Michigan’s hopes of hosting Amazon’s second headquarters crashed into pieces when Detroit failed to make the list of 20 finalists.
It’s a sign that there’s a lot of work to do to burnish Michigan’s business image across the country and around the world.
Daniel Howes, Detroit News business columnist, thinks he knows exactly the right person to be out there making a case to the world for Michigan: someone who’s going to be free this time next year. That is to say, Governor Rick Snyder.
Howes joined Stateside to share his ideas for Snyder's future.
Listen above for the full conversation, or check highlights below.
On what Snyder could contribute as an ambassador
"I think [Snyder] should be the mobility spokesman and chief for the state of Michigan. I mean, this is a guy who understands what's happening with the auto industry, with mobility, with autonomy. And I think he can make a very good case around the world actually about what Michigan's strengths are, what its weaknesses are, what it's making progress on, what kind of intellectual capital resists here."
On Snyder's credentials
"He's got a unique set of tools. He is a businessman turned politician, somewhat reluctantly I think when you talk to him or you listen to him in the State of the State when he laments the lack of civility in public discourse ... but this is something he's ideally suited for and he might be the first governor in at least the last four who leave office and decides to actually stay in Michigan and live with the consequences of his decisions."
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