The Candidate for Governer Most Supportive of Detroit's Urban Progress (Lansing: fit in, credit)

[ForStarters]

Now that the list is narrowed to two, who will be the Governor most supportive of Detroit's continued growth and development?

Rick Snyder? -or- Virg Bernero?

Here's what Snyder(R) says:

Restore Cities and Control Urban Sprawl
In order for Michigan to truly reinvent itself, its cities and communities must become more vibrant. Rick will work to improve the state's city centers and create attractive living and working environments for its citizens. Rick believes infrastructure and transportation funding must be prioritized and also supports the establishment of a proper mass transit backbone in the state.

Central Cities | Rick Snyder for Michigan Governor 2010 (http://www.rickformichigan.com/vision-plan/policy-central/central-cities - broken link)

Here's what Bernero(D) says:

Overall economic health of urban centers and the surrounding areas is largely dependent upon sound, progressive and innovative urban policy. The social vitality of Michigan’s urban communities is directly linked to the prosperity of its larger cities and urban cores. Vibrant cities that address the issues of poverty alleviation, education, business, and infrastructure will generate economic growth and cultural enrichment. Cities can accomplish this by uniting with local businesses, universities, and other cultural, faith-based, and nonprofit institutions.

Virg Bernero Democrat for Governor | Issues | Economy


My take is... I don't know. Both candidates seem to have urban development and transit at the top of their agendas and generally have city-centric philosophies. Both Snyder and Bernero seem to support inward growth and the control of suburban sprawl. All good things for Detroit.

What do you think?

[Note: Off-topic political ramblings, personal attacks, and all issues not directly related to Detroit belong in another thread or forum.]

[Retroit]

I don't know either, but quite honestly, I don't believe either will be able to do much better a job than the other. The state doesn't have any extra money lying around and the cities will all have to fend for themselves, as they've had to more and more in recent years.

But from just reading the statements that you posted, I noticed that Snyder actually said he, himself, would help to improve the cities, where Bernero never actually mentions what he will do, just that strong cities are important (no duh!). But I wouldn't actually expect either to uphold their "promises" anyway. (And Snyder can probably afford to hire a better PR guy. )

And I haven't heard of where either candidate has mentioned that they will stop sprawl. Are you just inferring that, or did they actually say that?

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Retroit

I don't know either, but quite honestly, I don't believe either will be able to do much better a job than the other. The state doesn't have any extra money lying around and the cities will all have to fend for themselves, as they've had to more and more in recent years.

But from just reading the statements that you posted, I noticed that Snyder actually said he, himself, would help to improve the cities, where Bernero never actually mentions what he will do, just that strong cities are important (no duh!). But I wouldn't actually expect either to uphold their "promises" anyway. (And Snyder can probably afford to hire a better PR guy. )

And I haven't heard of where either candidate has mentioned that they will stop sprawl. Are you just inferring that, or did they actually say that?

I didn't post everything from their respective web sites above, but the topic sentence #5 on Snyder's 10-point plan reads: "Restore Cities and Control Urban Sprawl". He then goes on to say:
Michigan needs to address urban sprawl with smart growth strategies would offer tax credits as an incentive for young professionals who choose to live and work in the city, like Maine has successfully done.

Bernero goes on to say:
For too long Michigan has operated under the “hole in the donut” theory of economic development — where investment in the outlying areas takes precedence over our urban centers. Virg believes we need a whole scale philosophical change that includes making urban investment central to economic revitalization.

So it seems to me that controlling sprawl is an important issue. On Snyder's site, an online poll shows that 79% think his policy on urban renewal is a high priority, while 21% think it is not. This is surprisingly high given that he is a republican.

[Bhaalspawn]

The answer is: Whichever candidate's policies will do the most to improve the state's economy.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

The answer is: Whichever candidate's policies will do the most to improve the state's economy.

That's only part of the equation. Candidates often have biases toward certain regions, such as Bernero, who is the Mayor of Lansing, or Snyder, who is an Ann Arbor native. These cities will get boosts while others won't. This is widely known. Who do you think contributes to their campaigns? I'll tell you: local developers, politicians, and businesses. If Snyder has money to throw into higher ed to build a new medical school and can choose between U Mich or Wayne State, where do you think its going to go? The same goes for Bernero.

Governors play a big role in impacting specific communities. They have a say in where state money is spent, where infrastructure is built, they influence where companies entering Michigan locate, they have tremendous power over regional decision-making, such as with DPS and city finances. They endorse candidates in local elections, and can push for taxe changes that influence businesses located in specific regions. Governors even sign off on grants and capital outlay projects for specific universities and hospitals, like Wayne State and DMC.

State money and resources will get poured into the candidate's favored region, which is why Dick DeVoss was a bad candidate in my opinion. The man has nearly a billion dollars of personal money invested in GR infrastructure projects and land acquisitions, stadiums, medical complexes, and assorted businesses. Do you think he gives a rat's rear about the state of things in Detroit? Not a chance.

All things being equal, I will vote for the candidate who boosts Metro Detroit before I vote for a candidate that has some other Metro close to his heart, or his wallet and future interests. Just look how rich Granholm's husband got.

[waltlantz]

Outside Urban revitalization nerd here.

This is real interesting.

Governors talking about URBAN revalitization issues with the possibility of some sincerity behind it!

No seriously, glibness aside, this is interesting. For Starters is correct in highlighting the correlation between governers and communities.

Key is though, how much clout can the cities throw around? America is real suburban now and that's still where the lions share of political power lies.

Take New York for example, even with the spreading of populace outside of cities, most governors came from or were really active in New York or at least one of it's immediate suburbs.

Looking at Michigan from G. Mennen Williams on, it seems mixed. The city and area has lost a lot of populace and therefore congressional representatives.

I hear about much antipathy about Detroit, not only from suburban Detroiters but from the rest of the state. How much political wiggle room would a Governor be able to muster.

In Pennsylvania, people HATE funneling money to that dirty grimey cesspool of corruption in Philadelphia (their words, I love Philly). That's probably why Gov. Ed Rendell (former Philly mayor) has had trouble dealing with those guys in the alleghenies, poconos and dutch country.

I agree with ForStarters that you have a better chance with someone who is from Detroit or even from a hard scrabble city and not it's burbs. Still I believe there is a lingering anti city bias in the country. Plus, aside from New York City and to an extent Chicago, major cities just can't BULLDOZE legislation through state congresses like they used to.

Urban revilatization is important, but some people will interpret that as "Detroit Pork-barrel boondoggles", will the UP, Kalamazoo, Traverse City, et al be on board for that? Will the suburbs?

I hope one of them gets elected and helps spear head urban revalitization, serving as an example to the rest of the nation. It'll be tough though in times of tight wallets and surburban dominance of political affairs.

[doctorofenglish]

Now that the election is over, I believe that the best candidate won. I have a friend that once worked for Bernero but wouldn't help on his gubernatorial bid. He told me that he isn't done with his political ambitions and his goal is the US senate. He never finishes what he starts and isn't focused on his present job. He spoke of creating/retaining 6,000 jobs in Lansing and that is less than true plus it is based on projects that might not happen, ever. Lansing still has double digit unemployment and has a $15 million deficit looming this year. Does that sound like a city where 6,000 jobs were kept out of a city of 111,000? If those jobs were there, this would not be a city with that kind of a deficit. As for Snyder, he has a huge mess to fix. I voted for Granholm twice, the second time because I thought that she needed more time to put her programs in place. She did little, showed no leadership and pointed fingers at others for Michigan's problems. Hopefully both parties will work together and get this state moving.