Gov. plans to hold a series of 10 town halls with undecided voters
By David Eggert
Associated Press
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - Republican Gov. Rick Snyder defended his record in a town hall-style campaign event Monday, saying he has faced some difficult choices but that he put Michigan on a positive path forward.
"I've made some really tough decisions. I've asked people for sacrifices. ... Could we really build a foundation to last for generations if we didn't go clean up a whole bunch of those giant messes that career politicians wouldn't address?" Snyder said in the hour-long event at Western Michigan University, calling attention to his role in Detroit's bankruptcy filing.
It was the first in a series of 10 planned town halls that Snyder will hold with what he said are undecided voters before the Nov. 4 election. He faces a tough re-election challenge from Democrat Mark Schauer, who has criticized the town halls as GOP partisan events.
Snyder spoke for about 17 minutes before answering eight questions about topics including his decision to sign a right-to-work law, education and road funding, and a business tax overhaul that led to retirees with pensions paying higher taxes. Questions came from a high school teacher, a businessman, a county commissioner, a local mayor and people on social media.
The governor said Schauer's claim that he cut more than $1 billion in spending on K-12 schools and colleges is "hogwash."
A man in the crowd later asked why voters should believe him when he said right-to-work legislation was not on his agenda but signed it anyway after not insisting on legislative committee hearings and despite mass protests at the Capitol. The law no longer allows forced union fees as a condition of employment.
Snyder reiterated what he has said before - that the issue was not a priority until labor waged a pre-emptive strike with a ballot initiative that would have made right-to-work laws unconstitutional. It was soundly defeated, and Snyder said the unions miscalculated by bringing the issue to center stage.
The law "is standing up for Michigan workers," Snyder said. "If you see value in a union and they show you a proposition that's valuable to you, you should want to join. ... But if you don't see value, if they're not doing something to make it worth your time, should you be forced to pay?"
The Snyder campaign said it designed the town hall for undecided voters. Democrats dismissed it as a partisan event, complaining that Schauer supporters who signed up for tickets later got cancellation notices. The event was moderated by Tim Terrentine, president of the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"There's a whole long list of things that Snyder is claiming are helping the state when clearly they're not," said Bruce Fealk, a retired court stenographer who said he drove three hours from Rochester Hills only to be denied entry. "We still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Our seniors are getting taxed. Our school teachers don't have books and supplies ... their class sizes are going up."
Fealk, who joined a small group of protesters outside the event, spearheaded an unsuccessful drive to recall Snyder in 2012.
Snyder campaign spokeswoman Emily Benavides said "we're holding these town halls for undecided voters, not for the Schauer campaign."
Snyder and Schauer have agreed to appear Oct. 12 at a televised town hall-style debate.
Published: Wed, Oct 01, 2014
