Today, 671 days before the 2018 election, Ingham County Prosecutor and former State Senator Gretchen Whitmer filed paperwork to run for governor of Michigan in 2018. It’s a smart move given that she’ll likely face primary opponents with more high profile positions (like Congressman Dan Kildee, for example.) Getting out early will help give her helpful exposure. It’s exciting to […]

Michigan is a hot political mess these days. Between an a tea party-led legislature that never seems to run out of ways to screw over the poor and the powerless to the Snyder administration that is so intent on saving money that they ended up poisoning a city’s water supply, there’s little fun or uplifting to write about for a […]

Let’s dance [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is clearly practicing for his court appearance in Detroit on Monday where he’ll testify in the court hearing to determine if the city is eligible to go into bankruptcy. Yesterday, Snyder was asked about his opinion about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Michiganders […]

A hearty welcome to all of you joining us from GOP.com! I want to clear up a little misinformation you received from your Republican friends regarding rate increases in Michigan. Despite what they told you, the actual average increase in rates being asked for by health insurance companies is a scant 2.2%. Yes, some were higher but there were also […]

Standing proud for kids, teachers, and public education The Michigan Education Association (MEA), Michigan’s largest teachers union, threw their support behind Mark Schauer for governor today, giving him their official endorsement. Schauer is the son of a high school teacher and a product of Michigan’s public school system. As governor, he’ll be a fierce advocate for public education, our educators, […]

Dude, we KNOW the difference between a nerd and a corporatist [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] Rick Snyder has begun his campaign to remain governor of Michigan with a new website, a new video, and repeated statements that he hasn’t announced his candidacy. A website and Twitter and Facebook accounts used by the campaign […]

“I tried to do stuff” isn’t really a platform, is it? [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] I find it a bit puzzling that Rick Snyder hasn’t yet confirmed that he is running for governor in 2014. Most people didn’t know about his 2010 candidacy until he ran the now-famous “one tough nerd” ad during […]

Now THAT is a party!

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Rene and Matt Greff, owners of Arbor Brewing Company and the Corner Brewery are huge supporters of Mark Schauer to be Michigan’s next governor. This past Saturday, they held a fundraising party for him at their home in Ypsilanti and it was a rousing success.

After the jump are some photos taken by Anne C. Savage along with some choice quotes from the evening. More photos can be seen on Anne’s Facebook page.

Nana nah nah, nana nah nah, hey hey hey, good-bye… The Washington Post‘s The Fix blog is keeping track of the governor races across the country and maintains a list of the top 15 most likely to change parties. The last time they ranked the states, Michigan was at number six. Today, we’ve cracked the top five. All of which […]

Financial Review Team??? We don’t need no stinkin’ financial review team

The Detroit Free Press has obtained copies of the emails between Governor Snyder’s staff and Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr that prove that he was basically offered the position before the financial emergency had even been declared in Detroit. Under Emergency Financial Manager law that was in effect at the time, Public Act 72, a state review team had to make the determination that Detroit was actually in a financial emergency before an Emergency Financial Manager was hired. This detail … sorry – LAW – did not appear to get in the way of Governor Snyder making the assessment himself and hiring Orr before the process had been completed.

All the gory (and illegal) details await you after the jump.

One term nerd, indeed

Public Policy Polling has the first Michigan gubernatorial poll out since Mark Schauer declared his candidacy and the news is very, very bad for incumbent governor Rick Snyder. According to PPP, Mark Schauer leads Snyder by four points, a huge margin for someone who is relatively unknown outside of the 7th Congressional District where he once served as Congressman.

More after the jump.