(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/26/2022) Present-day Gov. Gretchen Whitmer obtaining the Michigan Manufacturers Association's (MMA) endorsement marks the first time the association has formally backed a Democrat since MMA's president supported then-Gov. James Blanchard in 1990.
On Friday, the MMA announced it would be endorsing incumbent Whitmer for November 2022 after "an extensive interview process and rigorous discussion" with the association's board of directors.
"We believe Governor Whitmer recognizes the need to compete for manufacturing capital investment through aggressive economic development incentives and to build a world-class workforce with support from effective programs like the Going PRO Talent Fund and Michigan Reconnect," said MMA Executive Vice President Mike Johnston of Government Affairs in a press release.
Whitmer's Republican opponent Tudor Dixon, has held an endorsement from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Michigan, since the primary election season, and has made eliminating 40% of the state's regulatory code one of her campaign promises.
However, the former steel industry sales director did not acquire the MMA endorsement like several GOP gubernatorial candidates who came before her.
While the MMA president, (John THODIS) at the time endorsed Blanchard in his reelection bid against past Gov. John Engler – which Engler won in 1990 with a tight 49.8% to Blanchard's 49.1% – the board took a neutral position.
Throughout the rest of the 1990s, the MMA did not make any gubernatorial endorsements until Republican Dick Posthumus in his 2002 race against victorious Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Afterward, the MMA did not give an endorsement during Granholm's 2006 reelection race against Republican businessman Dick DeVos, and then endorsed previous Republican Gov. Rick SNYDER in both his runs and backed Republican Bill Schuette in his 2018 race against Whitmer.
"Our top priorities are fairly clear," said Johnston in a conversation with MIRS. "We've got to make ourselves competitive in the global economy, so economic development incentives are a critical piece of us being competitive globally, and attracting and retaining industrial investment."
Another one of Dixon's campaign proposals is zoomed in on cutting "corporate welfare." According to her website, the strategy would consist of analyzing "all Michigan incentive programs created and utilized over the last decade to determine their efficacy and efficiency." This would later result in developing data-driven decisions on how to reform or remove them.
Meanwhile, the Legislature and the Governor made headlines at the end of 2021 by creating the state's first-ever Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund with a $1 billion appropriation.
Recently, the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee has advanced legislation to refill the fund by keeping the corporate and personal income taxes captured during a participating company's construction phase.
Johnston did not mention the future of the SOAR Fund in his brief interview with MIRS, but additionally explained how developing pipelines for talent is another priority of the MMA when making endorsements.
"Creating new opportunities for training, helping companies adapt to changes in technology . . ." Johnston said. "Talent development and getting access to talent – not just people, but people with the right skill sets . . . it's a high priority for MMA."
