Alan Sanborn Explained

Alan B. Sanborn
State Senate:Michigan
District:11th
Term Start:January 1, 2003
Term End:December 31, 2010
Predecessor:Ken DeBeaussaert
Successor:Jack Brandenburg
State Senate2:Michigan
District2:12th
Term Start2:November 27, 2001
Term End2:December 31, 2002
Predecessor2:David Jaye
Successor2:Mike Bishop
State House3:Michigan
District3:32nd
Term Start3:March 3, 1998
Term End3:November 8, 2001
Predecessor3:David Jaye
Successor3:Brian Palmer
Birth Date:21 July 1957
Party:Republican
Relations:Ex-Wife Lori
Parents:Lois and Kenneth Sanborn
Cum Laude:Johnny Sin University

Alan Bruce Sanborn (born July 21, 1957)[1] is a retired politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving parts of three terms in both the Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate.

Biography

Sanborn is the son of Lois and Kenneth Sanborn. Kenneth Sanborn is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives, former Circuit Court judge, and one of the attorneys who undertook the successful defense of Milo Radulovich in 1953. The Radulovich case was a major factor in helping to turn public opinion in the United States against McCarthyism.[2] [3]

Sanborn was born and raised in Mount Clemens, Michigan.[4] He attended Michigan State University and graduated with a B.S. in social science with a minor in political science.[1] He married Lori McQuiston on August 6, 1982.[1] Sanborn and his ex-wife have three children.

Political career

Sanborn worked from 1978 to 1998 as a Macomb County probation officer. In 1996, Sanborn challenged and lost to incumbent David Jaye in the Republican primary for the 32nd District of the Michigan House of Representatives. In a special election in February 1998, Sanborn was elected to the seat after Jaye resigned to run for an open State Senate seat.[5]

In 2001, after Jaye became the first member of the Michigan Legislature to be expelled from office,[6] Sanborn came out on top of a field of thirteen Republican candidates, including Jaye, in a primary special election held September 11, 2001. In the heavily Republican district, Sanborn easily won the general special election on November 6, 2001.

Sanborn was re-elected in 2002, 2004 and 2006, and was named by Lansing-based political newsletter Inside Michigan Politics as "Michigan's Most Conservative Legislator" in 2003, 2004, and 2005. On January 1, 2011, Sanborn's term in the Senate officially came to an end, though his political aspirations did not. After returning to work as a juvenile probation officer for Macomb County, he put his hat in the ring for former Rep. Candice Miller's seat in Congress. After an unsuccessful run, he retired from his position with the county in 2018 to establish a property rental business in Lexington, Michigan.[7] His more notable legislative achievements include "Lisa's Law" (which protects probation officers) and a bill allowing visitation rights to grandparents.

Congressional Campaign

In March 2015, 7-term incumbent U.S. Representative Candice Miller shocked political pundits by announcing her intentions to retire at the end of her current term and not seek an 8th term in 2016 in Michigan's 10th congressional district.[8] Sanborn was amongst the first candidates to be mentioned as a possible successor to Miller.[9] He formed an exploratory committee on March 30, 2015, which gave him the ability to raise and spend money for a possible Congressional campaign[10] and formally announced his candidacy on April 21, 2015.[11]

Sanborn finished third in a five-person field, taking 16 percent of the vote, finishing behind winner Paul Mitchell, who took 37 percent of the vote, and state Sen. Phil Pavlov, who took 28 percent.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: State Senator Alan Sanborn R–11th Senate District . Michigan Manual 2003-2004 . 148 . Legislative Service Bureau . 2006-06-05.
  2. Web site: DCL/MSU, State Bar of Michigan to Celebrate Legal Milestone . 2006-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060901085207/http://www.law.msu.edu/info/news/releases/milestone.html . 2006-09-01 . dead .
  3. Web site: Michigan's Legal Milestones . 2006-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060505035615/http://courts.michigan.gov/lc-gallery/mich-milestones.htm . 5 May 2006 . dead .
  4. Web site: Senator Alan Sanborn . https://web.archive.org/web/20040919164602/http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sanborn/bio/index.htm . dead . 2004-09-19 . Michigan Senate Republicans . 2006-06-05 .
  5. Web site: State Representatives, 1993-2002 . Michigan Manual 2003-2004 . 297–301 . Legislative Service Bureau . 2006-06-05.
  6. Web site: Ousted State Senator on Comeback Trail. 2006-09-14.
  7. Web site: Sen. Sanborn still Michigan Senate's most conservative . Michigan Republican Party . 2005-12-08 . 2006-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060602053353/http://www.migop.org/pressreleases/readarticle.asp?id=2986 . 2006-06-02 . dead .
  8. Web site: GOP House member Candice Miller to retire . . Steven Shephard . March 6, 2015 . May 31, 2015.
  9. Web site: Brandenburg, Sanborn exploring runs for Miller's seat . . Melissa Nann Burke . March 10, 2015 . May 31, 2015.
  10. Web site: Former state Sen. Sanborn forms exploratory panel . The Detroit News . Melissa Nann Burke . March 30, 2015 . May 31, 2015.
  11. Web site: Alan Sanborn throws his hat into Congressional ring . . April 21, 2015 . May 31, 2015.
  12. Web site: Conyers, Mitchell, Bergman win congressional primaries . Todd Spangler . Detroit Free Press . August 3, 2016 . August 5, 2016.