Finley: Snyder is Detroit's best hope

The great irony of an anticipated monumental week for Detroit is that the fate of a largely African-American, Democratic city depends on the re-election of a white, Republican governor.

Detroiters, if traditional patterns hold, will not vote for Gov. Rick Snyder in significant numbers, and yet no group of people in the state is so dependent on his success in Tuesday's balloting.

If Detroit comes out of bankruptcy as expected Friday with a clean balance sheet and a hopeful future, it will be because of the generalship of Snyder, who spent his political capital and much of the energy of his first term on saving the state's largest city.

Detroit is Snyder's legacy. He has a personal stake in assuring the hard-won gains of the past year aren't lost. But even more so, he is invested in bringing the turnaround of Detroit to completion.

The city will be soon be out from under state control. Odds of continuing on the path to recover are fairly high. But they drop to 50-50 at best without Snyder.

He did in Detroit what no Democrat could do, and more than any other governor has done throughout the city's long decline.

His Democratic opponent, Mark Schauer, claims he could have brought Detroit to this same place without an emergency manager and through leadership and working cooperatively with elected officials. That's ludicrous.

The EM law provided the framework for bankruptcy, and no one has forgotten how dysfunctional the city's elected leadership was at the time the state took over.

Neither Schauer nor any other Democrat could have faced down key Democratic constituencies, including unions and African-American voters, to make the difficult decisions necessary to rescue the city from financial ruin.

That job continues, and Snyder is far more likely to complete it than is Schauer. The city will need not just firm oversight, but also the resources and expertise the governor has already proved he can deliver.

Snyder, too often criticized for lacking political skills, brought the GOP-controlled Legislature to where he needed it to be in approving not only the $350 million bailout package, but other efforts as well. Those include blight remediation, public lighting improvement and bolstering public safety.

The governor has also taken on the thankless task of trying to turnaround Detroit's worst schools.

Again, Snyder did not go all-out for Detroit because it would win him votes. He truly believes the well-being of the state depends heavily on the Motor City's return to health.

Compare his engagement in Detroit to that of his risk-adverse Democratic predecessor, who went long stretches without ever stepping foot in the city. Snyder works a day or two a week out of the state's Cadillac Place offices in the New Center. He's here physically, and his heart is here.

But more important, his political investment is here. If Detroit doesn't continue to progress, if it is in disarray again by the end of his second term, the blame is in Snyder's lap.

Detroiters have a compelling reason to break old habits and vote for Snyder on Tuesday — he can't afford to let their city fail.

nfinley@detroitnews.com

(313)222-2064

Follow Nolan Finley at detroitnews.com/finley, on Twitter at nolanfinleydn, on Facebook at nolanfinleydetnews and watch him at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on "MiWeek" on Detroit Public TV, Channel 56.