... and apparently driving himself around the D. He also penned a folksy op-ed for the Detroit News pledging "the dream of the Motor City" can finally be realized "with a Detroiter in the White House." New polling suggests Michiganders remain skeptical.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Detroit transit and presidential politics
Jeff Wattrick observes an interesting political thread that may (or may not) be running through Detroit transit talks:
(Michigan's) Republican (Governor Rick) Snyder and President Obama’s Department of Transportation are seen as BRT champions while local businessmen, including Mitt Romney’s Michigan finance chair Dan Gilbert, and several high-profile local Democrats like Carl Levin and John Conyers want M1’s (rail) plan incorporated into the larger transit strategy.
Whether that interesting political dynamic proves to be relevant or just curious remains to be seen. Metro Detroit’s transit discussion has long seemed less about differing political ideologies and more about a conflict of purpose.
Jon Stewart interviews Fmr MI Gov Granholm
Bizzaro energy politics in Michigan
The left-leaning Center for American Progress has high hopes for the energy platform of Michigan's new Republican governor.
The 2010 midterm elections ushered dozens of new climate science deniers into state houses and the U.S. Capitol. Michigan may buck this trend, however. Freshly inaugurated Gov. Rick Snyder supported clean energy policies during last year’s race. Michigan could turn out to be a clean energy bright spot in a disappointing election season if Snyder stays true to his campaign.Meanwhile, Michigan's Democratic leadership called for the construction of a new coal plant, effectively thumbing their nose at the past eight years of soaring alternative energy rhetoric from former Governor Granholm, a Democrat.
For now, Great Lakes power is not waning
The census revealed the Rust Belt is losing people, which ultimately translates to less political clout. But George Will reports that, for the moment, the region's influence is ascendant in the nation's Capitol.
Michigan's power is waxing in Washington, with Upton's boon companion Dave Camp, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. They are part of a Midwestern ascendancy in the House, which also includes Ohio's John Boehner (speaker), Michigan'sMike Rogers (chairman of the intelligence committee), Wisconsin's Paul Ryan (chairman of budget), Minnesota's John Kline (chairman of education and the workforce), and Missouri's Sam Graves (chairman of small business).
Roundup of rail reactions
An admittedly incomplete attempt to catalog the politicians' recent passenger-rail-paper-pushing around Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, New York and D.C.
Nov 4: Wisconsin Gov-Elect Scott Walker issues a statement announcing his team is "exploring all legal options" to stop the Milwaukee-Madison rail project and redirect the money to fix roads and bridges.
Nov 4: Wisconsin DOT Secretary announces that, at Gov. Jim Doyle's request, he'll "temporarily interrupt" work on the rail project.
Nov 5: US Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Milwaukee issues a statement saying it's critical that work on the rail project continue.
Nov 5: NY Gov-Elect Andrew Cuomo sends a letter urging US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to redirect to New York any unwanted rail funds from states like Wisconsin and Ohio because "high speed rail could be the 21st Century Erie Canal for New York State" and "now is the moment to build."
Nov 8: Wisconsin's outgoing Governor Jim Doyle issues a statement saying the idea that rail funds could be spent to fix roads is "pure fiction."
Nov 8: Secretary LaHood responds to letter (PDF) to WI Gov-Elect Scott Walker saying rail money can not be used to fix roads and bridges.
Nov 8: Ohio Gov-Elect John Kasich sends a letter (PDF) to outgoing Gov. Strickland demanding he "immediately cancel all contracts relating to your rail program."
Nov 8: Kasich sends a letter (PDF) to President Obama saying he will terminate Ohio's Cincinnat--Columbus-Cleveland passenger rail project. Freight rail and highways, he says, take priority.
(Note the so-called 3C line is backed by more than 80 letters and resolutions of support from a broad range of groups including the AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club.)
Nov 9: Wi Gov-Elect Scott Walker reportedly sends letter to President Obama saying road and bridge spending is Wisconsin's priority.
Nov 9: A spokesman for OH Governor Strickland reportedly tells Kasich to go fly a kite via an e-mailed statement to a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter.
Nov 9: Secretary LaHood responds (PDF) to Ohio's Kasich by in part informing the Gov-elect that stimulus funds paid for 492 road, bridge, transit and airport projects in the state.
Nov 10: The Watertown Chamber of Commerce sends a letter (PDF) to Gov Elect Scott Walker saying that cancellation of the Madison-Milwaukee project would be "an extremely poor decision" that would "stymie economic development."
Nov. 10: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn reportedly releases a letter in which he recruits the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo from Wisconsin to Illinois.
UPDATE Nov 11: Milwaukee Common Council sends a letter (PDF) to Secretary LaHood saying Milwaukee-Madison rail service will "improve mobility, provide more travel choices, create wealth and promote economic development.”
UPDATE Nov 16: Three U.S. Congressmen - all from Wisconsin - issue a statement that shouts "local control" and introduces legislation that would allow states to return rail money and help pay the federal debt.
UPDATE Nov 18: The Minnesota AFL-CIO sends a letter (PDF) to Gov-Elect Walker saying the midwest's global competitiveness depends on upgrading to a 21st century transportation system.
Nov 4: Wisconsin Gov-Elect Scott Walker issues a statement announcing his team is "exploring all legal options" to stop the Milwaukee-Madison rail project and redirect the money to fix roads and bridges.
Nov 4: Wisconsin DOT Secretary announces that, at Gov. Jim Doyle's request, he'll "temporarily interrupt" work on the rail project.
Nov 5: US Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Milwaukee issues a statement saying it's critical that work on the rail project continue.
Nov 5: NY Gov-Elect Andrew Cuomo sends a letter urging US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to redirect to New York any unwanted rail funds from states like Wisconsin and Ohio because "high speed rail could be the 21st Century Erie Canal for New York State" and "now is the moment to build."
Nov 8: Wisconsin's outgoing Governor Jim Doyle issues a statement saying the idea that rail funds could be spent to fix roads is "pure fiction."
Nov 8: Secretary LaHood responds to letter (PDF) to WI Gov-Elect Scott Walker saying rail money can not be used to fix roads and bridges.
Nov 8: Ohio Gov-Elect John Kasich sends a letter (PDF) to outgoing Gov. Strickland demanding he "immediately cancel all contracts relating to your rail program."
Nov 8: Kasich sends a letter (PDF) to President Obama saying he will terminate Ohio's Cincinnat--Columbus-Cleveland passenger rail project. Freight rail and highways, he says, take priority.
(Note the so-called 3C line is backed by more than 80 letters and resolutions of support from a broad range of groups including the AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club.)
Nov 9: Wi Gov-Elect Scott Walker reportedly sends letter to President Obama saying road and bridge spending is Wisconsin's priority.
Nov 9: A spokesman for OH Governor Strickland reportedly tells Kasich to go fly a kite via an e-mailed statement to a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter.
Nov 9: Secretary LaHood responds (PDF) to Ohio's Kasich by in part informing the Gov-elect that stimulus funds paid for 492 road, bridge, transit and airport projects in the state.
Nov 10: The Watertown Chamber of Commerce sends a letter (PDF) to Gov Elect Scott Walker saying that cancellation of the Madison-Milwaukee project would be "an extremely poor decision" that would "stymie economic development."
Nov. 10: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn reportedly releases a letter in which he recruits the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo from Wisconsin to Illinois.
UPDATE Nov 11: Milwaukee Common Council sends a letter (PDF) to Secretary LaHood saying Milwaukee-Madison rail service will "improve mobility, provide more travel choices, create wealth and promote economic development.”
UPDATE Nov 16: Three U.S. Congressmen - all from Wisconsin - issue a statement that shouts "local control" and introduces legislation that would allow states to return rail money and help pay the federal debt.
UPDATE Nov 18: The Minnesota AFL-CIO sends a letter (PDF) to Gov-Elect Walker saying the midwest's global competitiveness depends on upgrading to a 21st century transportation system.
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