Up North, the hills are full of the sound of politics -- legislative, gubernatorial and, especially this week, congressional.

Last week, term-limited state Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) moved into the district of retiring U.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee); filed campaign papers with the Federal Election Commission, and planned this week to declare as a candidate for the vacancy created by Stupak's decision not to seek a 10th term.

"The moving trucks are at my home as we speak," Allen, who at the time was in a swirl of activity in Petoskey, said Friday by phone of his move to a rented house in tiny Alanson in Emmet County, which is one of the seven counties that he now represents among the 31 that are in Stupak's district.

After encountering some of his opponents at events over the weekend, Allen (R-Alanson) announced Monday as a candidate for the seat.

In his formal announcement, first made at a 7:30 a.m. event in Marquette before going to Sault Ste. Marie, Cheboygan, and Alpena, he said:

"I am running for Congress because I am concerned about the direction the country is headed. We have runaway government spending, a government takeover of health care that we cannot afford, illegals and terrorists who get better treatment by our government than our citizens, and a job crisis in northern Michigan that is more severe than almost anywhere else in the nation. Michigan's economy is hurting, especially in the First Congressional District, and we need to get the government out of the way of creating permanent jobs, and not just shovelready projects."

In an interview, he noted that some communities in the district have a jobless rate of about 21%.

Over the weekend, Allen shared a platform in Cheboygan with two Republican primary opponents, Dan Benishek and Don Hooper, and in Sault Ste. Marie with a Democratic contender, Gary McDowell. Allen opened a campaign headquarters in Petoskey. On Friday, he had moved out of his longtime residence in Traverse City, which is not in the district, to the rented house just north of Petoskey.

How important was Allen's move?

State Senator Jim Barcia (DBay City), an Allen friend and former congressman who considered running for the seat but declined because he would have to move a mile to be in the district, said Allen's move was crucial to avoid the carpetbagger label even though the only constitutional requirement is to be a resident of Michigan.

Barcia also gave me an apt description of representing the sprawling district that, geographically, includes almost half of Michigan and is the second-largest east of the Mississippi: "It's like being U.S. senator in a small state."

Allen, chairman of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, faces at least three primary opponents. The most aggressive, based on fundraising, campaign activity, and media attention, to date, is Dan Benishek of Iron River, a longtime practicing surgeon in Iron Mountain who on Friday began a month-long tour of the Lower Peninsula portion of the district.

Among Democrats in the mix are two state representatives who had planned to run for the state Senate but got into the congressional race after Stupak's decision -- Gary McDowell of Rudyard and Joel Sheltrown of West Branch.

Benishek, who declared as a candidate before Stupak said he would not run again, said:

"Well, I've got news for career politicians: Northern Michigan knows the difference between a candidate that is looking to change Washington and a candidate that is looking to change their own fortunes."

Among the latest gubernatorial candidates to hit northern trails is Congressman Pete Hoekstra of Holland, who leads in the quest for Republican nomination in some polls.

Hoekstra, who periodically biked about his district during his nine terms in Congress, planned on Sunday to make a half-hour peddle from Carp Lake to Mackinaw City with Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox, who seeks the Republican nomination to replace term-limited House Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer (RKewadin) in the 105th District. Hoekstra and Lennox also scheduled a Gaylord town hall forum.

Gubernatorial Watch

In their first gubernatorial primary debate, candidates of both parties who want to lead a severely economically depressed state understandably focused on economic issues -- how best to add jobs, balance budgets, and otherwise fix economic woes.

So it was when three Democrats jousted in Detroit April 18 in a forum at the state party convention, and when five Republican candidates clashed April 21 at a party-sponsored televised debate at Michigan State University.

But cheers to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), a notable political player nationally and in Michigan, for a timely April 22 reminder, on the 40th celebration of Earth Day, to the candidates on importance of also developing environmental agendas.

In submitting a proposed environmental agenda to the candidates, the organization said:

"Our great state is at a crossroads, with both our economy and our natural resources hanging in the balance. In order to rebuild our economy and put our world class manufacturing base back to work, Michigan must lead in the industries of the future and invest in the protection of all that defines our state: our Great Lakes and unmatched natural resources, the foundation of our state's wealth."

Michigan LCV Education Fund Executive Director Lisa Wozniak said:

"In Michigan, we are facing a $920 million budget deficit, but we are still spending more than $20 billion every year importing energy resources. Tourism is one of our top-three revenue producers, yet our state parks are so underfunded that they need over $341 million just for basic infrastructure updates. We spend millions on our 'Pure Michigan' ads, but our beaches are threatened by greedy developers, and industrial pollution in urban areas and toxic chemicals in our environment threaten the health of all Michiganders.

"It's time to embrace a clean, efficient energy economy that will support job creation, as well as limit carbon pollution. It's time to permanently protect from development our most beautiful wild places, so they can be enjoyed for generations to come. It's time to walk the walk of 'Pure Michigan.'"

Legislative Watch

From the minds of legislative babes can come wisdom. Freshman Representative Dan Scripps (D-Leland) co-sponsored a threepart plan passed last week by the Michigan House of Representatives to save $4.8 million in taxpayer dollars by consolidating administrative services in the House and Senate and modifying employee benefit plans.

"It's far past time that Lansing does right by our residents by sharing in the sacrifice and learning to live within its means," said Scripps. "Passing this plan is a big step toward eliminating wasteful spending and creating the smaller state government that focuses on issues that truly matter to our residents."

One part of his plan combines the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies into one entity that serves both chambers.

One such entity works well in Washington with the Congressional Budget Office.

George Weeks retired in 2006 after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.