What's in this Guide
Governor
U.S. Representative in Congress, 6th Districts
State Representative, 60th & 61st Districts
Kalamazoo County Commissioners, Districts 3, 6, 11, 12, 16
Governor of Michigan
Four-year term. Vote for one.
- Provide biographical information, including your qualifications for this office and the reasons you are running. [100 words]
- What are your state budget spending priorities and how would you adjust revenue and expenses to support those priorities? [100 words]
- What are your top two other priority issues, why did you select them, and what actions would you take regarding them? [100 words]
Republican
Mike Bouchard
Website: www.bouchardforgovernor.com
- In my conversations with families all across our state, people are worried and families are struggling. We all know someone—a family member, neighbor or friend who have lost their job. I believe the next Governor needs the knowledge, experience and backbone to make the tough choices and just as important to see them through. The bottom line is if we cannot create a Michigan where our children can find a job and compete globally, then we have failed as leaders, which is unacceptable. Consequently, I am running for Governor for the next generation, not the next election.
- Reducing government spending and lessening the tax burden on job creators and families is key to our economic security. We must deliver services better, faster and cheaper. Lansing must learn how to deliver services so each dollar is stretched further. As a state Senator I sponsored a resolution requiring a two-thirds majority of the Legislature to pass tax increases because I understand their negative impact. Under my leadership, every agency will be scrutinized with the purpose of eliminating wasteful spending with the ultimate goal of getting a larger percentage of funds to the critical impact point of the core mission.
- Jobs will be my number one priority. I would institute critical reforms to cut government red tape and break down other barriers stifling job creation. Government should aid, rather than work against, job creators by making it easier for them to grow and invest here. As governor, I won’t sign any regulatory bills into law until a cost-benefit analysis is performed and will freeze all pending regulations until a review is completed. I recognize the top two creators of jobs are business startups and businesses expansions. Therefore, I would focus government efforts and incentives more on growing businesses in Michigan.
Mike Cox
Website www.mikecox2010.com
- Michigan’s next governor must have only one goal—Jobs. Michigan suffers from a jobs deficit but just as importantly, Michigan suffers from a leadership deficit. As a marine, a homicide prosecutor and the state’s Attorney General, I have made the tough decisions and know how to lead. I am running for Governor because I have the vision, drive, and commitment to turn Michigan around. Sixty years ago, my parents came to Michigan because our state offered promise, opportunity, and, most importantly, jobs. I want those same opportunities for my four children.
- Lansing is broken, and families are being torn apart as our kids leave for other states. Though state government must do a better job of getting tax dollars directly into our schools, police, fire protection and infrastructure, Lansing’s problem is too much spending, not too little. That’s why I’ve laid out a plan for $4 billion in specific state government spending cuts to get Lansing off the backs of families and job makers. Pension reform, state employee health care reform, renegotiating state contracts and rolling back a recent 3 percent raise for state workers will help finally right-size Lansing’s budget.
- My first priority is to reinvigorate Michigan’s economy. That’s why in addition to cutting wasteful spending by $4 billion I will implement a $2 billion tax cut, cutting the Michigan Business Tax by 50 percent (and eventually phasing it out) and repealing the 2007 personal income tax increase. Making these changes, Michigan will go from having the 3rd worst business tax to the 7th best. I will also focus on putting more dollars into the classroom to improve Michigan’s K-12 education system so our next generation has the tools and the know-how to succeed in the 21st century economy.
Tom George
Website: www.georgeforgovernor.com
- I was born and raised in Flint, and am the oldest of seven children. I graduated from the U of M Medical School (1982) and settled in Kalamazoo, which I now represent in the state senate. While serving in the senate, I have also maintained my medical practice. I have a record of bipartisan accomplishment and have voted to create balanced budgets during times of ongoing revenue decline. Moreover, my private sector experience is in health care, the area that has become our state’s single biggest expense. Read more about me and my plan to fix Michigan at www.georgeforgovernor.com.
- Health care spending has become the single biggest expense within our budget. To avoid the fate of GM, Chrysler, and Greece, the state must reduce health care spending by reforming Medicaid and other health programs. Requiring recipients to take personal responsibility for the maintenance of their health is the key to having a healthier, more competitive workforce and freeing resources for other priorities. Bringing jobs back to Michigan requires repairing our infrastructure, investing in education, and cutting business taxes. If we are to maintain a balanced budget, these are affordable only by controlling state health care spending.
- Major structural reforms to government itself are overdue. A part-time legislature, tighter budgeting rules, and a review of the role of local governments cannot be effectuated by a governor alone but may best be accommodated by a constitutional convention. I am the only candidate who supports this fall’s ballot proposal calling for a constitutional convention. Michigan needs a facelift! This can be achieved through new legislative tools giving local leaders the ability to convert abandoned and tax-reverted properties to new, productive uses. Reforming state health programs, constitutional change, and an image makeover will give Michigan a bright future.
Pete Hoekstra
Website: www.hoekstraforgovernor.com
- I have a passion for this state and the proven leadership skills needed to unleash Michigan’s greatest resource: its people. After graduating (B.A., Hope ‘75/ M.B.A., U of M ‘77), I launched a successful 15 year career at Herman Miller, rising to VP of Marketing. In 1992, implementing a grassroots strategy, I defeated a twenty-six year incumbent in the primary despite being outspent 15 to 1. In Congress, I worked to develop the Contract with America, served on committees pertaining to Education, Labor, Transportation and the Budget, and was chosen as Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
- My first state budget priority is to provide the leadership to work across party lines and implement actual reforms that streamline government. There are countless spending reform ideas that Michigan taxpayers across all sectors have been proposing for years. They have gone nowhere because of the gridlock in Lansing. In Congress, I have always sought to improve the education system for our children. Education reform will remain a priority of mine as governor. With the state budget being propped up by $1.6 billion of federal stimulus, we will need structural reforms and make difficult choices to ensure sustainable funding, but ….
- Beyond streamlining government, my top two priorities are to get the bureaucracy out of the way and overhaul the worst tax code in America to create jobs. My administration will embrace economic growth from top to bottom. We will cut red tape and serve the public by working to get to “Yes” instead of turning away entrepreneurs and stunting growth with “No.” By fostering a business-friendly climate, eliminating the MBT and lowering property taxes, we will become a magnet for investment. Creating a level playing field that attracts entrepreneurs and businesses will bring economic growth and job creation.
Rick Snyder
Website: www.rickformichigan.com
- After growing up in Battle Creek, I earned three degrees from U of M. Following a successful career as a tax partner I left Michigan to manage Gateway, growing it to over 10,000 employees and a Fortune 500 company. I have guided the growth of startups and created Ann Arbor SPARK, a successful economic development program. I’ve been on the receiving end of government and know what it takes to create jobs. I’m running for governor because career politicians have failed us and I have a vision and concrete 10-point plan to reinvent Michigan.
- Michigan’s budget system and bureaucratic model is flawed. Special interests and lobbyists control the dialogue in Lansing, resulting in a broken budget system that doesn’t improve how we deliver services through schools, roads, public safety and other essential programs. I’ve proposed a system that ties spending to results, puts power back in the hands of citizens, brings multi-year stability, and reports measurable, transparent outcomes to citizens. Value For Money budgeting was used successfully in the state of Washington to reduce a $2.4 billion deficit without raising taxes and I believe we can do it here.
- My priority is to cultivate a thriving, competitive economy with a diverse business base, enabling job growth and prosperity. My entrepreneurial and job creating experience make me uniquely qualified to lead Michigan out of today’s economic disaster. Just some of the ways my plan accomplishes this include: elimination of the Michigan Business tax, reducing the regulatory burden, innovative spending and government management helping small businesses grow and thrive through economic development efforts. We have to deal with difficult fiscal realities across Michigan, which is why I’m the only candidate who is not seeking special interest money or endorsements.
Democrat
Virg Bernero
Website: www.votevirg.com
- Ingham County Commissioner, 1991-1999. Michigan House of Representatives, 2000-2002. Michigan Senate, 2003-2006. Lansing Mayor, 2006-present. As mayor of Lansing, I balanced five straight budgets on time, without raising taxes, and without laying off a single employee. I brought business and labor leaders together to create 6,000 jobs and attract more than $500 million in new investment for Lansing. This is why I had the support of almost every labor organization in Lansing, as well as the support of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, when I ran for re-election last year in Lansing. We need a governor with a proven record ….
- Over the long term we cannot hope to bring structural balance to Michigan’s budget without realizing significant growth in tax revenues derived from new economic activity and new jobs. My growth strategy includes breaking the credit crunch so small businesses can access the capital they need to expand and hire new employees, as well as the aggressive use of economic incentives to attract new job-creating investments to Michigan. We can and will make government more efficient across the board. I will overhaul state business taxes to make Michigan the most competitive state in the nation for new job-creating investments.
- We need initiatives that will help create jobs in Michigan right away. People across Michigan are hurting. Below are two other things we can do immediately to bring jobs back to Michigan. I will create Michigan International Business Investment Zones (MIBIZ) to take advantage of the federal EB-5 program. Also known as an International Business Investment Zone (IBIZ), the EB–5 Regional Center designation creates a powerful magnet for new foreign investment in Lansing by offering permanent U.S. residency to foreign nationals who invest at least $500,000 in a new venture that creates at least 10 Michigan jobs. I will also ….
Andy Dillon
Website: www.andydillon.com
- I was born and raised in Redford, where I still reside with my wife, Carol, and our four children. I earned accounting and law degrees at Notre Dame, specializing in business law and focusing on turning struggling companies around. I worked in the private sector reviving businesses and preserving Michigan manufacturing jobs. I’m serving my third term in the Michigan House of Representatives and second term as House Speaker. I’m running for Governor because it is going to take a new kind of leader to turn Michigan around. I am the only candidate with both business turnaround and government experience.
- We must consider creative solutions to balancing Michigan’s budget. Vital programs like education and public safety should be the last budget items cut. I have led the legislature in passing reforms to the teacher retirement system that will save up to $680 million this year and I continue to work to modernize state health care plans to improve efficiency while preserving choice and quality. We can simplify and reform Michigan’s tax system to allow us to utilize revenue more efficiently while encouraging growth and success for our businesses and we can start with the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax.
- The future growth of the state of Michigan depends on a commitment to build on our unique strengths: Research and Development, Advanced Manufacturing, and our thriving Agricultural and Tourism Industries. We must commit to the revitalization of our urban centers. I have a comprehensive 12-point urban agenda plan that aims to fight for access to jobs, access to transportation, access to health care, and public safety in neighborhoods. Supporting a good education for our children is essential to success for our cities. My administration will have a cabinet-level position solely responsible for the implementation and oversight of the urban agenda.