Term limits prevent Chris Kolb, Ann Arbor's current state representative, from seeking another term. Three candidates are seeking to fill the vacant seat for state House from the 53rd district: Democratic nominee Rebekah Warren, Republican Erik Sheagren and socialist Matt Erard.

After defeating City Council member Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3) in the August primary, Rebekah Warren is the heir apparent to Kolb's seat. The 53rd district leans heavily Democratic, and Warren is all but certain to be elected.

That's not a bad thing, because Warren will bring more than a dozen years of experience in Lansing to her new job. Most recently, Warren has worked as the executive director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan. Prior to that, she completed stints on the staffs of two legislators, where she focused her efforts on appropriations committees. That experience in particular means that Warren likely already understands the state budget better than many sitting representatives.

At a time when increasing the number of college graduates is essential for getting the state out of its economic difficulties, Warren will be a strong advocate for higher education. She understands the necessity of finding a solution to the state's structural budget deficit and finding a way to provide health care to the state's uninsured, while also stressing the importance of long-term initiatives such as improved public transit in making Michigan a more desirable place to live.

Warren's Republican opponent is Erik Sheagren, a self-employed landscaper with no political experience save for a failed run for the same seat in 2004. Politically, he is one of the more conservative voices running for state office this fall. For instance, rather than replacing roughly half of the revenue generated by the state's Single Business Tax, as Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos would do, Sheagren would cut it all. Sheagren's positions often aren't practical, and scarcely reflect the views of this community.

Sheagren main goal in running, though, is to give conservative voters in Ann Arbor a chance to voice their views on the ballot. He's running in a district that he has little chance of winning because no one else would. While we might not agree with much of what Sheagren has to say, we do agree with him that voters deserve a choice, and we commend him for stepping up to give them one.

LSA senior Matt Erard is also challenging Warren. He'll be on the ballot without a party designation, because his party - the Socialist Party of Michigan, which he chairs - doesn't have ballot access. Erard hopes to use the office of state representative to promote his views, which include public ownership of the means of production. While this page has certainly had its problems from time to time with the effects of the capitalist system, we don't call for its complete destruction. Erard does.

Of the three candidates running to replace Chris Kolb, only REBEKAH WARREN has the right combination of experience and ideas, and the Daily endorses her for state representative from the 53rd district.