Contact:
Jessica Weirauch
Michigan Municipal League
[email protected], 734-669-6311
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2024
LANSING, Michigan – The Michigan Municipal League has named Representative Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, as Legislator of the Year. Representative Tisdel received the award yesterday, March 12, at the League’s 2024 CapCon in Lansing.
The honor is presented each year to lawmakers for their instrumental actions in the Michigan State Legislature on behalf of local communities. These individuals are recognized for their efforts in the passage of legislation that will benefit local governments or who have fought consistently to support local government.
“Representative Tisdel’s leadership on bipartisan issues has created important impacts on our communities,” said Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the League. “He championed the League’s top legislative priority through his sponsorship of bills to create a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. He has also worked to help support small businesses, stabilize local government finances and protect online shoppers. In his own district, he has secured state funding for placemaking efforts. We are grateful for his advocacy on behalf of local government.”
Representative Tisdel has proudly represented Greater Rochester in the Michigan House of Representatives since 2021. He represents the 55th House District, which includes the cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills and part of Oakland Township.
In the House, Tisdel has been a leader on bipartisan issues. Several of his bipartisan bills have been signed into law. He spearheaded a bipartisan law to protect online shoppers from scammers, and as majority vice chair on the House Tax Policy Committee, he sponsored other successful efforts to provide tax savings for small businesses and simplify tax collection processes. In 2021, he helped secure state funding to support Innovation Hills, an inclusive, all-abilities park in Rochester Hills. He has also introduced bipartisan plans to incentivize gun safety and to make state government more transparent to the people of Michigan.
Tisdel graduated from Port Huron Northern High School before studying journalism at Drake University. He has a wealth of small business experience. For 22 years, he worked as principal with Backus Payne & Associates, specializing in medical-liability insurance. Prior to his service in the Legislature, Tisdel served on the Rochester Hills City Council for eight years — four of those years as council president.
“I am sincerely honored and grateful for this award from the Michigan Municipal League,” said Tisdel. “Communities are at the heart of Michiganders’ daily lives, and our local governments dutifully facilitate important services and amenities, from police to parks. As state representative, I draw on my personal experience as a resident of my own community of Rochester Hills and my service as City Council president. Our communities need sound finances, accessible services, and solid infrastructure to serve local residents and workers, and that’s why I’ve championed policies to cut red tape for local officials and businesses and to provide dedicated state resources for city, township, and county governments. I am eager to continue partnering with the League in the coming years so we can secure prosperity and success for Michigan residents in all our local communities.”
Representative Tisdel received the award along with Representative Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw.
Photos from the League’s 2024 CapCon.
Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C., and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials; and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.
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