children, are having to work two jobs to make ends meet. Lack of affordable health care and /or unexpected medical bills can have devastating financial repercussions and hold them back from living the American Dream.”
Bettes has lived in Livingston Countyfor 32 years. “One of the reasons I live in Genoa Township and Michigan is our state's natural beauty; its lakes, forests, coastline. We need to do more to protect our Great Lakes & other natural resources,” she said.
She filed her papers for the Democratic nomination for the 42nd House seat on Feb. 24.
Bettes began her professional life as a science and math teacher, teaching in the Fitzgerald and Warren Consolidated school districts. She switched careers mid-life, went to medical school, and became a family physician in 1990. Since 2009, she has been an urgent care physician and has a small business related to the provision of urgent care. She was chair of St. Joseph Hospital’s Family Medicine Department from 1994-1996.
She is a graduate of Oakland University and Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in family medicine at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.
Bettes is active in the Crandal’s Crooked Lakes Homeowners Association; Sierra Club; Audubon Society; LACASA, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She also is a former member of the Michigan Education Association.
She has two grown sons.
The 42nd House District covers the townships of Brighton, Genoa, Green Oak, Hamburg, and Putnam, plus the city of Brighton.
People wishing more information may contact Bettes at donniefor42house@gmail.com.
(Paid for by Livingston County Democratic Executive Committee, 8028 Grand River, Woodland Plaza Suite 7, Brighton, MI 48114.)
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