OK kids, ya talked me into it. I went downtown to hear what candidate Virg Bernero had to say as he announced his run for governor here in Grand Rapids.
First of all, it's obvious that this is going to be an "outsider" race, as Bernero took aim at the "empty suits" in the Capitol, and pledged to stop the business as usual, partisan politics that caters to special interests and holds the state (and now the nation) in gridlock. He's not happy with state government as it stands, and he made that very clear. I'm not sure how he intends to make all that stop - but, that is the promise. Best of luck on that one.
State pride was a theme, and that was nice to hear. He wants to return Michigan to its "great state" status, and he hit on the usual; good paying jobs, education, etc. Putting Michigan back to work was, of course, a frequent topic.
The one thing that grabbed me was that he put a dollar figure on the amount of money that the Legislature has left laying on the ground due to the fact that they won't raise the revenue to meet federal matching funds. This is something I have blogged about before - the road money, Medicaid money - Bernero put the figure at $2.4 billion, and called it unacceptable that we are walking away from it. Cheers to that - it IS unacceptable, especially when you tie in the thousands of jobs that come from those federal dollars. When asked if he would raise gas taxes to get those federal road funds, Bernero indicated that he will be releasing his plan within the next few weeks, and we will hear the details then.
Bernero wouldn't name names when it came to some of his, shall we say, "colorful" descriptions of the current politicians or those running for the office Even when prodded by a reporter, he refused to get personal at this point, saying the he would let the people figure it out. He pointed to his record in Lansing as mayor, balanced budgets without any layoffs, and his desire to take that fight "across the street" and work for the people of the state.
He strikes me as very sincere - not the angry guy of FOX fame, but a guy that should bring some fire to the race, as he will speak his mind about what he believes. That's good.
Let the games begin.