Michael G. Sak (born 1959) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was a member of the

Michigan State 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 76th district, located in urban

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and was

Speaker pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase '' pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being ...

of the Michigan House. In 2008 he was unable to run for re-election due to term limits and was replaced by Roy Schmidt.

Early life

Sak received his Diploma from Grand Rapids Union High School in 1977, his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Uta ...

in 1982 and his Masters of Education degree from

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universi ...

13 years later. He taught elementary school in

from 1992 to 1998. In 1998 he became an administrator in the Grand Rapids Public Schools as Coordinator of the Shared Time program. From 1999 to 2003, he served as the Eisenhower Grant Coordinator and an Assistant Principal at the Math Science Academy in Grand Rapids.

Political career

In 1986, Sak was elected to the Kent County Board of Commissioners, and served until 2002. He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002. He represents the 76th district, which is located in Kent County and encompasses the northwest, northeast and southeast portions of the City of Grand Rapids. It is the only strongly Democratic district in all of Kent County. In 2004, Sak was elected to become the Democratic Assistant Floor Leader. In 2006, Democrats won the majority in the Michigan State House, and Sak was subsequently elected to be the Speaker pro Tempore. In 2007, "Sak allegedly tried to use his position on the House Appropriations Committee to get a ride from a state trooper after a gathering of the National Governors Association on July 20 in Traverse City, the trooper wrote in a memo. Sak told the trooper, who was assigned to work security at the Grand Traverse Resort, that he owed him a ride because, as a member of appropriations, he had saved his job from being eliminated in budget cuts, the trooper wrote". https://www.mlive.com/grpress/2007/08/sak_tells_different_story_abou.html

Electoral history

*2006 campaign for State House **Michael Sak (D), 73% **Ted Liberski (R), 25% *2004 campaign for State House **Michael Sak (D), 67% **Holly Zuidema (R), 30% *2002 campaign for State House **Michael Sak (D), 61% ** Mark Kublik (R), 37%

References

External links

Michael Sak's Michigan House Democrats Web SiteThe Michigan House Democrats Web Site
* http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/08/sak_tells_different_story_abou.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Sak, Michael 1959 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Brigham Young University alumni Schoolteachers from Michigan Utah State University alumni Grand Valley State University alumni Grand Rapids Community College alumni