GRAND RAPIDS – Trying to strike a blow against ongoing regional differences, Governor Rick Snyder urged Grand Rapids area business leaders against bad mouthing different regions of the state, particularly Detroit.
Criticizing different regions hurts the state in its efforts to attract businesses, Snyder said in a luncheon speech before the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.
Snyder spoke to more than 700 attendees who gave him a standing ovation. He joked that it was one of the nicer receptions he had received in recent months.
During his address, where he spoke again about reinventing the state, he said the state had to take on a new attitude so it was not so negative.
Treading for a moment around the fight that has existed for decades between Grand Rapids and the Detroit area, Snyder said companies that look at Michigan often will not locate in the state if people from one area criticize another.
“Why would I want to locate in a state where they don’t like each other?” Snyder said businesses would say.
It was something all persons in the state had to consider, Snyder, said, and then saying especially if Grand Rapids-area residents criticize Detroit.
He also praised Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell for his efforts to work together with Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.
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