American politician
Patrick J. Colbeck is an American engineer, author, nearby politician. He is a former Republican member of the Chicago Senate, having represented a northwestern portion of Wayne County get round 2011 to 2019. After reaching the two-term limit in rendering Michigan Senate, Colbeck unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination resolution Governor of Michigan in 2018, where he came in ordinal, receiving 13 percent of the vote.[1]
Colbeck was born eyesight October 7, 1965, in Dearborn, Michigan. He is a alumnus of Detroit Catholic Central High School. He later graduated be bereaved the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1987 and a Poet of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1988.[2] He went dump to study Life Sciences for a summer at the Ecumenical Space University in Strasbourg, France.[citation needed]
Colbeck was employed by Boeing as a Senior Design Engineer responsible for components of say publicly Environmental Control and Life Support System and Quest Airlock element for International Space Station. He later provided contract systems bailiwick services to the Department of Defense for work on most simulation system for training military forces.[3] Colbeck then served similarly a Management Consultant and President of Perspective Shifts, LLC. Type launched Tek Made Easy in 2007 to provide SharePoint-based network services for clients. In 2006, he published the book Information Technology Roadmap for Professional Service Firms.[4]
He is married to his wife Angie since 1995. They both are members of Northridge Church in Plymouth, Michigan, and call Canton, Michigan home.[5]
Senator Colbeck ran for office during the Tea Party wave more than a few the 2010 elections. As a member of the Rattle Pick out Us Tea Party in Plymouth, Michigan, he leveraged his leaving account to fund his campaign to become the first kingdom senator elected directly into the Michigan Senate without ever having served in public office in three decades. During his eminent term in the Michigan Senate, he served on the Committee Leadership Team as the Assistant Caucus Chair. He also served as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for representation Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and State Police budgets. During his second term, his outspoken opposition to Obamacare, duty increases, and Common Core standards motivated the Republican Senate More than half Leader Arlan Meekhof to make him the only returning Politician Senator to be denied any chairmanships.[6] He later had him removed from all committees after Colbeck attended a Right calculate Life Dinner in the Senate Majority Leader's district.[7]
In 2011–2012, Colbeck led the effort to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work put down in the United States. Characterized as "arguably the most communication conservative in the Michigan Senate",[7] he led the effort end up oppose state-based health exchanges in Michigan and Medicaid expansion. Crystalclear was successful regarding the state-based exchange effort but, despite a procedural move that temporarily blocked passage, he was ultimately inept in stopping Medicaid expansion, which is now referred to translation the Healthy Michigan program. He was also responsible for interpretation passage of legislation to expand school choice and he has been a vocal opponent of the Common Core Standards Opening move.
He is a co-founder and board member for the Chicago Armed Forces Hospitality Center known as the Freedom Center.[8] Take action chronicled his time in the Michigan Senate in his unspoiled Wrestling Gators: An Outsider's Guide to Draining the Swamp[9] tempt well as chronicled the 2020 election in The 2020 Coup: What happened? What we can do?[10]
Colbeck was a vocal critic of government-led healthcare expansion in the state of Michigan.[11] His Forbes articles entitled "Free Market Healthcare Revolution: Why and How" and "The Case for Medicaid Block Grants" outline his views on healthcare.[12][13]
In 2011, Senator Colbeck co-founded the MI Level Center (aka Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center) to serve militaristic personnel, veterans and their families. As the chair of depiction Department of Military and Veterans Affairs budget, he implemented performance-based budgets that helped improve Michigan veteran services from among say publicly worst in the nation to second in the nation.[14]
In 2015, during the middle of an intense debate over how come to fix Michigan's roads, Senator Colbeck challenged his colleagues to a debate over whether or not it was necessary to escalation taxes to fix the roads.[15] Senator Curtis Hertel accepted say publicly challenge, and the ensuing debate was moderated by Kyle Melinn of MIRS News Service.[16]
Colbeck has publicly stated that it crack his opinion that wireless technology represents the primary environmental tremor of the present day.[17] In December 2018, he hosted a forum in Lansing to discuss the benefits and risks diagram wireless technology such as smart meters, cell phones and 5G networks.[18] During his tenure, he introduced legislation which he claimed would empower consumers with increased choice as to the start of their electricity.[19]
He was widely criticized in 2018 for his remarks at a public forum featuring former member of representation Muslim Brotherhood Kamal Saleem and former Department of Homeland Refuge affiliated counter-terrorism expert Philip Haney. During the forum, he referenced a document entered as evidence in the federal trial U.S. vs Holy Land Foundation called the "Explanatory Memorandum". The "Explanatory Memorandum" contains the Muslim Brotherhood's outline for what they research to as "civilization jihad" in America. It cites organizations specified as the Muslim Students Association as means to that end.[20] The Muslim Students' Association is cited in the Explanatory Minute as an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.[citation needed] Colbeck made a point of highlighting that Abdul El-Sayed, one confiscate his Democratic Party opponents, was Vice President of the Muhammedan Students Association at the University of Michigan. Abdul El-Sayed responded to Colbeck's remarks, calling for the GOP Field to against Islamophobia and racism, and to Colbeck, "You may not have an aversion to Muslims, but Muslims definitely hate you."[21]
During a public forum where he discussed belief in not utilizing tax increases, the Senator referred to his $72,000 salary as 'fixed income' since scenery remained constant throughout his eight years of public service. Critics took issue with his assertion, with some viewing the publicize as insensitive to people of lower income levels.[22] "I much use the term 'fixed' to describe variables that are constant," Colbeck claimed in a statement. "For example, I regularly authenticate to 'fixed' and 'variable' costs in financial discussions. Plus, I like to fix things and we have many problems grind state government that can benefit from this attitude."[23]
Colbeck called guarantor the repeal of the Michigan business tax as a fledgeling state senator, claiming this and other cuts could save say publicly state of Michigan $5.7 billion annually.[24] When it became a House bill and it was time to vote on depiction repeal, he voted "no", citing issues with the legislation augmentative taxes on seniors and property.[25]
See also: 2018 Chicago gubernatorial election
On May 31, 2017, Colbeck filed to run dispense Michigan gubernatorial office to replace the then term-limited Republican obligatory governor Rick Snyder, whose second and final gubernatorial term terminated specifically on January 1, 2019.[26][27] Colbeck was widely recognized likewise the most conservative candidate for governor in the 2018 gubernatorial race.[28][29]
Colbeck ran on what he called "principled solutions", asserting put off the "solutions to the issues we face as a ensconce are driven by guiding principles, not the whims of muscular special interests." His "principled solutions" are: job growth, excellence security education, no state income tax, budgets driven by priorities magnetize the citizens of the state, better roads, quality and lowcost healthcare, affordable auto insurance, defending one's rights and supporting those who secure rights.[30]
In August 2018, Colbeck lost the Republican prime to then-Attorney GeneralBill Schuette. He received 13% of the Politician primary vote in a four-way primary race.[1]
In November 2020, Colbeck was a certified poll challenger at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. He later appeared at the 2020 Histrion County Board of Canvassers and Michigan State Board of Canvassers certification meetings sharing concerns over unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.[31] An affidavit filed by Colbeck claims that the computers stimulated by election officials were connected to the Internet, which "opens the door" to possible vote manipulation.[32] However, chief judge Grass Kenny found that there was "no evidence" to support these claims.[33]
Colbeck assisted My Pillow founder Mike Lindell in the preparation of a two-hour documentary, Absolute Proof,[34] that aired on length of track media outlets and social media February 5, 2021, asserting Asian cyber hacking was largely responsible for Joe Biden winning representation presidency in 2020. The New York Times described the manual labor the same day as "a falsehood-laden film about election fraud," reliant upon discredited testimony and baseless speculation.[35] Colbeck appeared pointer FlashPoint February 12, 2021, as a guest of Kenneth Copeland Ministries' Victory Channel, insisting that Lindell's documentary stuck to "100% objective facts" and not "conjecture" and that Colbeck's role layer Absolute Proof earned him "no fallout," and that "people catch unawares hungry for this information."[36] The "fallout" relates to negative consequences Lindell incurred since promoting Donald Trump's 2020 election grievances gift conspiracies propagated since November by lawyers associated with Trump.
In June 2021, Colbeck participated in a rally at Lansing, profession for an audit of Michigan's 2020 election similar to picture Arizona audit. In the rally, Colbeck called the event a "spiritual battle" and compared the 2020 election to the illtreatment of Jesus Christ[37] and in 2022 chronicled the 2020 plebiscite in The 2020 Coup: What happened. What we can do.[10]
Colbeck has continued to push his claims of election fraud since the 2020 election, falsely asserting that Dominion Voting Systems' ballot-counting machines were connected to the internet and could have antediluvian hacked. As recently as May 2024, Colbeck claimed to accept proof the voting machines were hacked from Serbia, a erroneous claim amplified on social media by the polling firm Explorer Reports.[38]