Today we kicked off a weeklong run-up to the August 5 primary with town hall meetings in Washtenaw and Lenawee Counties. Thanks to our outstanding field team, we had about 30 people attend in Chelsea and more than 60 people in Adrian this evening – right in Tim Walberg's backyard!

Some of the key themes we discussed tonight were:

• Green collar jobs – We talked a lot about the job opportunities presented by alternative energy at both events tonight. In Lenawee County in particular, I could tell there was a lot of local interest in wind and geothermal energy.
• Affordable healthcare – In Adrian we talked quite a bit about finding a workable solution to the nation's healthcare crisis, to cover the one million Michigan residents who don't have health insurance and help make our businesses more competitive.
• Responsibly ending the war in Iraq – Folks wanted to talk about the war and how it is impacting our current economic situation. I reminded attendants of my 2003 vote against a resolution in the State Senate supporting Bush's strategy for the war.
• Lifelong education – We had a fair number of teachers in Chelsea tonight who wanted to talk about the importance of lifelong education as a long-term economic development tool for the state. We also touched on the need to improve math and science education to help make us more competitive for high-tech jobs.
• Fiscal responsibility – In Adrian we talked about the recent news that President Bush will be leaving his successor with a $490 billion deficit, and the need to restore fiscal responsibility in Washington.

Like I said, we had quite a few teachers with us in Chelsea tonight, and one of the highlights of the evening was when we decided to launch an impromptu 'Educators for Schauer' group during the meeting. We signed up our first supporters right there at the Chelsea Depot and I'm sure we'll be adding more over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for this new group.

I'll try to keep you posted over the coming days about our town hall meetings. To find events in your area, be sure to check out our events page.