DETROIT – Behind in the polls, but not in passion, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Sunday his Main Street message will resonate with Michigan voters despite what pundits may say.
“You know, in the primary election the pollsters said we were down by 20 points and had no chance to win. We proved them wrong,” Bernero said to a cheering crowd. “The pundits said we were in over our heads, fighting a lost cause – and I can almost hear them pontificating again right now. But we knew better. We knew that people power beats pundit power every time.”
Bernero attacked his Republican challenger Rick Snyder for being out of touch with the needs of working families.
The Lansing mayor, who has had difficulty attracting independents and Republicans, was introduced on the stage by Lansing Dr. Abdul Majid Katranji. Katranji said he is a conservative who has supported Republican candidates but is voting for his first Democrat – Bernero – this year because of what he has done in Lansing and what he can do for the state.
While Bernero has been dubbed the country’s angriest mayor, he turned that around Sunday by saying, “When I get angry I stand up and fight. But we can’t just get mad, we’ve got to get to work.”
Bernero’s running mate, Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, who was officially nominated by party delegates, said both candidates want to make Michigan the kind of place where young families want to live.
“We’re going to make Michigan a magnet for young people across the nation,” she said.
Bernero ran through a long list of to-dos should he win election this fall, including creating a state bank like North Dakota’s that supplies credit to small businesses.
And he reemphasized he is both a pro-labor and pro-business candidate.
“We didn’t grow 6,000 jobs and win half-billion in new investment in Lansing by being anti-business. We did it by being pro-jobs. We didn’t do it the Democratic way or the Republican way – we did it the Michigan way,” Bernero said.
Education was also on the forefront of Bernero’s agenda, as he emphasized the need to limit tuition increases, invest in worker retraining and early education.
Bernero took aim at Snyder’s tax plan, saying it wouldn’t benefit small businesses that are the economic engine for jobs. Under a Bernero administration, tax incentives will be tied directly to job creation, he said, and international investment zones will be created across the state to attract companies.
Bernero also the need to put the “p” back in gross domestic product by Michigan once again producing goods for the world, particularly when it comes to advanced manufacturing and clean energy products.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
a>>
