Snyder among governors mentioned as potential 2016 presidential candidates
By David Eggert
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder didn't hesitate when asked to name his toughest task in the last year - because it's still unfinished.
"Roads," he said, referring to his call for a $1.2 billion tax increase to upgrade highways and other transportation infrastructure.
The Republican governor's pursuit of a road funding deal has proven tougher than winning re-election or helping guide Detroit from bankruptcy, which required a crucial state bailout from lawmakers.
"Legislators don't like to raise taxes even though this would save us money," Snyder told The Associated Press during an interview Thursday. It was a day in which he met with legislative leaders multiple times with just a week left in the two-year session.
He prefers a Senate-passed plan that would double state fuel taxes and said there are "major issues" with a House-approved proposal that would eliminate the state sales tax on fuel and boost per-gallon taxes the same amount, enhancing the transportation budget while costing schools and local governments revenue.
"Compromise is a good thing as long as it achieves the overall goal of getting us enough resources for roads without creating problems in other places," Snyder said.
He's hoping for a resolution so that when he's sworn into a second term in January, he can turn his attention to a new top priority - emphasizing career and technical education and skilled trades. Companies complain they have jobs but trouble finding enough welders, technicians and others to fill them.
Snyder said he wants to form more private-sector partnerships to help high school students with the transition to postsecondary education and employment. He mentioned students earning college credits while still in high school and getting additional career counseling.
Snyder also expects to tackle kids' third-grade reading proficiency, a key marker of future success. Asked about stalled legislation that would hold back third-graders who are behind in reading, he said he would focus on "extra things you need to do to help someone be successful at reading. Then you can ask the question ultimately, 'What are the consequences if there's not success at that?'"
Another emphasis will be "accountability and transparency" in local schools and governments. The governor cited work by the nonprofit education watchdog Excellent Schools Detroit, which publishes an annual scorecard of city schools, but he otherwise didn't go into specifics. He could share more in his fifth State of the State address on Jan. 20.
Before then, Snyder will review bills that the Republican-led Legislature passed or will pass during the last few days of the lame-duck voting session.
He said he would look hard at a House-passed religious liberty bill if it progresses further, noting that it initially was supposed to be part of a "package deal." Legislation died that would have updated the state's civil rights law to prohibit discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation, and Democrats fear a state version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act would allow a license to discriminate against gays.
Outside the realm of new lawmaking, Snyder pointed to a surprise - expanded Medicaid that's covering around 482,000 low-income residents since its April launch, already above the long-range peak projection of 477,000 enrollees. Patients aren't having major troubles scheduling appointments in doctors' offices, he said.
Because of his re-election win, Snyder is mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate along with other Midwestern Republican governors. He cautioned, though, that his plan to travel outside the state to tell Michigan and Detroit's turnaround stories is consistent with "where I've been over the last five years or six years."
"Now that we're succeeding, perceptions tend to lag five to 10 years behind reality when you go to other places. A lot of people still think of us as in the lost decade, of being at the bottom," Snyder said. "That doesn't help us in terms of making Michigan more attractive, appealing both for people here ... or to have people come here."
He said it's not rare for a governor to cheerlead for his state and he's hoping to engage former residents who've left. He's "not aspiring" to run for president, he said, but won't rule it out either.
"Why should I? It some ways it brings more attention to Michigan," Snyder said.
Published: Tue, Dec 16, 2014
