Michigan Political Week in Review
On Thursday, as part of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 30th annual Mackinac Policy conference, all seven gubernatorial candidates appeared on stage together for the first time to engage in a lively, politically charged debate. Spending reforms, labor unions, taxes, and a second bridge to Canada were among the topics discussed. On a low note, personal jabs were exchanged, primarily between Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Rick Snyder. On a high note, all seven candidates agreed that Great Lakes drilling is a bad idea.
As the event came to a close, the loudest applause was for former Michigan Governor (and our honorary board chair) William G. Milliken, who was in the audience. Milliken said the debate helped him narrow down his choices to 2-3 (yet undisclosed) candidates. Apparently, most Michiganders are having a harder time deciding. Here’s the latest polling:
From EPIC-MRA:
Primary Election Matchup (Dems)
A. Dillon 29%
V. Bernero 23
Undec 48
Primary Election Matchup (GOPers)
- Now 3/31 2/25 1/26 10/15
P. Hoekstra 30% 27% 27% 25% 29%
M. Cox 18 21 21 32 28
R. Snyder 17 15 12 3 3
M. Bouchard 16 13 10 16 14
T. George 2 3 1 2 2
Other n/a 3 3 n/a n/a
Undec 17 18 26 22 24
From Public Policy Polling:
Primary Election Matchup (Dems)
- All Men Wom Wht Blk Oth
V. Bernero 26% 31% 23% 27% 20% 56%
A. Dillon 23 24 22 21 30 11
Undec 51 45 55 52 50 33
Primary Election Matchup (GOPers)
- All Men Wom
R. Snyder 20% 25% 15%
P. Hoekstra 19 22 16
M. Cox 17 21 12
M. Bouchard 15 11 20
T. George 9 7 11
Undec 20 14 27
And former Congressman Joe Schwarz, who was considering a run for governor as an independent, has officially decided not to run.
In The New York Times ...
In related news, a Friday New York Times article (featuring a quote from our very own Kerry Duggan) highlighted how critical this year’s gubernatorial election will be in terms of defining Michigan’s clean energy future. The article pointed out the huge efforts Governor Granholm has made toward creating a climate-friendly Michigan, (including the creation of the Michigan Climate Action Council, the passage of an RPS, and the stringent coal-plant permitting process she implemented), and stressed the fact that the next governor could effectively reverse all of the energy policy Granholm implemented. Of the gubernatorial candidates, Dillon, Cox, and Hoekstra have all publicly announced their intentions to move ahead with the construction of new coal plants. Do you need any further motivation to get to the polls this fall?
Other Elections …
Click HERE to find out who’s running for office in your area. It’s an impressive list; Michigan’s 15 Congressional seats, 38 state senate seats, and 110 state house seats are all up for re-election this year.
And for baseball fans: Governor Granholm issued a proclamation on Wednesday declaring that Armando Galarraga did in fact pitch a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. While the proclamation won’t actually overturn umpire Jim Joyce’s botched call, it is one of the first actions from the governor in a while to garner bipartisan support.
Federal News:
As oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, in spite of a cap that was installed over the leaking oil well on Friday, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow has promised that the Great Lakes will never be subjected to the fate that the Gulf is now facing. Stabenow promised on Wednesday to uphold the moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes. President Obama issued a moratorium on new deepwater oil drilling last month.
In other Great Lakes news, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it had narrowed down the applications requesting funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), and Michigan is poised to receive as much as $63 million for Great Lakes restoration. This is great news for our beaches, as well as our economy; it's estimated that Great Lakes states can double the return on every dollar invested in Great Lakes restoration.
Our Executive Director Lisa Wozniak and Deputy Director Kerry Duggan will be in Washington, D.C., this week to attend a National LCV event. Look for updates from our nation’s capital.
--- Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Comments
HB5999
I've been researching fireworks online, including accidents, injuries, deaths and POLLUTION. It appears that the disposal of fireworks is a big problem -- if, in fact, people who set them off bother to pick up the debris at all. If Michigan passes HB5999 allowing the sale of current "illegal" fireworks to the general public (in an effort to make money on additional sales taxes, etc.), who is going to clean up the mess left on our beaches, in our lakes and streams. Has this been considered in the fiscal analysis of the bill?
Nicole