| In November 2018, residents of Michigan' 15th Senate District elected Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, to the state Senate, representing the cities of Northville, Novi, Orchard Lake, South Lyon, Walled Lake, and Wixom and the townships of Commerce, Lyon, Milford, Novi, West Bloomfield and White Lake.
Sen. Runestad is committed to looking out for the most vulnerable, fighting fraud and corruption in government, and defending western Oakland County families to the best of his abilities.
Sen. Runestad has been appointed by his colleagues to serve as the assistant majority caucus chair. He also serves as chairman of the Finance Committee. Prior to joining the Senate, Runestad served four years in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 44th District. There he led the efforts to reform child abuse and neglect investigations to better protect children, and passed a law to crack down on felons who took bribes while in government. As a foster parent himself, Sen. Runestad spearheaded legislation to require foster care quality standards statewide.
As the son of two educators, Runestad chose to pursue studies in the field of education. Runestad earned a bachelor's degree in education from Central Michigan University with a concentration in history, economics and politics. Upon graduation, he spent time working with at-risk students in classrooms all across the state. For the last 15 years Jim has been operating his own insurance company, Runestad Financial Associates LLC.
Prior to his election to the state House, Sen. Runestad spent three terms as an Oakland County commissioner, where he was chairman of both the Public Services Committee and Planning and Building Committee. During his six-year tenure, Runestad worked with various county commissions to improve the level of Friend of the Court services. He also assisted the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on the Proposition 2 ballot initiative, ending race preferences in government hiring and education.
Runestad was an active member of the North Oakland Board of Realtors Legislative Affairs and Grievance Committees, as well as having been involved with other various activities with the local Chamber of Commerce, including Meals on Wheels.
Jim and his wife, Kathy, reside in White Lake Township. There they've raised five children- Joel, Justin, Lena, Lee and Kayla. |