MACKINAC ISLAND – All seven Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates were on the stage, but the fight was between Attorney General Mike Cox and Ann Arbor business executive Rick Snyder as Cox accused Snyder of insider trading and Snyder made a thinly veiled reference to Cox’s extramarital affair.
Before hundreds of business executives during the debate hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber at the Grand Hotel, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Holland) possibly scored the most points with his call to “unleash the potential of the people” to help rebuild the state by improving Michigan’s business climate.
And Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo) took a shot at all his fellow GOP candidates for promising massive tax cuts and urging more spending on specific programs. Those policies will only lead to the state going into bankruptcy, he said.
Somewhat surprisingly, the candidates of each party did not use the unique format to go after the basic policies of either the Democratic or Republican parties, though Democratic Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero did go after several candidates that he said hurt the state’s cities with their policies.
And the one person who actually got the largest applause during the two-hour event was former Governor William Milliken, who was introduced at end of the event.
The debate was labeled as the first in history to have all of the Republican and Democratic primary candidates for governor – Cox, Snyder, Hoekstra, George, Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard for the GOP and House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) and Bernero for the Democrats – to meet in a forum where they responded to questions, and were able to challenge each other.
And it was the verbal sparring between Cox and Snyder – who went after each other in the first televised GOP debate in East Lansing in April – that punctuated the debate. But the exchange was actually triggered by Bernero accusing both Mr. Hoekstra, through his support of some trade policies in Congress, and Snyder, when he was an executive with Gateway Computers, of shipping jobs overseas.
Cox then charged that according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents Snyder participated in shipping “19,000 jobs to Pacific Rim countries.” Snyder said that was part of an overall strategic change that Gateway undertook when it switched from being a manufacturing to a distributing business that he opposed.
But he also snapped at Cox, “You’ve got enough scandals without trying to make them up for other people.”
“Then why settle an insider trading charge if it didn’t exist?” Cox shot back, in reference to charges that arose during changes in the ownership of companies Snyder invested in.
The exchange went on hold for a few minutes when Dillon and Bernero then sparred briefly on the speaker’s role in possibly moving jobs overseas, when Cox said it was good for the debate to offer the chance to clear the air.
He then accused Snyder of trying to hide behind running a radio ad that said he whitewashed an investigation into an alleged party at the Manoogian Mansion when former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was in office.
Snyder denied having a part in any such ad.
“Take your best shot,” Cox snapped back. “You aren’t straight enough to ask the questions.”
“I’m not going to be lectured by you on ethics, morality or family values,” Snyder shot back, drawing a huge crowd reaction. In 2005, Cox, with wife Laura Cox by his side, admitted to an extramarital affair that occurred before he was attorney general.
Cox said his wife was in the crowd and Snyder could ask her about their relationship.
The exchange ended when Bouchard said he wanted to talk about where the state was going, drawing applause.
In terms of issues: the two Democrats said unions were not a detriment to state economic development efforts, though they agreed that some costs of public employee benefits had to be reduced.
The Republicans said unions were part of the state’s economic heritage, but Cox said unions like the Michigan Education Association were hurting the state with generous benefit packages that were no longer sustainable.
Bernero asked why it was expected that lower and middle class individuals have to sacrifice to help control costs. “Where is the sacrifice from Wall Street?” he asked.
But Cox said state taxes don’t go to Wall Street pensions, but to local governments and schools and that all persons have to sacrifice. Hoekstra said the next governor has to be strong enough to reach agreement to cut costs, Snyder said the issue was more on trying realign the state’s operations so they were more in line with real world situations. George said legacy costs driven by union-negotiated contracts were being a deterrent for economic development, and Bouchard said anything that stood in the way of the state being competitive was not good.
A line in the ad Snyder first ran in February, where he said he was “one tough nerd,” claiming his plan for the state was so comprehensive politicians couldn’t comprehend it. Candidates were put to the test when each was asked if they had read the plan and understood it. Along with saying they did, they all trumpeted their own plans.
But Bouchard said the hapless Detroit Lions always go out on the football field with game plans too. It will take more than plans to help the state, he said.
On the Detroit River International Crossing, Dillon was the only one to support the proposed bridge as outlined in legislation the House passed. Amendments added to the bills should protect the state from any obligations on the cost of the structure. Cox and George opposed it. Bouchard said he could support a second bridge, but preferred it be financed through private funds.
Snyder wasn’t sure, saying he was still reviewing the proposal, though he too would prefer a privately funded bridge. And Mr. Bernero said he opposed DRIC as written, but thought a new bridge was needed.
Hoekstra favored a second bridge, though he did not specifically support the DRIC. He said he preferred a public-private partnership to build the bridge. He also called for construction of a new rail tunnel with Canada, and to upgrade efforts at the airports to make Detroit a major international trade and transportation hub.
And asked if they would provide state money to help keep Detroit from going into bankruptcy there was unanimity on trying to do all they could to prevent that from being needed.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
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