As a wife and mother, and Muskegon-area resident for nearly two decades, Mary Valentine has deep roots in West Michigan and a clear understanding of what matters most to our community.

Mary earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in speech therapy, and a master’s degree in education from Northern Michigan University. She worked as a speech therapist for over 30 years and retired from Reeths-Puffer Schools in 2006.

An active community member, Mary served as her church’s director of youth education and as a Sunday school teacher for 16 years. She is a member of Toastmasters International and facilitator for the Institute for Healing Racism. She has also led the Voter Integrity Team and organized and led voter registration drives. Through her community involvement, Mary has had the privilege of getting to know many Muskegon and Ottawa county families over the years. She knows that our communities are strong because West Michigan families know the value of hard work and pass it down from generation to generation.

During her first term in the House, Mary was a leading voice in the fight to stem the flow of Canadian and out-of-state trash into Michigan, create good-paying jobs for Michigan workers, increase investment in renewable energy and protect our Great Lakes. She also fought to protect families from foreclosure, hold big drug companies accountable when their drugs harm or kill and introduced a plan to crack down on human trafficking in Michigan. As Vice-Chair of the House Education Committee, Mary sponsored legislation to increase funding for the state's lowest-funded schools, hire more teachers and reduce our children’s class sizes. Mary will continue to be a strong, independent voice for initiatives that strengthen our community and neighborhoods.

She will work hard to fight for initiatives that support Muskegon and Ottawa counties’ working families and create jobs now.