In his inaugural address Jan. 1, Governor Rick Snyder declared “the birth of a new chapter in Michigan’s history” as well as a “reinvention of Michigan,” but some are saying, not so fast.
The reinvention Snyder talked about on the campaign trail might be easier said than done according to Professor Edward Sidlow, who teaches political science at Eastern Michigan University.
“My general opinion is that he is a bright and successful guy,” Sidlow said. “Although I don’t know that his campaign necessarily offered a realistic assessment of the environment he is going to have to work in.”
Sidlow went on to add the path Snyder made from CEO to governor was nothing new.
“We can go back to former Governor George Romney or look at Mayor Bloomberg in New York, there was also Dick DeVos who led a failed campaign against Jennifer Granholm.”
Despite the professor’s opinion of the newly elected governor, Michiganders in general are more optimistic, according to a poll by The Detroit News.
Around 35 percent of voters think Michigan is on the right track, and although the figure is still low, it is up from 21 percent in August.
Snyder also seems to have the blessing and goodwill from the polls, which shows 52 percent of respondents having a favorable impression of the governor.
The new Republican governor even has more positive ratings among Democrats than negative ratings.
“He is not a crazy ideologue, but since he held no public office before the election, it is hard to discern how he will act now,” said freshman Nino Monea, who identifies himself as a liberal. “After all, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected as a Republican with no prior experience and turned out to be liberal on a number of issues.”
Like Sidlow, Monea also had a more tempered response about the governor and his campaign promises.
“I don’t expect him to get Michigan unemployment down to 5 percent within his term, but I hope he makes the decisions and investments necessary to reach that goal in the future,” Monea said.
Along with reinventing Michigan, Snyder promised to avoid partisan squabbling and find bipartisan ways to fix Michigan’s many problems, most significantly its looming $1.85 billion budget shortfall.
Snyder’s choice for state treasurer, former Democratic speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Andy Dillon, seems to be a testament to that promise.
“Andy Dillon was my Congressman before he became the treasurer, and I don’t remember him showing any particular skill for budgeting,” Monea said, issuing some skepticism about the governor’s promises. “Perhaps he has some unknown economic background, but it strikes me as a move to try and bring Democrats into his administration so that he can claim that he is bipartisan.”
Snyder has already shown to have a working relationship with Democrats, such as Detroit’s mayor Dave Bing, who emceed Snyder’s inauguration.
“I think we’re on the same page when it comes to Detroit and Michigan,” Bing said. “We both agree that there’s no way the state will be a great state without Detroit being a great city. So we’ve got to focus on Detroit — it won’t be the only city he focuses on — but we are the largest city in the state. I think we’re the epicenter of the whole Midwest, quite frankly. We cannot just sit back and hope that things are going to change in Detroit,” said Bing.
The Democratic challenger to Snyder in the recent election also echoed support for the newly elected governor.
“If he’s got a good idea to move the state forward, I’ll be the first one cheering for it,” Virg Bernero said.
The wide range of support among Democrats and independents is something observers say Snyder will need as he might have to buck his own party to fix problems like the budget.
