Veteran political analyst Tom Shields, after looking over his latest polling results, concludes that Michigan voters prefer local control of their government, “even if it’s incompetent.”
Shields, president of Marketing Resource Group, announced this morning that the latest MRG poll shows that
voters oppose the controversial Emergency Financial Manager bill adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Snyder.
Only 40 percent support the legislation and 50 percent oppose it, according to the survey, which was commissioned by Inside Michigan Politics and conducted by Marketing Resource Group.
Not surprisingly, opposition to the Emergency Financial Manager legislation is strongest among Democrats and union households. Support for the legislation comes from Republicans and voters who call themselves conservative.
The bill, which sparked large protests at the Capitol, would allow the governor to put an EMF in charge of a financially failing city or school district. The EMF could, as a last resort, void labor contracts, mandate millage elections, and take away the powers of local elected officials.
“The labor unions have been successful in driving the opposition to this new package of bills despite the financial crisis facing some communities and school districts. It appears the majority of voters is skeptical of state intervention, even if the local government is in financial crisis,” Shields said.
“The voters appear to prefer local control – even if it’s incompetent.”
The statewide poll found that 40 percent of respondents were strongly opposed to the EMF process, while 23 percent were strongly in favor. Perhaps the bad news for the governor and fellow Republican legislators is this figure: 59 percent of moderates (meaning independents and ticket-splitters) oppose the bill and 48 percent strongly oppose.
