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LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 5, 1998 - 5A

Engler outlines plan for final term as Michigan's leader

ENGLER
Continued from Page IA
first year and S176 in 2004. It would reduce state revenue by
$2.6 billion over five years. During debate on the proposal
earlier this year, Democrats called the bills an election-year
stunt, and contended that the state could not afford another
tax cut without defining where the money was going to be
taken from.
"I can remember having to cut the
budget upwards of a billion dollars, "I fthik hi
and it's not a fun exercise," state Sen.
Joe Conroy (D-Flint) said at the time. act i refi
"It's pretty difficult to do when you
have to tell higher education that debate s i
there's not going to be any (funding)
increases." his rue c1
Republicans contend that with a
growing economy, there would be no Defeated
crunch on the state budget.
With all but a few precincts in yes-
terday, results showed Engler slightly improving on his
showing in 1994 against Democrat Howard Wolpe. Engler
won 62.4 percent of the roughly 3 million votes cast to
Fieger's 37.5 percent. Wolpe took 38.5 percent against
Engler.
Fieger won one county - Wayne - but lost by about a 2-
1 margin in Macomb and Oakland. Engler won all others,
including Genesee County, which he had never carried
before.
Engler improved his standing among women voters and

J

black voters, according to an exit poll by Votcr News Service
for The Associated Press and five national telev ision outlets.
The exit poll also found Engler getting about a third of vot-
ers in Detroit.
Fieger, who was known to many voters as the wealthy and
boisterous lawyer who defended Dr. Jack Kevorkian in four
criminal trials, did not let up on the rhetoric of his campaign.
Speaking about Engler, Fieger said "this guy is not a good
thing for the environment, for
the schools, for the working
fS Cowardly people of this state. He's a real
horror show."
jsig toFieger said if he had the
chance to run the campaign
SreflctiVe of over again, he would do noth-
ing different. He accused the
H ra firer. news media of letting Engler
- Geoffrey Fieger off easy. The two never debated
Gubernatorial candidate face-to-face.
"I have nothing to say to
him," Fieger said yesterday
morning. "I think what he's done to the people of this state,
what he's done to public education, what he's done to the
environment is wrong.
"I think his cowardly act in refusing to debate is reflective
of his true character, so I really have nothing to say to him."
Engler said he had received congratulatory phone calls
from Democratic attorney general victor Jennifer Granholm
and lieutenant governor candidate James Agee, but not from
Fieger.
"We aren't keeping a line open, Engler said.

AP PHOTO
Lt. Gov.elect Dick Posthumus joins re-elected Michigan Gov. John Engler yesterday at a news conference in Lansing. The
pair held up newspaper fronts describing their win.


Republicans regain full
control of state House


DETROIT (AP) - Michigan
Republicans have regained control of
the state House, giving them and GOP
Gov. John Engler a virtual free reign to
shape the future of the state and its gov-
ernment for the next two years.
Rep. Chuck Perricone, (R-
Kalamazoo Twp), vho is expected to be
the next speaker, agreed with
Democratic leaders yesterday that the
GOP would control 58 of 110 seats
*when final vote tallies are in after
Tuesday's election.
Preliminary returns had the GOP
leading 58-52 in the 110 races.
Yesterday Michigan House Speaker
Curtis Hertel blamed the loss on term
limits and a flood of GOP money.
Democrats had a 58-52 majority before
the election.
Term limits kicked in this year for 64
incumbents who have served six years
or more. Just 46 of 110 House members
kill return to the lower chamber for
another two-year term.
But Democrats, who still control the

lower chamber until Dec. 31, said they
hope agreement on key issues such as
revenue sharing can be forged with the
Engler Administration during the lame
duck session.
"But I guess that's up to the gover-
nor's office and the Republicans as to
how they're going to react to this," said
Hertel, a Detroit Democrat.
Republicans, however, talked most
about delivering on Engler's promise to
cut the state income tax from its present
4.4 percent to 3.9 percent in steps of 0.1
percentage point a year from 2000 to
2004.
"I think the governor's tax cut, now
that the Republicans are in control, will
receive the attention it deserves,"
Perricone said.
But Perricone said his main focus for
the next three months would be on
training the 64 first-time state represen-
tatives, the biggest freshman class in
more than 30 years. He said some of
them would likely be appointed to head
committees right away.

"I'm really excited about having all
these new faces come in and watch
them realize the impact they can have,"
Perricone said.
Term limits was the golden opportu-
nity Republicans had predicted it would
be in winning several seats long held by
Democrats in districts that have slightly
more GOP voters.
"Last night was the single most satis-
fying time I've had in 12 years in poli-
tics," said House Republican Leader
Ken Sikkema (R-Grandville), who was
elected to the state Senate on Tuesday.
"The Democratic majority in the
House has thwarted all our efforts" to
address the GOP agenda of tax cuts and
reforms in welfare and education.
"That's not going to happen next year."
Perricone said he'd have no problem
putting partisanship aside to work
along with the expected minority
leader, Rep. Mike Hanley (D-
Saginaw) to ensure the lower cham-
ber's first experience with term limits
goes smoothly.

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