Flint crisis looms large for Snyder's State of State Jonathan Oosting, The
Detroit News Lansing One year after outlining his optimistic vision for a "river
of opportunity," Republican Gov. Rick Snyder is swimming upstream as he
prepares to deliver Tuesday night his 2016 State of the State address.
Protesters
are expected to gather outside of the Capitol ahead of the governor's speech,
seeking to "hold him accountable" for drinking water contamination in Flint
that threatens to overshadow the rest of his agenda for the year ahead. Snyder
will detail a comprehensive strategy to deal with the Flint crisis during
the State of the State address, Snyder Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore said
Friday. The public health crisis may help drain $575 million in one-time surplus
money that majority Republican lawmakers originally hoped to spend instead on
more road repairs, a long-promised income tax reduction and other programs.
Legislators begin the year with a list of unfinished business from Snyder's
2015 agenda that will demand their attention for months. It includes a proposed
$715 million Detroit Public Schools bailout, a complicated energy policy
overhaul and politically contentious criminal justice reforms. "There's more
work
to be done, and I'm willing to roll up my sleeves and partner with the mayor
and the city of Flint to do what needs to be done to solve this problem,"
Snyder said last Monday in Flint. "At the same time, I will give a State of the
State address and talk about some other initiatives. I hope we have a broad
enough team where we can work a parallel path on a number of other important
topics to the future of Michigan. While critics continue to question Snyder's
handling of the crisis and whether he responded quickly enough when independent
scientists discovered high blood levels in the water and blood of children
the administration has ramped up relief efforts in recent weeks. Late Thursday,
he requested that President Barack Obama declare a federal emergency in
Flint and supply aid. The governor on Tuesday activated the Michigan National
Guard to aid in the distribution of bottled water, filters and testing kits.
He also requested coordination assistance from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, which quickly agreed to participate. "The political sensitivity
of a chemical contamination event is high in this state," said Paul Welday, a
Republican consultant and former chairman of the Oakland County GOP. "Water
is one of our greatest assets, so he's really got himself an issue that he's
got to wrestle with in a big way. Snyder may soon seek supplemental funding
for Flint, but he said this past week the request is unlikely to occur during
his State of the State address but will probably happen before his early
February budget presentation. Snyder should address the issue head on in the
speech, said John Truscott, a public relations expert who was spokesman for
GOP former Gov. John Engler. "First, express sympathy for the people," Truscott
suggested. "I think this provides him with a nice opportunity to apologize
on a much bigger scale with a lot more people watching. And he needs to lay out
some of the very concrete steps they're taking. Snyder should also outline
future plans for Flint residents and the city's aging infrastructure, said TJ
Bucholz, a political consultant who worked in the state health department
under Democratic former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The corrosive Flint River water
caused old lead connections to leach into the drinking water. "You're talking
about a generation of Flint residents who will invariably have to deal with
this problem for decades," he said, referencing the long-term effects of lead
poisoning. "I think it is certainly the most significant public health
challenge for Michigan in the 21st century. While Snyder's focus has turned to
Flint,
he also faces serious challenges in the state Legislature, where Republican
majorities last fall completed just one of his top four priorities and left
the others for this year. "First and foremost is DPS," said Snyder Press
Secretary Dave Murray. "There's an urgency there. We need to improve academics
as well as the district's financial structure. Democrats, upset with the
governor for signing controversial voting and campaign finance bills approved
late last year, will be needed to advance any package to alleviate the debt of
the Detroit school district, which the state may ultimately be liable for
in part or whole. Some Republicans are hesitant to support a DPS bailout after
approving a $195 million package to help get the city of Detroit out of
bankruptcy. Sweeping energy bills that would affect electric choice rules and
update lapsed renewable energy mandates with more flexible goals advanced
to the House floor in November. But the bills were not put up for floor votes
in December despite intense lobbying by the state's largest utilities, which
wanted prompt action as they begin to retire aging coal-fired power plants and
plan to replace some of the electricity with natural gas-fired facilities.
Criminal justice reform has pitted Snyder and his legislative allies against
Attorney General Bill Schuette and many county prosecutors. House-approved
"presumptive parole" legislation, which would allow more prisoners to be
eligible for parole after serving their minimum sentences, is stuck in the
Senate
because of Schuette's opposition. The complexities of an election year and a
looming battle for control of the state House could make life difficult for
Snyder, said Bill Ballenger, founder of the Inside Michigan Politics
newsletter. Bucholz said Snyder appears to be approaching lame-duck status with
three
years left in his second and final term. The question is how Snyder will use
the State of the State address to add to his legacy beyond the Flint crisis,
which he said he knows is part of his permanent record. "This is part of my
legacy," Snyder acknowledged this past week. "I'm responsible for the whole
state and their operations, but there are other good things going on, and we're
working hard to recover from this and doing the right things in Flint.
Following his 2014 re-election, the governor used his 2015 State of the State
address to articulate a vision for a smaller, more efficient state government
focused on results instead of programs. The goal was to help usher more
residents into the "river of opportunity," he said at the time, a phrase that no
longer is trumpeted because of the concerns over Flint's drinking water. "If I
were him, I'd forget he ever said it," said Ballenger. "I would come up
with a different metaphor at this point. It's almost like sticking out your jaw
and waiting to be slugged. joosting@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
