The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, October 24, 1978-Page 9
U I
Will 'Mr. Nice Guy' finish first?
I
YOUR TICKET
POPULAR MUSIC
TO THE BEST
SELECTION IN
JAZZ
ANN
AND
ARBOR
(Continued from Page 1)
tenure will become the longest of any'
governor's in Michigan history, and he
will become, the second most senior
governor in the nation.
MILLIKEN'S incumbency, despite
the state's Democratic majority, is un-
deniably strong.
-Ninety-seven per cent of the state's
voters know the former Traverse City
department store owner's name;
-The National Governors'
Association last year selected Milliken
as its chairman, and this year rated
him the most influential governor in the
U.S. He is mentioned frequently as a
contender for the 1980 GOP presidential
nomination;
-Most Michigan voters, party af-
filiation aside, have an unshakeable
image of Milliken as a nice guy.
THAT IMAGE, and Milliken'.s
reputation for.honesty, have made him
popular, and have set him free to take
strong stands on. heavily disputed
issues.
During the 1970 campaign, for instan-
ce, Milliken favored public aid for
parochial schools, despite his suppor-
ters warnings that the stand might cost
him the election.
Milliken didn't budge, and he nosed
out Democratic challenger Sander
Levin to win his first full term.
BUT DESPITE Milliken's successes,
he is by no means - and never has been
- absolutely secure in the state's
political structure.
He moved to the job from lieutenant
governor when Governor George Rom-
ney became President Nixon's
secretary for housing and urban
development in 1969. In 1970 and 1974,
he won narrow races with Levin, whose
brother Carl is now the Democratic
candidatefor the U.S. Senate.
This year, Fitzgerald is threatening
Milliken's lead in the polls, and another
close finish seems fairly certain.
FITZGERALD has pounded away at
Milliken's record, acknowledging that
he is a nice guy, but adding quickly that
an effective governor needs more than
a good disposition. Fitzgerald said his
opponent's long tenure means not that
he is best equipped to handle the job,
but that it's time for new blood.
And to capitalize on his contention
that Milliken may well be a nice guy;
but doesn't have the aggressiveness to
handle Michigan's problems, the state
senator has focused persistently on the
governor's vulnerable spot - the PBB
calamity.
PBB, the toxic fire retardant that was
accidentally mixed into state cattle
feed in 1973, has haunted the governor
for nearly five years. His critics - Fit-
zgerald most notably - say he failed to
ct quickly and deal forthrightly with
the poisoning.
MILLIKEN'S response to Fit-
zgerald's attacks have been uncharac-
teristically harsh. Some see that as an
acknowledgement that Milliken is a
front-runner on the defensive, and must
dispel the idea that a mild manner and
being governor don't go hand in hand.
Milliken's staff issued a booklet en-
titled "Campaign '78: Myths and
Realities." It sharply refutes the
"gross distortions" of the Fitzgerald
campaign. The booklet's introduction
says, in part, "William Fitzgerald is
playing too fast and too loose with the
truth. He is not only distorting his own
record and Governor Milliken's record;
he is maligning Michigan."'
Before Fitzgerald dumped his con-
troVersial PBB-related radio spot,
Milliken said it brought the state
senator's campaign to "a new low in
Michigan politics." The advertisement
implied that PBB causes birth defects,
cancer, and other problems in humans.
MILLIKEN began his own television
and radio commericals last week,
denouncing Fitzgerald's "irrespon-
sible" advertising.
Milliken said that, contrary to some
suggestions, "I didn't sneak in in the
middle of the night and do the mixing
myself."
But, the Yale graduate added, given
the benefit of hindsight he would not
have relied so heavily on the advice and
standards of the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration (FDA) when setting
tolerance levels for the poison in
Michigan livestock. ie also said if he
had communicated more with the
public about how he was handling the
PBB aftermath, claims of his inaction
could be quickly dismissed.
"THERE IS currently a perception
that not very much was done in the
early stages," he stated. "The fact of
the matter is, an awful lot was being
done in the early stages - the quaran-
teening of the farms (took place) within
a week after PBB was discovered."
In responding to complaints that he is
weak and indecisive in areas aside
from PBB, Milliken pointed to what he
calls "the best test of leadership" - his
record.
"In terms of educational progress in
this state and environmental progress
in this state, the management of gover-
nment under very difficult circumstan-
ces, if you look at the ability of a gover-
nor and a legislature who in recent
years have been of different political
parties, and their ability to work
cooperatively. . . I think you will have
to say that these years have been pretty
good years for Michigan," he main-
tained. -
MILLIKEN SAID one of his most im-
portant accomplishments has been to
bring jobs to the state. He proudly said
that in the last two years, nearly 500,000
people have been added to Michigan's
work force.
As for the three tax proposalstoap-
pear on the state ballot, Milliken -
mirroring his challenger - supports
the Headlee amendment, which would
limit state taxes to their present per-
centage of personal income.
"Clearly we are and already have en-
tered an age of limits," he said. "It is
rather important to relate. . . expen-
ditures in the future to the ability to
support those expenditures through in-
come growth."
Milliken warned that if the Tisch
measure passes, it will evolve from a
tax cut into a tax shift and thus mean
hard times for the state's public ser-
vices. After waffling for months on his
feelings about the voucher plan,
Milliken announced in mid-October that
he will not vote for it because he is con-
cerned about the "uncertainty"
surrounding how the "enormous shift of
funding would be handled."
Milliken, like his challenger, opposes
Proposal D, which would raise the
state's legal drinking age to 21. That
stand and his support for lowering the
penalties for marijuana possession are
probably among the reasons why the
Michigan Conservative Union gives
him low marks. The group, in a report
released last week, said the Republican
gave his support to only six per cent of
key conservative issues.
ONE ISSUE the candidates argue
over is abortion. Milliken, unlike the
Irish Catholic Fitzgerald, has stated his
belief that women have the right to
choose abortion. that may explain why
Milliken has gained support in the
traditionally Democratic Detroit area,
and why Fitzgerald is faring better
than anticipated in conservative out-
state communities.
Milliken, suddenly an old-timer in a
race against a man 20 years his junior,
is confident.
"I've never thought of myself as the
older guard," he remarked. "Maybe
I've gone beyond the field, but I used to
be referred to as a young turk."
BOLD
Dave Van Ronk
Appearing at the
"UNION STREET BAR"
Monday, Oct. 23 &
Tuesday, Oct. 24
4145 Woodward, Detroit
near Wayne State University
For info: 831-3965
EN TERTAI NMENT
FRONT
BROWSER
OCT; 21978
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RIGHT THROUGH YOUR
I
V1
T HIS WEEK
COFFEE HOUSE: latest in student talent and entertain-
men. University Club. Tuesday, Oct. 24, 8 p.m., FREE. UNION
PROGRAMMING
DEBATE ON CURRENT ECONOMIC ISSUES: with
Robert LeKachman, professor at City University of New York
& Allen H. Meltzer, professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
LeKachman, whose latest work is "Economists at Bay, Why the
Experts Will Never Solve Your Problems," will promote liberal
view and Mr. Meltzer the conservative. Wednesday, Oct. 25,
8 p.m. General Admission, VIEWPOINT LECTURE SERIES
GEORGE LEWIS: SOLO CONCERT for trombone and live
electronics. East Quad Residential College. Friday, Oct. 27,
8 and 10:30 p.m. $2.50 General Admission. Tickets on sale
day of the show: ECLIPSE JAZZ
SENIOR YEAR.
If you're a junior or a senior majoring in math, physics or
engineering, the Navy has a program you should know about.
It's called the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate-
Collegiate Program (NUPOC-C for short) and if you qualify,
you can earn as 'much as $650 a month right through your
senior year. Then after 16 weeks of Officer Candidate School,
you'll receive an additional year of advanced technical
education. This would cost you thousands in a civilian school,
but in the Navy, we pay you. And at the end of the year of
training, you'll receive a $3,000 cash bonus.
It isn't easy. There are fewer than 400 openings and only
one of every six applicants will be selected. But if you make
it, you'll have qualified for an elite engineering training
program. With unequaled hands-on responsibility, a $24,000
salary in four years, and gilt-edged qualifications for jobs
in private industry should you decide to leave the Navy
later. (But we don't think you'll want to.)
Ask your placement officer to set up an interview with a
Navy representative when he visits the campus on Oct. 26,
ANN ARBOR JAZZ WORKSHOP:
visation instruction. Beginners, Saturday,
FREE, ECLIPSE JAZZ
Theory and impro-
Oct. 28, 3:30-5:30.
SLUETH: Thursday, Oct. 26, 9:30, Michigan Union
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 27-28,
7:00 and 10:20, Nat. Sci. Aud.
CASABLANCA: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 27-28, 8:30 only,
Nat. Sci. Aud. MEDIATRICS
BARTENDING: Learn how. Mon., Oct. 30, 6-8:30 p.m.,
$15.00. Sign up at Ticket Central. UNION PROGRAMMING
HOMECOMING EVENTS:
TOM WAITS & LEON REDBONE Concert: Oct. 24, Hill Aud.,
8:00 p.m.
EVAN SCHOLAR'S CAR BASH: Wed., Oct. 25, DIAG, 3:00 p.m.
BEER OLYMPICS: Theta Delta Chi, Thurs., Oct. 26, 700 S.
State St., 7:30 p.m.
PEP RALLY with UM Marching Band, Bo Schembechler & Bob
Ufer. Fri., Oct. 27, 7:00 p.m., DIAG
or contact your Navy representative at 313-226-7789 (collect).
If you prefer, send your resume to the Navy Nuclear Officer
Program, Code 312-B537, 4015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
Va. 22203, and a Navy representative will contact you directly.
The NUPOC-Collegiate Program. It can do more than help
rn T;,ni b onllna. n" lnd i-_n no n ax-of~iarnoar nnnnrfir-