Don't Stop Michigan's Comeback

By all measures, Michigan is making a comeback. And as The Detroit News writes in an editorial today, "Don't Alter Michigan's Course." 

Their recommendation? Vote "YES" on Proposal 1 and "NO" on the rest.

Here are some facts about Michigan's comeback:

Unemployment has dropped 4.9 points since its 2009 high. Our income growth is the 8th best in the nation, while our GDP growth is 6th best. Our economy is at a 10-year high, home sales are up 10 percent, and there are 65,200 more jobs in our state since Governor Rick Snyder took office.

The policies that helped get us here? We have balanced the budget two years in a row. We eliminated the job-killing Michigan Business Tax. We reformed Michigan teacher pensions, and we created the tools to help rescue cities and school districts from fiscal crisis.

There's more that we can and must do to reinvent ourselves, but we can't do it if we tie our hands and enact policies that send us backward in time.

That's why Michigan voters should say "YES" to Proposal 1 and "NO" on the rest.

Proposal One: Why Michigan Needs Its Emergency Manager Law

At a town hall in Detroit on Thursday, Governor Rick Snyder explained how Michigan's emergency manager law benefits our cities and schools -- and how it helped make sure that kids in Highland Park could attend school this year.



In this first video, Governor Snyder introduces Roy Roberts, the emergency manager for Detroit Public Schools. Thanks to Roberts' efforts, Detroit's schools are finally pulling themselves out of debt and improving education for students in the city.



In this second video, Governor Snyder explains the dire straits in Highland Park schools, how students there were in danger of not having a school to attend this year, and how the Michigan's emergency manager law was able to turn that school district around.

If you support Michigan's emergency manager, vote YES on Proposal One.

Grand Rapids and Detroit Chamber Presidents Urge "NO" Vote on Proposal 6

In an op-ed for MLive, Grand Rapids Area Chamber president Rick Baker and Detroit Regional Chamber president Sandy Baruah urge Michigan to vote "NO" on the Maroun-funded Proposal 6 ballot initiative:

There are 31 million reasons and counting to vote “no” on Proposal 6. That’s the amount of money – $31 million – reportedly committed by Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun on Proposal 6. Why would one person spend such an unprecedented amount of money trying to thwart Michigan’s economic recovery? The quick answer is he wants to buy your vote so he can protect his lucrative monopoly.

The Detroit Regional Chamber and Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce represent hundreds of organizations and thousands of businesses from East and West Michigan that are united on this issue. Proposal 6 is bad economics for Michigan and will result in disastrous public policy. Our members are committed to moving the economic needle and moving Michigan forward, but Proposal 6 would be a giant step backward.

Live at 6: Town Hall with Governor Snyder, Hosted by Stephen Clark of WXYZ

Join us from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. for a live town hall with Governor Rick Snyder, moderated by WXYZ's Stephen Clark.

The town hall will be streamed at WXYZ.com.

“I Was Undecided, and He Changed My Mind"

Governor Rick Snyder stopped at a coney island in Northville this morning, and The Observer and Eccentric reports that he's seeing success in sharing his message of "Yes on 1, No on the rest" with Michigan voters.

Bob Kenyon, a tax consultant from Northville, didn’t know what way he was going to vote Tuesday on the bridge proposal until he met Gov. Rick Snyder this morning while eating breakfast at George’s Senate Coney Island Restaurant in Livonia.

“I was undecided, and he changed my mind,” said Kenyon, who now plans to vote no on Proposal 6, which would amend the state constitution to require a statewide vote on “new international bridges or tunnels."

Snyder visited George’s Senate Coney Island as part of his four-day statewide bus tour to discuss the six ballot proposals with citizens. Snyder is encouraging residents to vote “Yes on 1, No on the Rest.”

Why You Should Vote "YES" on Proposal 1

Governor Snyder continued his "Yes on 1, No on the Rest" bus tour in Southeast Michigan today with a town hall in Macomb where he was joined by Allen Park emergency manager Joyce Parker.

Proposal 1 is a referendum on Michigan's emergency manager law, which gives our state the tools to step in and rescue a city from a financial disaster before it's too late. Voters must vote "YES" on Proposal 1 in order to keep the emergency manager law.

Under the law, known as Public Act 4, the state has an early-warning system to alert us of potential fiscal problems in cities, villages and school districts. In especially bad cases, the governor can appoint a manager to take actions to help get that local government get back on its feet.

In a town hall with The Oakland Press today, Governor Snyder explained why Public Act 4 is so beneficial:

The reason I feel strongly about "Yes on Proposal 1" is that Public Act 4 is working. Under the old law, we didnt have an early warning system in place. Now we have one. The second thing we did is that if there is a true emergency, the manager can go in, do their work, fix the problem, and get out.