Mark Schauer (D. MI) scored a big endorsement:
http://www.einnews.com/...
UAW members from throughout Michigan were on hand today to announce that former Congressman Mark Schauer is the union’s choice for the state’s next governor. Schauer has been a fierce advocate for the middle class and Michigan’s auto recovery.
“Mark Schauer fought hard for the loans that helped the auto companies and suppliers retool and develop new technologies to build the cars and trucks of the future right here in Michigan. The UAW is proud to announce today that our members are endorsing Mark Schauer for governor,” said UAW President Bob King.
“Mark Schauer stood with Michigan families during the darkest of times and made sure our futures in Michigan were secure,” said Region 1C Director Norwood Jewell, who hosted the event at the region’s headquarters. “We’re proud to stand with him now.”
“My job was on the line. My plant was in jeopardy, and everything that has been achieved in this state with auto manufacturing could have just gone down the drain, but Mark Schauer stood with us then and I know he will continue to stand with us as the next governor of Michigan,” said Adam Bryant, a member of the UAW Local 5960, which represents workers at General Motors’ Lake Orion plant.
“Of course, the auto industry is important to me personally, but also to our state and our communities. A governor who does not support the auto industry in Michigan is a governor who does not support working families,” said Montina Tillman, a UAW Local 3000 member at Ford Motor Co.’s Flat Rock Assembly plant. - EIN News, 4/29/14
Schauer of course was happy to receive the UAW's endorsement and took shots at Governor Rick Snyder (R. MI):
http://www.mlive.com/...
"The best way to build an economy is from the bottom up, from the middle out," Schauer said.
He also took shots at Gov. Rick Snyder.
"We were promised a tough nerd," Schauer said. "But that's not what we got."
Schauer called out Snyder for ignoring the auto industry in its time of need, ignoring the middle class and signing legislation that taxes pensions.
"We were promised a tough nerd," Schauer said. "But that's not what we got."
Matt Beaver, a UAW member at parts supplier Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw County, said he thinks Schauer will protect middle class jobs.
"Look at Snyder, what was he? A CEO," said Beaver, 37.
And like a CEO, he added, Snyder made cuts that hurt the workers and protected people at the top. - MLive, 4/29/14
Schauer has been hitting the campaign trail promoting his platform and taking shots at Snyder:
http://michiganradio.org/...
Schauer is usually thought of as a good and decent man who nobody would call a spellbinding speaker. But he gave a strong, punchy and energetic speech in Detroit’s Cobo Hall Saturday night. He naturally attacked Snyder’s record. But Schauer mainly focused on his own program, what he would do if elected. And it was clear what the former congressman’s main themes will be.
Schauer said, “As your next governor, I am going to wake up each and every day fighting for a strong middle class, because the best way to grow a stronger economy is from the bottom up and the middle up, not the top down.”
He promised to repeal the pension tax on seniors, one of the governor’s least popular moves.
Schauer vowed to raise the minimum wage, adding “nobody who works full time should be raising their children in poverty.”
He praised labor, said he would fight for same-sex marriage equality and pleased the crowd when he said “I’ll be the education governor and mean it, because public education is the silver bullet. It’s how we compete for jobs and give kids a chance.’
He also made a promise that while wildly popular with that crowd, was probably unrealistic: “As your next governor,” Schauer said, “I will repeal right to work for less.” - Michigan Radio, 4/29/14
And Schauer can give Snyder a run for his money:
http://metrotimes.com/...
Republicans have an added advantage in that this year is a so-called off-year election, meaning the presidency is not on the ballot. That means a huge falloff in turnout — and most of those staying home have traditionally been Democratic.
Worse, the party who holds the White House almost always does poorly in off-year elections.
However, I’m starting to think this year might be different, for a number of reasons. First of all, Schauer is starting to find his voice. I crashed the Democrats’ annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner at Cobo Hall Sunday night.
Schauer gave what was really an excellent, almost rip-roaring speech, talking for a first time about what he would do as governor. He outlined a campaign that will be all about saving the threatened middle class and saving education.
The son of a nurse and a high school science teacher, Schauer said his parents taught him that the key to a good job is a good education … and public education is the silver bullet.
He pledged to fight for an increase in the minimum wage because “nobody who works full-time should be raising their children in poverty, and praised the labor movement for all that it has done for a strong middle class.
Schauer’s speech was a bit understandably overshadowed by the master himself, former President Bill Clinton, who held the crowd largely spellbound for nearly an hour.
Yet before the speeches, I mingled with Democrats from retiring U.S. Sen. Carl Levin to youngsters barely out of school. They seemed renewed, upbeat and optimistic. Schauer’s choice of Lisa Brown clearly has had something to do with his.
Charismatic, witty, attractive and smart, she became a sort of folk hero when the Republican oafs in the legislature tried to muzzle her for saying “vagina,” after which she ran for Oakland County clerk, and knocked off the GOP incumbent.
Meanwhile, under the radar, new Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson has been carefully crafting the closest thing possible to a scientific campaign, one that reminds me of Aaron Sorkin's Moneyball, in which a major league franchise without much cash manages to assemble a winning team anyway.
Johnson first managed to get the party to avoid expensive and divisive primary battles for governor and senator.
Next, he has been crunching numbers and reviewing strategies to boost turnout. About five million Michiganders vote in presidential elections. Eight years ago, in a good Democratic year, off-year turnout was 3.8 million.
Four years ago, however, it was a mere 3.2 million — and Republicans won a historic landslide. Johnson knows political numbers like baseball fanatics know batting averages.
He figures if he can get this year’s turnout close to 3.5 million, Snyder is toast. The odds say they can’t do that. - Metro Times, 4/29/14
Meanwhile, Snyder is having a hard time making the argument that his policies have helped Michigan's economy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
While trying to convince Michiganians that his flip-flop on right-to-work legislation was good, Snyder said people should have the "freedom to choose," yet when voters repealed the Emergency Manger law he worked with the Legislature to nullify the people's choice by simply passing another version of the law.
Gov. Rick Snyder has shown over and over again that his word is worth very little. So it comes as no surprise that when it comes to job creation, the one thing Snyder hung his hat on four years ago and is making a core aspect of his re-election campaign, the numbers show his results don't match his rhetoric.
Before the 2010 election, the Snyder campaign stated that "He's the only businessman running so he's the only one that even knows what he's doing." To temper any expectations Snyder also made a point to say "government doesn't create jobs. Government creates an environment where jobs can flourish." But the question is, what is the result of the environment that the governor created?
There are more jobs now in Michigan then when Rick Snyder took office. But there are more jobs everywhere. All Michigan has done is kept pace with the rest of the nation. After all of his work Forbes still ranks Michigan as the 47th best state to do business. One doubts that Snyder's definition of success for Michigan was being bottom-of-the-pile.
Even though data shows only a questionable impact, Gov. Snyder believes his tax cuts created jobs. How many? Well, Snyder says, it's tough to say: "Can we quantify all the numbers? No. But we know it's going to happen."
Well, when you actually do quantify the numbers, Gov. Snyder's faith in tax cuts seems to be misplaced. Before he was elected, Michigan was in the top three states for job growth. Nearly three years later and Michigan has slipped to 15th.
Most of the jobs that have been created in Michigan over the past few years are a result of increased automotive sales. These jobs have little to nothing to do with Snyder's "environment." As a matter of fact when Ford executive Bill Ford Jr. was asked about his company's resurgence, he credited labor unions for saving the company but gave no mention to Snyder or state government. - Huffington Post, 4/24/14
If you want to donate and get involved with Schauer's campaign, you can do so here:
http://markschauer.com/