Detroit’s bankruptcy is perhaps the most talked about economic issue in the state, especially in the wake of Republican House speaker Jase Bolger’s proposition that in order for Detroit to receive $195 million in state aid as part of a grand bargain, the state would need to oversee the city’s finances for the next 20 years.
Tuesday afternoon Detroit emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, went to Lansing to request the $195 million which he insisted if Detroit doesn’t get, the bankruptcy deal will collapse.
And a Chronicle poll taken sometime ago showed that Detroiters were divided over the appointment of an emerency manager.
“Snyder showed he was out of touch by putting the hard-earned pensions of Detroit police and firefighters on the chopping block,” said Zack Pohl, spokesman for Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer.
Pohl said minimum wage will be an issue in the campaign and they will continue to make the case.
“Michigan seniors and minimum wage workers are taking it on the chin with this governor. Snyder raised taxes for seniors by cutting the homestead exemption for seniors’ property taxes and creating a new tax on retirees’ pensions, which will cost them thousands a year,” Pohl said. “While Snyder refuses to increase the minimum wage, his administration officials got huge pay raises. One employee got a 90 percent raise and makes $333,000 per year.”
To the contrary, Gov. Rick Snyder’s campaign spokeswoman Emily Benavides said the dominant issue in the campaign will be jobs.
“Under Governor Snyder more than a quarter-million private sector jobs have been created while unemployment has dropped to its lowest level in six years,” Benavides said. “Our opponent can point to no such record. Just as the governor has done with turning the job market around, issues like Detroit’s bankruptcy further demonstrate the governor’s willingness to take on difficult challenges and see them through.”
Schauer’s campaign said they will show the contrast between the Democratican candidate and incumbent Snyder.
“Mark will continue to draw a sharp contrast with Snyder on these issues throughout the campaign. As governor, Mark will get rid of Snyder’s pension tax and fight to protect seniors’ retirement savings,” Pohl said. “And Mark will work to raise Michigan’s minimum wage, because nobody who works full time should be living in poverty.”
Republican strategist Paul Welday doesn’t believe the election will be decided by one issue. He strongly believes that Detroit’s bankruptcy going into the summer will dominate the governor’s race and there is a price to pay if the fiancial crisis is not setttled by then.
“The bankruptcy in Detroit and all the moving parts more than any other issue is going to be the focus of the governor’s race,” Welday said. “If Snyder is able to negotiate a bailout that goes through with the help of the state lewgislators, that will be to his benefit in this election. If he can’t get through a deal for Detroit’s bankruptcy he will pay a significant price in the election.”
Welday said the 20-year stipulation for the state to oversee Detroit’s finances in the grand bargain in exchange for $20 million from Lansing is “a very reasonable deal if you look at what happened in New York, Washignton, DC. This is a very reasonable settlement.”
However the contention, according to Welday, will be other lawmakers outside of the tri-county area. Snyder must convinced legislators from the other side of the state including Grand Rapids that a deal helping Detroit also helps the state.
“He has to convince people from out of state that the control board (that will be put in place to oversee Detroit’s finances) is a proven mechanism to avoid a financial crisis,” Welday said.
At Wayne County Community College District’s downtown campus last week, Schauer appearing on the college’s Global Conversation Speaker Series criticized efforts by Republican lawmakers in Lansing to undercut ballot measures to increase the minimum wage.
Schauer said the proposal in Lansing by GOP State Senator Rick Jones to increase the minimum wage to $8:15 from $7:40 is a clever way of trying to usurp a people’s referendum on minimum wage for the November ballot.
“The minmum wage could very well be decided in the Legislature,” Welday said. “It is always an issue used by Democrats to boost turnout in an election.”
Democratic State Sen. Bert Johnson from Detroit decried the pending GOP legislation on minimum wage as an attempt to undermine the ballot initiative.
“The Legislature should be serving the people of Michigan, not suppressing them,” Johnson said. “Sadly, this is just the latest in a series of moves by Republican legislators to circumvent and even override the democratic process that is the bedrock of our government. This debate isn’t even about the issue of raising Michigan’s minimum wage.”
Johnson said the ballot initiative to increase minimum wage is “about the constitutional right for Michigan citizens to change the laws of our state.”
Another Democrat, Jon Switalski from Warren, added, “There is no logical or policy-based justification for this bill. It is quite simply robbing Michigan citizens of their ability to vote. If this was really about policy, there are several other bills that have already been introduced that could be used to start this discussion. Instead, Senate Republicans are trying to stifle the will of the people and the legislative process in one fell swoop.”
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com.