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4B The Statement // Wednesday October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010/ The Statement B
On a snowy evening last January, Rick and Sue Snyder bun-
dled up in their warmest winter attire and headed to downtown
Ann Arbor for a long-awaited romantic evening. As they began
eating and talking about the events of the week, Sue suddenly
proposed that Rick run for governor of Michigan.
The University alum and businessman took a second to rumi-
nate on the thought mid-bite before making the decision that he
was going to become a contender in the 2010 gubernatorial race.
"All of a sudden (Sue) said we
need to talk," Snyder said in a recent
interview with The Michigan Daily.
"Then she brought up the idea, say-
ing she could see I was going crazy
about how the state was going and
she thought I was the best person
to change it, and that we should talk
about me running for governor as a
family."
The Snyder family spent the
remainder of January discussing
the implications of Rick's campaign
before the Snyders decided that it
"was the best thing to do for the
state." Together they believed thathis
lack of experience in the political field
would actually prove to be beneficial
in starting a campaign for governor
of a state that has been struggling for
many years.
"I got involved and went after it
because I don't believe career politi-
cians were the right answer and we
needed to have an outsider come in
and bring new, fresh ideas," Snyder
said.
According to his campaign web-
site, the self-proclaimed "nerd"
began reading magazines like For-
tune and Business Week before age
10 and even placed investments in
the stock market as a teenager. He
graduated from high school a semes-
ter early and then attended the Uni-
versity, where he graduated at age 23
with undergraduate, MBA and JD
degrees.
Since graduating from the Uni-
versity, Snyder has worked at for
various companies including the
computer company, Gateway, where
he served as president and chief oper-
ating officer. He later became the
first chairman of the Michigan Eco-
nomic Development Corporation in
1999, and also launched the economic
development program Ann Arbor
SPARK and HandyLab - a company
that specializes in creating technol-
ogy that detects diseases.
"What inspired me to run ... it's
an opportunity to come in and hope-
fully be a catalyst to get Michigan on
a positive path, by bringing in some
real world common sense solutions,"
Snyder said.
These common sense solutions, as
Snyder says, are the foundation for
his 10-point plan for the state, which
includes initiatives like creating an
environment for job creation and
preventing the "brain drain"- the
mass exodus of students from col-
leges and universities in search of
more economically flourishing areas
to embark upon careers and start a
family.
To achieve this goal, Snyder wants
to reduce taxes for small businesses
because he says the "current tax
environment is a job killer, not a job
creation model."
"The comeback in Michigan is
not going to be a few big out-of-state
companies," Snyder said. "It's going
to be Michiganders creating and
growing small businesses."
He hopes that by establishing a
stronger job market in Michigan, stu-
dents will be more willing to stay and
serve the state. He said a pivotal part
of this is lowering the tuition of uni-
versities to provide more opportuni-
ties for students to attend college.
"I can remember how much I paid
for my first semester at Michigan and
it would surprise you," Snyder said.
"You could actually work your way
through school and pay for it, like I
did. That's not possible today very
easily."
The Snyder family has played a
critical role in supporting Rick and
helping him during his run for gover-
nor. Since his wife proposed the idea
that spurred the campaign, she and
their three children have helped gar-
ner support for him within Michigan
communities and at various political
events.
"They've all been great about com-
ing to events and helping out, they're
excited," Snyder said.
Inspired to improve the lives of his
children, Snyder hopes to improve
the state of education in Michigan,
from early childhood education to
higher education. He refers to higher
education as "one of the gems of our
state" and says that we need to focus
on improving the system to increase
the quality of education, rather than
spending vast amounts of money..
"We need tobe much more focused
on the system that's much more
about getting outcomes and results
and actually educating the kids, ver-
sus just spending lots of money," Sny-
der said.
While many Michigan citizens
have viewed Snyder's campaign as
more moderate than past Republican
See SNYDER, Page 8B
HOMETOWN:
Battle Creek, Mich.
ALMA MATER:
University of Michigan
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
CEO of Ardesta LLC
ENDORSMENTS:
League of Conservation
Voters
* Bill Ford, Jr.
* Business Leaders for
Michigan
* Michigan Chamber of
Commerce
* The Detroit News and
Detroit Free Press
SOURCE: RICK SNYDER CAMPAIGN
As mayor of Lansing, Bernero takes
pride in his accomplishments while
in office, like not raising taxes while
maintaining his campaign promises
of increased public safety and youth
services.
Though Bernero says he appreci-
ates how far Lansing has come as a
city, he said he thinks he would be
able to spark positive influence on a
much larger scale - across the state -
if he were elected governor.
"I feel as mayor a little bit like the
guy in the engine room of a big ship,"
he said. "No matter how much fuel
I put on the fire, I can't control the
effect so much which direction the
ship is going.
"I just think if I could get up on the
deck and get my hands on the wheel I
could do more to really turn the whole
state around," he added.
As part of his campaign platform,
Bernero wants focus on making uni-
versities in the state more affordable.
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero - Democratic candidate for
governor - has been involved in politics since high school.
At that time, he helped campaign for his aunt to win her
incumbent position as county commissioner. And his per-
sonal political career soon followed, first as a state repre-
sentative for two years, then a position as state senator and
finally taking the reigns in Lansing.
"I intend to bring back the Michi-
gan Promise," he said. "It will not be
easy. But it is a priority."
With this in mind, Bernero empha-
sized the role students could play in
the outcome of this election. Student
votes could impact the outcome of an
election with many student concerns
at the heart of it, he said.
"well, what's at stake is the kind of
Michigan that they want to grow up in
and graduate into," he said. "Do they
want a Michigan of opportunity for
everyone, an opportunity for folks on
Main Street, or a Michigan of oppor-
tunity for only people at the top?"
Bernero, like his opponent Repub-
lican Rick Snyder, thinks one of the
key aspects of maintaining this level
of opportunity is to reduce Michi-
gan's brain drain - the phenomenon
of students leaving the state after they
graduate from higher education insti-
tutions to seek better opportunities
elsewhere.
However, Bernero says, keeping
college graduates in Michigan goes
beyond creating economic opportuni-
ties because graduates are often look-
ing to go to, as he puts it, "cool cities."
"It starts with economic oppor-
tunity, but some people, even if they
had a job offer here [and] a job offer
in Chicago, they would take Chicago
because of the city that it is," he said.
Because of this desire to develop
more interesting destinations after
graduation, one of Bernero's goals
is to focus on making Michigan cit-
ies more attractive to graduates and
young adults.
"Our cities need to be the hub of the
wheel instead of the hole in the donut,
I know what that means, that's more
than a slogan," he said.
With all of these goals, Bernero
said he recognizes the- difficult road
that lays ahead if he wins the elec-
tion. But he is eager to tackle those
difficult tasks.
"I'd love to have the opportunity to
lead," he said. "If I get this job, it'll be
a big challenge. I like a big challenge."
But before he gets there, Bernero
has a big fight ahead. Recent polls
show him trailing Snyder by a signifi-
cant margin. The fact that he is clearly
behind hasn't defeated the current
mayor though.
"I'm going to work damn hard until
the minute the polls close, until 8
p.m.," he said.
Moreover, Bernero said he refuses
to throw in the towel because elec-
tions are historically volatile.
"Elections have turned very quickly
in other races," he said. "It's still any-
body's game as far as I'm concerned."
Despite his convictionthathe could
still pull out a win, Bernero said if he
is unsuccessful, he would definitely
return to his position as mayor of Lan-
sing. On the question of whether or not
he would consider running for gover-
nor again if he loses, he answered that
it is "impossible to say."
Brenda Lawrence, Bernero's run-
ning mate and current mayor of
Southfield, said she thinks Bernero is
the ideal candidate for governor, even
more so because of the challenge that
running Michigan in its current state
will bring.
She said Bernero's vast experience
would help him succeed in office, par-
ticularly during these tough economic
times.
"When you're ina crisis, and Mich-
igan is truly in a crisis, you don't put
someone in that position who does
not have experience," Lawrence said.
"Experience does matter."
Lawrence added that Bernero's
"driven" personality would help him
propel the state in the right direc-
tion. She said he is the type of person
who doesn't simply talk abouttaking
action, but actually does it.
His running mate is not the only
person who thinks Bernero is quali-
See BERNERO, Page 88
4.- .
HOMETOWN:
Pontiac, Mich.
ALMA MATER:
Adrian College
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
Mayor of Lansing, Mich.
ENDORSMENTS:
* United Auto Workers
" AFL-CIO
" Michigan Governor Jen-
nifer Granholm
m American Federation of
Teachers Michigan
* Ann Arbor Mayor John
Heiftje and Detroit Mayor
Dave Bing
SOURCE:VIRG BERNERO CAMPAIGN