The do-nothing Lame Duck session of the Michigan legislature could
actually turn into a do-something session that could also turn into a
barn burner.
Quiet efforts are unfolding to push through the bridge between
Detroit and Windsor and salvage the Pure Michigan tourism/ad campaign
for next year.
Talk about your heavy-lifting.
Governor-elect Rick Snyder is reportedly being courted back stage
to add his input to both issues. He has publicly embraced saving the
Pure Michigan stuff but has never embraced a method to finance it.
On the hot-potato bridge issue pitting the owner of the Ambassador
bridge against the rest of the free world, the proponents are
whispering in the new gov's ear that it would be a great way to launch
his administration by creating 10,000 badly needed construction jobs.
For his part, Mr. Snyder has said he needs to "study" the bridge,
but he's being urged to listen to those around him who have studied the
thing and are on board. That would include guys like Mark Murray, Doug
Rothwell and former and present governors. They see this as an
economic growth issue while the opponent sees it as encroachment on his
monopoly on bridge traffic which turns a nifty little profit.
The fly in the ointment is the senate GOP leader Mike Bishop who
first said there would be a vote and then he changed his mind blaming
the Michigan Department of Transportation for not providing enough data
on which to base a vote.
M-DOT says baloney.
All this is simmering to a boil for when the salons return here on
November 30, Dec 1 and 2 for what could be a heck of a Lame Duck battle.
These two issues may appear to be dead but there are lots of
folks working night and day to make the corpse wink.