Michigan Political Week in Review: Nov. 1-8

It's difficult to write a Political Week in Review when facing the prospect of summarizing a seismic shift in the political make up of the state and nation.

All the same, my brief attempt at doing so is the following: A national surge of voter discontent and apathy washed over the entirety of Michigan and resulted in a total Republican sweep of state government and, unfortunately, the loss of many of Michigan’s key conservation champions. Still, we are pressing forward with cautious optimism.

The Lost Causes

Our endorsement page provides a quick snapshot of how some of Michigan’s best environmental leaders fared, though it isn’t pretty. For Republicans, however, it was a triumphant night. They took back the majority in the State House, earned a supermajority in the State Senate, won the U.S. House, and captured the Michigan Governor’s Mansion.

For Michigan LCV, as a non-partisan organization, the night was painful in terms of the defeats suffered by so many good friends and allies. Mark Schauer’s loss is particularly difficult given his principled stand for climate protection and green job creation. The fact that he was overrun by a misleading, negative campaign by a Dirty Dozen member only makes it tougher to stomach.

On the Supreme Court, Bob “Bottle our Great Lakes” Young was returned to the bench over a Northern Michigan Appellate Judge, Alton Thomas Davis, who understands that environmental laws exist to be enforced and not twisted into oblivion. Of course, conservation stalwarts like Dan Scripps, Sarah Roberts, and David LaGrand all experienced unfortunate defeats, as well.

The Cause for the Losses

Throughout all this mayhem, there is one sure lesson: When voters who care about these issues stay home, Michigan suffers. Before the election, the Secretary of State estimated a turnout of 3.8 million. Less than 3.3 million voted. In Kent County, where Grand Rapids was poised to elect a host of strong conservation candidates, turnout was down 12% from the last midterm election and down 24% from 2008. In Wayne County, the area in most need of environmental justice protection, only 39% of voters turned out to vote.

The Democratic candidates were burdened throughout the campaign with the inability of the Obama administration to define its successes over the past two years. In that vacuum of positive news, a recession-plagued state grew impatient for the change they were promised. Republicans, on the other hand, were fortunate to have Rick Snyder pulling moderate votes into their column at the same time that a national conservative resurgence pulled Tea Partiers to the polls. It proved to be an unstoppable combination.

The Cause for Optimism

Rick Snyder, the Governor-elect, has the future of this great state fully in his hands. As Virg Bernero said in his concession speech Tuesday night, Snyder can either govern in the model of Governor Milliken or Governor Engler. If Snyder chooses the Milliken option, as he consistently promised throughout the campaign, Michigan can hope for the resurrection of the Pure Michigan campaign, protection of our Great Lakes, and an expansion of clean energy entrepreneurship. The Engler option, however, will set our state back decades in terms of conservation priorities and green job creation. We are cautiously optimistic that Snyder will choose the former.

The Great Cause

The environmental community’s greatest challenge over the next two years will be reminding the new members of the Legislature and the Congress that conservation, and the accompanying jobs, are not partisan issues. The false dichotomy of "jobs vs. environment" is symbolic of the polemical mudslinging that characterized the whole of this last election cycle. It must end now. Here at Michigan LCV, this is something we have consistently advocated and will do so now more than ever.

Coming up next

As we move away from the elections, please be sure to regularly check in with our sister organization --- the Michigan LCV Education Fund --- for updates like this one on pending and active legislation. This upcoming lame duck session in the Legislature promises to feature a number of important bills regarding Michigan’s environment and sustainable economic development.

Appointments and leadership decisions are going to continue to roll out quickly. It is reported that Snyder is seriously considering the option of appointing former Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon as State Treasurer. Michigan LCV endorsed against Dillon in his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination this election cycle due to his support of coal plant expansion and his unwillingness to take a stand on key conservation issues during his time as speaker.

In the State Senate, the Democrats selected Gretchen Whitmer as minority leader (lifetime LCV score of 95%) and the Republicans chose Randy Richardville to serve as the majority leader (lifetime LCV score of 29%).

On the other side of the Capitol, Jase Bolger (lifetime LCV score of 39%) is poised to be the next Speaker of the House. Stay tuned to our blog for more news on these appointments as they are made.

Until next week,

Ryan Werder, Political Director

P.S. For more on Michigan LCV's reactions to the election in various news outlets across the state, see our recent blog post on the subject.