Freedom Teams Tour: Howell

Tom Barrett

State Senator

Sen. Tom Barrett was elected to the Michigan Senate in November 2018 to represent the 24th District. Barrett serves as chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and as a member of the committees on Appropriations; Energy and Technology; Families, Seniors, and Veterans; Insurance and Banking; and Judiciary and Public Safety. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he serves as chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs/State Police subcommittee.

John Tamny

Director of the Center for Economic Freedom

John Tamny is Director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks. He’s also editor of RealClearMarkets and a senior economic adviser to ​​Toreador Research & Trading. Tamny frequently writes about the securities markets, along with tax, trade and monetary policy issues that impact those markets for a variety of publications including the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Financial Times, National Review and London’s Daily Telegraph. His latest book, The End of Work, was released in May. Tamny contends that the definition of “work” is rapidly evolving such that more and more people are able to showcase their unique skills and intelligence in the marketplace. His view is that joy is rapidly replacing dread in the workplace. He’s also the author of Who Needs the Fed? (Encounter Books, 2016) and Popular Economics (Regnery, 2015).

Merissa Hamilton

Grassroots Director

Merissa Hamilton has worked with elected officials at all levels of government on essential reforms to stop bad government in its tracks, protecting individual liberty and personal responsibility. In 2020, she ran for Phoenix mayor, resulting in the highest number of votes for a non-incumbent in City history. Merissa previously served as the Chair of the Policing Sub-Committee on the Arizona Legislature’s Ad Committee on Criminal Justice and Director of Constituent Services for Councilman Sal DiCiccio at the City of Phoenix. She co-founded Strong Communities Action with an initiative called EZAZ.org, making civic action easy as pie so that citizens can effectively influence their government with just 15 minutes a week to save their state.