Rick Snyder, your days as “leader’ of Michigan are numbered
[Photo credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog]
This morning former Congressman Mark Schauer filed paperwork to run for governor of Michigan. In his announcement, he said, “We need a governor who will protect the middle class and invest in education to create good jobs for Michigan workers. Rick Snyder has taken our state in the wrong direction. Snyder’s school cuts and higher taxes on seniors and working families are hurting Michigan’s economy. Today I’m taking the first steps to form a campaign for governor. I’m ready to run, I’m ready to work, and I’m ready to win in 2014. It’s time to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the special interests.”
I’m in! Today I’m announcing my campaign for governor. I’m ready to run, I’m ready to work & I’m ready to win. http://t.co/hNbYKbiezk
— Mark Schauer (@MarkSchauer) May 28, 2013
Schauer is a former state House Representative and state Senator where he was the Senate Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006 and then Senate Minority Leader after the 2006 midterm election. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2010, defeating far right extremist minister Tim Walberg who then took his seat back in the 2010 wave election. Since then, Schauer has worked as a national co-chair for the BlueGreen Alliance’s Jobs21! initiative.
When I interviewed Schauer in 2011, I asked him, “What’s next for Mark Schauer? Any plans to run for office again? Maybe a Michigan gubernatorial run in 2014 as some have predicted?”
His answer then:
I decided a couple of months ago that I wouldn’t be running for Congress in 2012. I don’t know about the future. What I do know is that the work I’m a part of is vital to three very special people to me—my grandsons Theo, Henry, and Isaac. I want to make sure the Michigan and America they grow up in is as great as the one I inherited from my parents and grandparents.
Clearly, as governor of Michigan, Schauer will be in the best position imaginable to accomplish that. As Michigan voters learn more about him, they are going to become acquainted with a man who cares about the middle class and about Michigan citizens in a way a corporatist like Rick Snyder never will. While Snyder focuses on the prosperity of businesses and corporations first and Michigan workers second, Mark Schauer knows that the primary focus for any state leader must be on people first, corporations and corporate special interests second. He knows from his experience in both the private and public sector that corporate success at the expense of Michigan workers is a false choice.
Here’s more from his announcement email:
This governor just doesn’t get it. Snyder thinks that the evidence of a vibrant economy can be seen in boardrooms and stock returns. You and I know that the backbone of a healthy Michigan is a strong middle class.Rick Snyder has billionaires like Dick DeVos, Donald Trump and the Koch brothers on speed dial, but I’m counting on support from people like you who know we need a governor that fights for the middle class.
It’s time to build an economy that works for everyone – not just the wealthy, and not just the special interests.
You can learn more about the Schauer for Michigan campaign at his website HERE and his Facebook page HERE. He will be speaking at the Macomb County Democratic Party’s meeting this evening at approximately 7:00 p.m., at UAW Local 228, 39209 Mound Road in Sterling Heights. Tomorrow he will attend the Detroit Regional Chamber Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.
