$161 Million Sets Stage for New Michigan Jobs

When the U.S. auto industry was on the brink of collapse, I rallied mayors from across America to fight for our auto industry and the jobs they provide here in Michigan and around the country.  My campaign to stand up for hard working families who depend on auto-related jobs is now paying dividends – Michigan is set to receive $161 million to clean up 47 closed and contaminated General Motors sites in 14 communities. This is a major step toward putting these sites back into productive use – and getting Michigan back to work...

My job creating Main Street Michigan Agenda.

My colleagues and I in the Mayors Automotive Coalition (MAC) were instrumental in making it happen.  Eighteen months ago we began an aggressive campaign to persuade the Obama Administration and Congress that the fate of closed automotive plant sites is a critical issue for cities across the nation.  Vacant, blighted buildings and extensive environmental contamination created enormous obstacles to our efforts to redevelop the sites to create new "green" jobs.

The MAC mayors proposed a detailed framework to get the closed sites cleaned up as quickly as possible.  Our plan included creating a new federal fund -- the Federal Automotive Stabilization Trust (FAST) -- to expedite the remediation and redevelopment of dozens of closed and contaminated sites in Michigan and across the country.  

For more than a year my MAC colleagues and I worked relentlessly to persuade federal officials to make the redevelopment of these closed and contaminated sites a centerpiece of the federal strategy to jump-start the economic recovery of automotive communities nationwide.

Our efforts were successful. President Obama's recent announcement of a new $836 million federal trust fund to prepare our closed and contaminated automotive sites for new, job-creating reinvestment and redevelopment was a gratifying affirmation that our hard work had paid off. 

Michigan is slated to receive $161 million from the federal trust fund to remediate 47 closed and contaminated General Motors sites in 14 communities, including Bay City, Burton, Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Lansing Twp., Livonia, Mt. Morris, Pontiac, Romulus, Saginaw, Van Buren Twp., Wyoming and Ypsilanti.

The success of the MAC mayors in persuading Washington to invest in Main Street instead of Wall Street is just one example of what we can do when we stand together to fight for the things that matter most.

As Michigan's Governor, I will bring the same drive and relentless determination to the job of fixing Michigan's broken state government, standing up and fighting for Michigan jobs and families, and ensuring that we get a fair shake in Washington.

With your support, we will get Michigan back on track – and get our citizens back to work!

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