By Gordon Evans Democrat Paul Clements says the biggest challenge that the Sixth Congressional district faces is an economy that's working for the wealthy, but not for everyone else. Clements challenged Republican Congressman Fred Upton two years ago and is the Democratic candidate again in the district that includes Southwest Michigan. Clements is a Professor at Western Michigan University, and has been there for 20 years. He spoke with WMUK's Gordon Evans. Economy Clements who teaches national economic development at Western, say jobs have been coming back, but wages are still lagging behind. He says most benefits of economic growth have gone to those at the top. Clements says the problem is with Congress, which he says has been bought by campaign contributions creating an economy that is rigged for big corporations. Clements says the tax code is thousands of pages long because of loopholes and subsidies. He says companies should not be subsidized when they move jobs overseas. And Clements says a company shouldn't be allowed to operate in the United States, and move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying taxes. Trade Clements is opposed to the Trans Pacific Partnership. He says Upton's recent stated opposition to TPP is surprising because he has supported other free trade deals. Clements says he doesn't want to reestablish protectionism. But he says the U.S. has to work with trade partners and find growing sectors in the economy. Clements says it's important to make things that the world needs. Asked if he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, Clements says NAFTA has been in place for many years, he says if you re-negotiate it, you probably have to give something up. Pre-School High quality pre-school is one of Clements' priorities. He says the research shows that learning begins at day one. Clements says quality pre-school pays for itself in higher wages, less crime, and he says it's not that expensive. Clements says if the "broken tax system" were fixed, paying pre-school teachers would be a small amount. Foreign Policy Clements opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and says the U.S. should be extraordinarily cautious about using military force abroad. He says sending the military in to try and bring democracy, or fix problems in other countries, doesn't work. Clements says the people in troubled regions need to be supported to solve their own problems. He says if someone attacks American soil, like Osama Bin Laden, then of course the U.S. has to go after him. Clements says Syria for example is a terrible problem, but it doesn't present an existential threat to the United States. However he acknowledges that sometimes a humanitarian line is crossed when action is required, such as the Rwandan Genocide on the 1990's. But he says in those cases there has to be a clear mission and a clear "way out." Money Clements says Upton is one of top recipients of out of state corporate PAC contributions. He says that means that Upton's campaign will spend more. But Clements says his campaign is competitive, and has broken the record for Democratic fund-raising in this Congressional district. Campaign Clements says he is cautiously optimistic heading toward November. He won just over 40% of the vote in 2014, but Clements says turnout in a Presidential Election year is traditionally higher. He says his campaign is better than it was two years ago. Clements says the top of the ticket can be influential for races down the ballot, and Donald Trump is very unpopular. Clements says "that may help me." Health Care Clements says the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) has allowed more people to get health insurance. But he says the prices are often too high. Clements says successful models across the world indicate more government involvement produces better results. He favors expanding Medicare, making 55 the age of eligibility. Asked about a single-payer health care system, Clements says that should be on table, but says the U.S. can't move there overnight. College Affordability Clements favors the plan originally proposed by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders that provides free four-year university education for families making less than $125,000. It would be paid for by small fee on financial transactions. Clements says a high school education is not enough to be employable. He says there is also a need to improve vocational education. Greenhouse Gasses One of Clements' sharpest attacks on Upton is on the subject of climate change. He says while the Republican Congressmen used to say that greenhouse gasses need to be regulated, Clements says now Upton has worked to block President Obama's climate action plan. Clements says the world is transitioning to clean energy, and the U.S. is falling behind in reducing greenhouse gasses. He says the combination of a trained workforce, and government purchasing can help increase demand for renewable energy. Clements says he favors taxing carbon emissions -- "if you're polluting you should help pay for the solution." Criminal Justice Reform Clements says criminal justice reform is necessary because the U.S. has 5% of the world's population, but 23% of prison population. He says it's expensive, and many people are locked up who aren't a threat. Clements says he favors drug, mental health and veterans court to address addiction and mental health issues.

By Jack Lessenberry Fred Upton was first elected to represent the Kalamazoo area in Congress in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was president and almost nobody was online. For many years afterward, the re-election of Mr. Upton, a Republican, was close to automatic. Democrats would nominate some hopeless challenger who would be blown away on Election Day. This was partly because, as a young professional in his district once said, "everybody likes Fred." The 61-year-old congressman -- who encourages just about everyone to call him Fred -- has an engaging personality. For much of his career in the House, he was seen as moderate and bipartisan on many issues. Nor did it hurt that he was an independently wealthy heir to part of the Whirlpool fortune, and a favorite of business executives. Campaign fund-raising was never a problem. Yet this year, something different is happening in Mr. Upton's district, which includes six counties tucked into Michigan's southwest corner. The powerful chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is facing his most seriously contested election ever. "Fred Upton is out of touch with this district," Paul Clements, the 53-year-old Democratic nominee, told me last week. "I think I could do a better job on the issues that matter most to people." Those issues are, he said, bringing more high-tech manufacturing to the district, making higher education more affordable, and protecting the environment. Tom Wilbur, the congressman's campaign manager, said the idea that Mr. Clements can do more in those areas than Mr. Upton is absurd. "The citizens of this district know that Fred is able to get the job done," Mr. Wilbur said. "Our opponent frankly doesn't know what it takes to create jobs, and frankly doesn't have the experience." Mr. Clements is a professor of political science at Western Michigan University and an expert on international development. He grew up in Hong Kong and India. He has been a Peace Corps volunteer and a consultant to both the U.S. government and the United Nations. But even if his domestic policy credentials are sketchy, there still are signs that Mr. Upton's hold on voters may be slipping. Two years ago, his Democratic challenger was Mike O'Brien, a manager of an office furniture company. Mr. Upton outspent him, $4 million to $294,000. Yet when the votes were counted, Mr. Upton won with 55 percent, the smallest margin of his career. He carried Kalamazoo County, the district's largest county, by only eight votes. Mr. Clements, who flirted with running two years ago, announced within weeks that he would challenge Mr. Upton this time. That may have seemed like a dubious decision. Midterm races are always harder for Democrats, because their voters are harder to turn out. Yet there are signs that Mr. Clements is connecting. Two weeks ago, Tom McDonald, the challenger's campaign manager, told me he had raised almost $700,000, far more than any Upton challenger has before. Then, the Clements campaign got astonishingly good news. Mayday, a political action committee created by Harvard University professor Lawrence Lessig, announced it was pouring $1.5 million into the race for TV ads designed to defeat Mr. Upton. Mayday, which is funded by thousands of small donors, is attacking Mr. Upton for accepting money from special-interest groups, and for voting against a bill designed to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare and Affordable Care Act patients. Still, it is hard to find anybody outside the Clements inner circle who thinks Mr. Upton will lose. The Detroit Free Press did not bother to mention the race when it endorsed U.S. House candidates. The congressman's staff dismisses the Mayday money as "an attempt by an out-of-town, out-of-touch eastern liberal group to confuse senior citizens." Even if Mr. Clements loses, however, the size of the margin may matter. Forty-two years ago, a brash young Democrat named Bob Carr took on another GOP incumbent in a Lansing district, in what turned out to be a very Republican year. Mr. Carr lost, but he made it surprisingly close. Two years later, the incumbent decided to retire. Mr. Carr ran again, won, and spent two decades in Congress. Mr. Clements said he would be open to the possibility of another run if a Carr-like scenario emerges. Sometimes races below the media radar can be the most interesting ones.

By Jim Dalgleish Until Wednesday, Susan Gilbert still had hopes of a wide-open, full-fledged debate between U.S. Rep. Fred Upton and his Democratic challenger before the Nov. 4 election. It isn't going to happen. Gilbert, the communications director for the League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties, said Upton has informed the nonpartisan organization he can't carve time into a busy schedule to face Paul Clements. "Absolutely we are dissapointed, and we think a lot of other people are," Gilbert said Wednesday in a phone interview. "People like debates. They like to see candidates answering questions in unrehearsed settings." Video of other League debates this fall, available through its website, show how lively and informative the events can be, she said. She said Upton, R-St. Joseph, has appeared for forums in Van Buren and Kalamazoo counties, but said such events were tightly formatted and little more than introductions to candidates. Furthermore, she said, Upton has a solid history of participating in League debates. Gilbert said the League recognizes that Upton, chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, has a full schedule. "But we know the congressman is quite adept at changing his schedule when things come up," she said. For example, she said, Upton cancelled the League's Oct. 16 debate with Clements at Lake Michigan College to attend an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Ebola in Washington, D.C. Upton campaign spokesman Tom Wilbur said the Ebola situation is still taking up Upton's time. "The Ebola situation quickly escalated, so Fred's involvement as the chairman of the House committee dealing with this evolving public health threat was of utmost importance," Wilbur said in an email Wednesday. "Fred participated in two public candidate forums, which included questions from voters, and he hoped to join in the League of Women Voters' event to share his efforts to encourage job creation and economic growth as well as his bipartisan work for speeding up the approval process to help find cures to diseases. "With less than two weeks until Election Day, Fred is busy meeting and listening directly with voters throughout Southwest Michigan." Clements said in a statement Wednesday "voters in the 6th District deserved an opportunity to hear both candidates discuss their competing visions for Michigan and America. To avoid a vigorous ideas-based debate is a disservice to the voters, and Congressman Upton's reluctance to debate demonstrates contempt or ambivalence for the democratic process. ... I would welcome Congressman Upton to reconsider his decision not to debate, and I will make myself available for the time of his choosing." Probe sought In other 6th District election news, the Democratic Party-aligned American Democracy Legal Fund has asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Upton violated federal law and House rules "by improperly threatening with retribution those who contributed to a super PAC that supports his challenger in the upcoming election," the organization announced in a Wednesday news release. The Huffington Post reported this week that Gary Andres, the Upton-hired staff director of the Energy and Commerce Committee, angrily called numerous Silicon Valley executives who had contributed money to Mayday PAC, a crowd-funded super PAC to target members of Congress who have not supported campaign finance reform. Upton has said he talked to several of the donors to inquire about why they donated. He said several expressed regrets and admitted they didn't understand what Mayday PAC was about. But Upton's campaign said there were no threats by Upton, Andres or his staff.