by Gongwer News Service
May 29, 2009

With most of the key players in the next gubernatorial race appearing on Mackinac Island for the annual policy conference, the 2010 race is officially underway, especially with Attorney General Mike Cox finally making his long-anticipated formal announcement that he will indeed make a play for the post.

Mr. Cox is the first major party candidate to formally make the announcement through the popular social networking websites of Facebook and Twitter, reflecting the growing importance of the Internet to political campaigns.

And with government restructuring at the top of the list of debate on the island, contender Lt. Governor John Cherry will no doubt be helped by the timely announcement earlier in the week that he plans to streamline government and pull it away from its longtime dependence on a manufacturing model.

While he was absent for a “discussion” between many of the key candidates late in the week, Mr. Cherry made his plans for an economic turnaround clear on Tuesday when he announced a list of seven core functions the state should or is obligated to provide, a first step in responding to Governor Jennifer Granholm’s directive that the state operate with no more than eight departments, down from the current 18.

“We’re driving a government that was designed in the 1950s,” Mr. Cherry told reporters.

He said the goal of streamlining government is not focused on the budget, or how to fit the government functions within the available revenues, but is an attempt to reduce duplication and make government more responsive.

“We are focused on the bureaucracy,” he said.

Appearing on the island at what was described as a discussion, rather than a debate, were potential candidates U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Holland), Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.), Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo) and Secretary of State Terri Land.

Among the four Republicans involved, little direct criticism was thrown the way of Governor Jennifer Granholm, though Mr. Cox did describe her as the state’s captain who has failed to steer the ship of state. He also took a dig at Mr. Cherry for not showing up at the event. Also not appearing was Ann Arbor business executive Rick Snyder, who is considering a bid for the Republican nomination.

In addition to taxes and economic restructuring, they covered issues such as the wisdom of selling the governor’s residence on the island, accepting detainees at Guantanamo at an Upper Peninsula prison, the state’s budget mess, the value of economic targeted development incentives and a part-time legislature in exchange for extended term limits.

Most said a new tax structure is more important than promising to not raise taxes, though Mr. Cox pledged he would not raise taxes, and in fact has proposed cutting business taxes by $2 billion.

Ms. Land, Mr. George, Mr. Hoekstra and Ms. Smith all said they would not sign a pledge to not raise taxes, something that Mr. Cox said he would definitely sign, favoring instead a wholesale restructuring of the tax system.

Ms. Land said a review of the tax structure is warranted, suggesting she would embrace a broader base that may mean higher taxes on some segments as the overall rate is brought down.

Ms. Smith also favored restructuring of taxes, saying, “Until we raise the dollars in order to provide the services citizens desire, we’re just spinning our wheels.” She said a review is warranted of tax expenditures and exemptions so the state is no longer picking “winners and losers.”

Mr. George said he would not sign the pledge because “we don’t know what the future holds.”

Mr. Cox said signing the pledge is not irresponsible fiscal policy. “It’s about getting a better product to sell nationally,” he said.

“We cannot cut our way to prosperity,” Mr. Hoekstra said. “The bottom line is we’ve got to take a look at what makes us competitive and what will bring us back.” Growth, he said, will enable taxes to be cut at a later time.

The candidates generally said they could support the release of 3,400 inmates, something Ms. Granholm has proposed as way to trim corrections costs, but said it should not be done as a budget matter.

Mr. Hoekstra said the decision on whether persons are serving time who do not need to be in prison should be made independent of budget considerations.

Mr. Cox simply opposed the release of prisoners the way the Granholm administration has proposed, saying it will place an additional and unwarranted burden on Detroit, where most will relocate. He said if savings are realized in corrections, the money should be directed to law enforcement.

Mr. George and Ms. Smith were the candidates most open to a proposal to bring Guantanamo detainees to a vacant UP prison. To concerns raised by Mr. Hoekstra that it would mean moving 400 “of the most dangerous” persons to the UP, he said the plan is not “about releasing them into the woods.”

The candidates exhibited little taste for a part-time legislature, even if linked to relaxed limits. Mr. Hoekstra said he initially supported the current term limits, but now has changed his mind and favors longer term limits. “A part-time legislature may be nice to talk about, but it’s not going to create a job or provide economic opportunity in this state,” he said.

Ms. Smith said a part-time legislature would put more distance between people and state government decisions by putting more power in the hands of the governor.

Ms. Land said it is more important for the legislature to have a “drop dead” date to complete its work, which would also provide businesses with the certainty that policy issues have been completed for the year.

Mr. George offered the clearest support for a part-time body, saying it is what most states have and would allow citizens to continue to have a hand in another career.

But Ms. Smith said when the legislature was part-time, it meant more influence from business and labor and few individuals who were able to get a three-month leave from their job to serve in the legislature.

Getting back to Mr. Cherry’s plan to restructure government while Ms. Granholm is still in office, he said the next steps will involve public hearings, beginning June 16, and taking comments online from residents, legislators, those within government at all levels and others interested in what government provides.

He said although there have been seven consecutive years of a shrinking economy during the governor’s tenure, it wasn’t until this year when it became clear that it was not a cyclical downturn but a fundamental change that must force state adjustments.

The core functions identified by a workgroup led by Mr. Cherry, and which were shared with Granholm cabinet members early in the day, are: public safety; education (from early childhood through adult); public systems (transportation, recreation, water/waste, utilities and information technology); well-being (people should be free from hunger and have access to medical care and safe shelter); sustainability (protect land, air, ecosystems and water); economic opportunity and prosperity (stimulate entrepreneurship and promote the state’s existing and emerging industries); efficiency and effectiveness.

Not part of the review led by Mr. Cherry are the functions of the attorney general or secretary of state, who each head separate departments but are elected independently.

State government has been studied at other times with an eye to improve what it does, such as the Secchia Commission in the Engler administration with recommendations in 1994 that were focused on making government more responsive and efficient by such means as setting timelines to make decisions and reducing state worker classifications.

Then in 2004-05, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce helped promote a budget-driven review of state government based on principles in Peter Hutchinson’s Price of Government book.

Chamber President Rich Studley said it is too soon to tell how productive the Cherry effort will be, though he said the lieutenant governor is very knowledgeable about state government and is respected by the business community as a capable leader.

“I think the most important message I could share with him from our membership is the very strong sentiment that it is time for bold action,” Mr. Studley said. “The time for fact-finding and further studies is long gone.”

No Clear Pick
It looks like business leaders want another option for their choice for governor. As part of its annual Mackinac Policy Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber polled 500 business executives — whose top choice for winner in the 2010 gubernatorial race was “other.”

“Other” garnered 33 percent of the vote. Of the actual people, Lt. Governor John Cherry received 11 percent, followed by Attorney General Mike Cox, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Secretary of State Terri Land with 10 percent each.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who hasn’t officially announced his candidacy but said on the island that he “is taking a serious look” at running, garnered 9 percent of the votes.

Mr. Bouchard was the 2006 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, losing to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing). He was also considered as a running mate for GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus in 2002.

Ms. Stabenow, by the way, is again being discussed as a possible candidate, but said she is definitely not going to run for governor. She said she is in the right position in the U.S. Senate to deal with the national issues that will have the most impact on turning the state around.

For nearly 50 years in Michigan, Gongwer News Service has provided independent, comprehensive, accurate and timely coverage of issues in and around Michigan’s government and political systems. For subscription information, including a free trial, visit Gongwer online.