Wednesday, February 18, 2015 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, February 18, 2015 // The Statement
5B
Could Snyder seek the Oval Office?
By Katie Burke, Daily Staff Reporter
A
self-described nerd, Rick Snyder is more of an execu-
tive than a politician.
After spending most of his career in the private sec-
tor, he made the jump to the governor’s mansion in 2010 and
has since garnered national attention for his policy decisions.
As the country prepares for the 2016 presidential elections,
pundits statewide and across the country have been tossing
around the question — will “the nerd” make the transition
from Lansing to Washington?
“Well, I don’t believe in playing traditional politics,” Snyder
said in his 2015 State of the State address. “I’m not a career
politician.”
Snyder’s name has appeared on speculative lists of poten-
tial candidates for the 2016 presidential race alongside other
Midwest governors, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker,
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“There is a good deal of interest in the national media in
governors as opposed to some of the establishment like (for-
mer Florida Governor Jeb) Bush and (former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt) Romney,” said political syndicated columnist
George Weeks, a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of
Fame.
In a Congress that has become infamous for gridlock and
partisanship, the outside perspective a governor can provide
is a major strength for potential candidates.
“You look at the people we have leading Washington, and
how much they bicker and fight — it would be nice to have
someone who hasn’t grown up in that culture and isn’t used to
that way of doing things,” said Law School student John Lin,
who has served as Snyder’s assistant to the campaign manag-
er, personal aide and assistant director of scheduling.
While Snyder has the advantage of being a fresh face in
D.C., if he were to run, he would be facing considerable com-
petition from other governors, should they also decide to run.
Susan Demas, a political columnist for MLive.com, said in
the field of GOP governors in the Midwest — namely Walker,
Kasich, and Pence — Snyder, due to his “aversion to really get-
ting in the mix with politics” would be “fourth out of four.”
While there has been mounting evidence Snyder is plan-
ning to stay in Michigan — Snyder and his wife bought a $2
million condominium in downtown Ann Arbor — he has yet
to formally discount a presidential run. In an election that has
already generated much speculation from both parties, Sny-
der’s presence on the list of possible Republican candidates
turns the spotlight on his credentials and record in Michigan.
An unlikely candidate
A University alum — he received an undergraduate degree
in 1977, an MBA in 1979 and a law degree in 1982 — Snyder’s
original career path led in the opposite direction of politics.
“I’m a CPA by training,” Snyder said.
He worked as a tax accountant at Detroit firm Coopers &
Lybrand, making partner in just six years. Snyder then moved
to Chicago and, after meeting the co-founder of Gateway
Computers, became executive vice president, then CEO. In
1997 he returned to Michigan to start a venture capital firm.
In an interview with Lansing news channel WLNS, Snyder
said the idea to run for governor first came up on a date with
his wife, where she suggested he run for office after he listed
off his solutions for the state’s many problems.
In 2010, Snyder, who had never held a political office in his
life, ran against Lansing mayor and Democratic candidate
Virg Bernero for the Michigan governorship. Running a cam-
paign that branded him as “one tough nerd,” Snyder beat Ber-
nero by 18 points.
Public Policy lecturer John Hieftje, former mayor of Ann
Arbor, said he knew Snyder before he became governor. Hief-
tje said Snyder had continued to be accessible even after he
assumed office.
In terms of his future career aspirations: “He certainly
could go back into business,” Hieftje said. “He could be in the
(U.S.) Cabinet. As far as I know, I’m taking the Governor on
what he says now, which is to be governor.”
Relentless positive action
Since taking office in January 2011, Snyder has operated
under the motto of “relentless positive action.”
“It’s about being
positive in the way
you conduct your-
self, it’s about being
relentless at solving
problems,” Lin said.
“No blame; no taking
credit. It’s just get-
ting things done and
getting results.”
In his State of
the State address in
January, the gover-
nor
discussed
the
improvements
in
state industries that
occurred
during
his first term. Spe-
cifically, he pointed
to an increase of
30,000 new jobs in
the private sector, a
40-percent decrease
in the unemployment
rate and $2 million
increase in tourism
revenue.
“We have made the old unbelievable, achievable, and
we have taken on many difficult issues,” Snyder said in the
speech. “We’re better, but to be open with you better is not
good enough. We need to do more.”
As well as improving aspects of the statewide economy,
Snyder made the Detroit bankruptcy a primary focus of his
first term. On June 2014, he authorized $195 million from the
state of Michigan in addition to $366 million from foundations
and $100 million from the Detroit Institute of Arts in a “grand
bargain” to lift the city out of bankruptcy. The deal replaced
cuts in city pensions and avoided the possibility of selling
DIA-owned works.
“His record in Detroit and what he did there has been
widely hailed and has gotten a lot of favorable press coverage
beyond Michigan,” Weeks said. “It’s certainly a strong point
for him.”
Snyder’s efforts have extended beyond national borders,
forming global relationships to benefit the state. He traveled
to China each year of his first term to work with Chinese com-
panies to expand business in Michigan.
In March 2012 and again in March 2014, Snyder met with
auto manufacturers and suppliers in Europe to bring their
business to the state auto industry.
And, according to the Detroit Chamber of Commerce, his
efforts paid off. In 2013, Michigan more than doubled its auto
production in 2009, moving from about 1.1 million vehicles
produced to almost 2.5 million, and created about 11,000 jobs
in the automotive sector.
“Anyone that has seen his results should want to have that
person leading the country,” Lin said.
Walking the party line
While Snyder’s résumé demonstrates his ability to enact
positive change at the state level, his policy decisions haven’t
always lined up with the national Republican party, which
would prove difficult
in a presidential pri-
mary.
“His prospects in
the Republican party
are relatively limited,”
said Political Science
Prof. Mike Traugott.
“He’s not conservative
enough.”
In September 2013,
Snyder made Michi-
gan one of three states
in which Republicans
hold the governorship
and both legislative
chambers that have
approved the expan-
sion of Medicaid as a
part of the Affordable
Care Act. In doing so,
Michigan
receives
federal
funding
to
extend Medicaid ben-
efits to residents under
the age of sixty-five
that are up to 133 per-
cent of the federal poverty level.
Unlike many of his GOP colleagues in Washington, Snyder
has been aggressive on immigration. In his 2014 State of the
State address, he urged the U.S. government to allocate 50,000
visas to skilled workers to immigrate to Detroit.
“There’s no doubt that highly skilled, legal immigrants with
advanced academic degrees and entrepreneurial talents cre-
ate jobs for Americans,” Snyder said in a statement before his
2014 speech.
Most recently, Snyder released a statement in early Febru-
ary declining to appeal the 300 same-sex marriages that were
performed before Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette
issued a stay on the decision to strike down the state ban on
gay marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments
later this year on the legality of same-sex marriage.
Not all of Snyder’s decisions have been moderate, and on
some issues, including domestic partner benefits and union
membership, he has taken a strong conservative stand.
“Snyder has done a lot of things to please conservatives,”
Demas said, citing the 2012 passage of the Right to Work law
and business tax cuts. “He has gotten a lot of respect for that.”
Another hurdle Snyder would face as a presidential pros-
pect is the political leaning of his own state. Though Michi-
gan’s statewide elections have traditionally trended red
— both houses have been dominated by Republicans since
2010, excluding the state Senate from 2007 to 2010 — it has
voted Democrat in every presidential election since 1992.
Even Romney, a Bloomfield Hills native whose father,
George Romney, was Governor of Michigan, couldn’t carry
the state in 2012.
“I don’t see that Michigan is suddenly going to go Republi-
can after six straight presidential elections voting for Demo-
crats,” Demas said. “Especially after how Romney did.”
In the most recent statewide midterm elections, Snyder
achieved reelection by four points — after outspending his
opponent, Mark Schauer, by more than $1 million between
Sept. 13 and Oct. 19.
Despite the close reelection and the state’s voting history,
the possibility of carrying Michigan cannot be completely dis-
counted.
“The native son thing would definitely play in his favor,” Lin
said. “(Michigan) is more purple than (it is) blue, so I think he
has a good chance.”
Washington bound?
Despite media speculation, the oval office isn’t the only
place in Washington where Snyder’s skills could be put to use.
“The more serious talk would be in terms of a vice presiden-
tial role, though his wife has been very clearly not interested,”
Demas said. “He’s a strong candidate for the Department of
Treasury.”
Traugott said the low possibility of Snyder swaying Michi-
gan red would put him on the bottom of the list of potential
vice presidential candidates, but said he also saw a possibility
of a U.S. Treasury Department appointment.
While Lin said Treasury or the U.S. Commerce Department
may not be the best fit for the governor’s skill set, he said he
believes Snyder would be a prominent addition to the Cabinet.
“I think he’d make a great Cabinet secretary,” Lin said.
“He’d make a great trade representative given his knowledge
of working with other countries.”
Weeks, citing past Michigan governors Soapy Williams and
George Romney, said Snyder could be a candidate to serve in
any Republican administration.
“If he ends up supporting or endorsing a particular can-
didate who ends up as president, that’s always a possibility,”
Weeks said.
A Snyder presidential campaign has not officially been put
out of the question, but it would face considerable obstacles.
However, the fact that the Governor’s name is being discussed
has statewide benefits.
“When CNN mentions Rick Snyder, they always mention
the bankruptcy, taking Detroit out of bankruptcy, our low
unemployment rate, the fact people are now moving to Michi-
gan,” Lin said. “Four or five years ago, talk about Michigan,
everyone thinks it’s the worst state to be, but now because
of the changed narrative, people are now thinking positive
thoughts about Michigan.
“There’s no reason to stop it.”
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Snyder greets attendees at a viewing party in Detroit during the November 2014 elections.
RIGHT: Snyder participates in a cultural celebration in Holland, Mich.
in May 2014. (RUBY WALLAU/Daily)