jews in the d
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scription drugs by negotiating with phar-
maceutical companies and eliminating
the law that prohibits Michigan citizens
from suing pharmaceutical companies
when they are hurt by a drug. Michigan
is the only state that has such a law.
Q: What about the opioid epidemic?
GW: Michigan’s far behind what other
states are doing. The National Governors
Association has promulgated a boiler
forward to building on some of the great
things that Gov. Snyder has done in
creating partnerships with Israel. There’s
so much potential there — especially
around water — and I’m excited about
that. There’s not a finer manager, innova-
tor or steward of water than Israel.
Q: Can you speak to the recent con-
troversy at University of Michigan,
where a BDS-supporting professor
“We can keep fi xing our cars or we can get
serious about a real infrastructure plan …
And that’s what I put on the table.”
— GRETCHEN WHITMER
plate set of policies that all states should
have embraced by now.
We need to declare a state of emer-
gency and marshal the resources to
attack this problem. We need a statewide
database that is routinely checked by
the writers of prescriptions. We need to
ensure that there’s treatment for people
who have substance abuse problems, that
there are alternatives for pain manage-
ment that are affordable and covered,
and that we have a robust mental health
support system.
Q: Can you share the vetting process
you used for selecting your running
mate Garlin Gilchrist?
GW: I asked four people to help me
in that process: Mark Bernstein, Warren
Evans, Barbara McQuade and former
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. They
suggested potential running mates to me
that they had vetted, and an outside pro-
fessional group ran background checks.
Garlin has some tweets from nine
years ago that created a lot of consterna-
tion — legitimately so — in the Jewish
community. As a youthful Twitter
user, he waded into geopolitical issues
in which he was not particularly well
versed.
I know him as the man he is today,
and we’ve talked a lot about this. I know
where his heart and mind are. Those
tweets from nine years ago, as offensive
as they are to so many people, are not
reflective of who he is now.
He’s recognized the stress he has cre-
ated and has reached out to make sure
people know who he is and where his
mind and heart are today.
Israel is important to me, too. I’m
proud of my unwavering support for
the state of Israel as a legislator. I look
14
October 18 • 2018
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refused a student a recommendation
letter solely because she wanted to study
in Israel?
GW: I’d be very upset as a parent if
that happened to my child. Frankly, I
think the BDS movement is an affront
to the work that we’ve done here in
Michigan. I supported the legislation
that the governor signed into law [in
2017, which prohibits boycotts against
individuals or a public entity of a foreign
state]. It’s unfortunate that this profes-
sor’s views are standing in the way of an
academic opportunity for a student at
U-M.
Q: Final thoughts?
GW: I don’t want to just win an elec-
tion here. I want to govern. I want to set
an agenda that fixes problems, and we
need to bring everyone to the table to be
successful. We need to elect a governor
who knows how to cross the aisle and
build coalitions to solve problems. I did
that as the Democratic leader in the
Senate with Gov. Snyder when it came to
Medicaid expansion.
I worked very hard during my time in
the legislature to stay true to my values
but always seek to work with anyone
who wanted to solve a problem. I believe
that we have to get to a place where we
can have different people sitting around
a table, Republicans and Democrats, to
work through the problems we confront
as a state and make this a place where
people come for opportunity again.
In a political environment where there
are so many people quick to demonize
one another and talk about dividing us
through building walls, we’ve got to get
back to building bridges, and that’s why
I chose the Mackinac Bridge as a symbol
for my campaign. ■
BS: First, let me say the tax cuts of
the administration have been a great
economic booster for Michigan. The
fact that we have our lowest unemploy-
ment rate in decades reflects that. Tax
cuts mean more jobs, which has result-
ed in Ram truck production coming
from Mexico to Michigan.
The Trump administration is trying
to rebalance trading relationships with
tariffs. I believe the president’s trying
to fight for manufacturing jobs in this
state and across the Midwest. It’s a deli-
cate process, and I’m watching.
Q: How would you retain and attract
people to our state?
BS: Michigan needs to broaden
and deepen our pool of talent, which
means growing our population. To
continue on this path [losing popula-
tion] is not sustainable. I’m an optimist
about Michigan’s future. But the fact
is we have an aging demographic.
We don’t have enough young people
coming here. If we don’t improve our
economic climate, our population will
continue to shrink; we’ll lose represen-
tatives in Congress; and Michigan will
become a less significant state. Every
county will need to have a growth plan
in terms of building jobs.
We need to cut auto insurance rates,
crackdown on insurance fraud and
give people in Michigan a real choice.
We have the highest auto insurance
rates in America, $1,000 more than
anywhere else. That has to end.
We also have to improve our
schools. Only about 35 percent of
Michigan’s third-graders are proficient
in reading. We should be up in arms
about that! I’m going to have a literacy
where a BDS-supporting professor
refused a student a recommendation
letter solely because she wanted to
study in Israel?
BS: Michigan has a responsibility in
terms of disavowing BDS. I appreciat-
ed how Gov. Snyder and the Michigan
legislature passed anti-BDS legislation.
That was a positive step.
Free speech is one of the corner-
stones of what this country was built
on; but this professor did it solely
because of his animus toward Israel.
It’s disturbing, shameful and wrong.
People can do and say what they
want — this is America. But the way
that he handled this issue, I think, is
wrong. Leaders must set an example,
whether you’re at an institution like the
University of Michigan or an elected
leader.
I lead by example, such as choosing
my lieutenant governor Lisa Lyons,
who has great experience in the legis-
lature, is solid on education, and really
smart and dynamic.
Q: Final thoughts?
The next governor of Michigan sets
an example of leadership and judg-
ment on making the economic policy
decisions needed so our state can grow.
That’s why I’m running for governor. I
want to grow our state.
I’ve been to Israel when I was a con-
gressman, and I had a perfect AIPAC
score. The strategic relationship
between the United States and Israel,
our most reliable and most strategi-
cally important ally, is important. I’ve
been a strong supporter of moving
the capital to Jerusalem since I was
in the federal government, and I was
“Michigan needs to broaden and
deepen our pool of talent, which
means growing our population.”
— BILL SCHUETTE
director in the governor’s office. We’ll
grade our schools and reward those
showing improvement in reading with
grants.
We also need a greater emphasis on
skilled trades and apprenticeship. We
have to be competitive in every aspect
of economic development. The eco-
nomic climate will grow our state.
Q: Can you speak to the recent
controversy at University of Michigan,
opposed to the Iran treaty. I’m also
alarmed by the rise of anti-Semitism
we’re experiencing in this country.
We’ve seen it here in Michigan. It’s dis-
turbing. It’s wrong.
Michigan has rebounded, but we
are still 300,000 jobs short of where
we were before the Great Recession. I
want more jobs and bigger paychecks,
and I’m for cutting taxes. ■