Candidates for Michigan governor have been making stops throughout the state in the final two weeks before the election. Republican Rick Snyderwas in Grand Rapids Tuesday night.
Snyder said his first priority if elected would be to create a clear balance sheet detailing the state's assets and liabilities. He would encourage schools and municipalities to do the same. "It will actually make it clearer that we do need to do some very serious things including service consolidation and other actions because we have government that we can't afford in the model we have today," Snyeder said, "I'm not doing it to scare people but it's a thing to say - let's be proactive instead of reactive."
The Ann Arbor businessman told about 150 people at Wealthy Theater that Michigan's culture needs to change in three ways; residents need to be more positive, look forward, and stop being divisive.
Snyder says regional officials competing with other Michigan cities for a new big business are guilty of that negativity. "Instead of each of those 4 or 5 places saying good things about why they're the place to be, it was very commonplace for at least one of those spots to bad-mouth one of the other places," Snyder said. "As soon as those words came out of their mouths - bad mouthing someone else - I can tell you about 90% of the time that company just packed up and left."
Snyder did not bad mouth his democratic rival. Lansing mayor Virg Bernero didn't come up at all. Snyder stressed all Michiganders need to get over their differences for the state to succeed.