Tag: Rick Snyder

Former Michigan leaders Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) shared the stage on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the Suburban Collection Showcase in Novi to accept the Eugene A. Gargaro Public Service Award and to stress the importance of civil dialogue and bipartisan collaboration.

With more than 300 people in attendance, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan brought together elected officials, corporate leaders and community members for its annual public policy dinner — a night dedicated to public service, civic engagement and recognition of leaders who have made impactful contributions.

“It means a lot to be here with Gov. Snyder and to be recognized for working across the aisle all these years. I’ve had decades of getting things done, and you don’t do that unless you do it in a bipartisan way. … We don’t move forward unless we do it together,” Stabenow said, reflecting on her long tenure in Congress, where she served as Michigan’s first female U.S. senator from 2001 until January 2025 and previously represented the state’s 8th Congressional District.

Snyder, Michigan’s 48th governor from 2011 to 2019, said he was honored to receive the award and applauded the council’s history of providing unbiased research to support sound public policy.

“For them to honor me, I take that as a wonderful recognition of hopefully some good work I did. I appreciate that it’s also taking place with Sen. Stabenow,” he said.

The award, named for longtime Research Council leader Eugene A. Gargaro Jr., honors individuals who put Michigan’s well-being above partisan divides. Gargaro, a former chairman of the board at the Detroit Institute of Arts, is known for helping lead the “Grand Bargain” that preserved the museum’s collection and protected retiree pensions during Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy.

“I’m honored to represent so many wonderful people who’ve contributed over the years to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan — 109 years to be exact. (The award) has my name, but it’s reflective of a much larger group, and we’re very fortunate to recognize and thank former Sen. Debbie Stabenow and former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this year,” Gargaro told the Free Press.

Panel discussion: Bridging the divide

After dinner, attendees heard directly from the honorees during a panel discussion moderated by Pulitzer award-winning journalist and former Detroit Free Press editorial page editor Stephen Henderson. The conversation touched on the challenges of political polarization and the importance of civil dialogue and bipartisan collaboration.

Stabenow and Snyder described a dramatic shift in political discourse over their careers.

To illustrate political tensions, Stabenow recalled a time when she attempted to greet Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on his first day in the Senate in 2013, when they both happened to take the same elevator.

“I reached out and said, ‘Hi, Ted, welcome to the Senate. I’m Debbie Stabenow from Michigan,’” she said. “He would not shake my hand in an elevator with just the two of us.”

Stabenow contrasted this experience with her initial Senate arrival in 2001, when both Republican and Democratic colleagues were welcoming. The Cruz incident, she said, was “a stark moment for me about how things were changing.”

Snyder reminded the crowd of his governing philosophy, “relentless positive action,” which focused on solving problems without assigning blame. He also cautioned that the current political climate can cause good, thoughtful people in the middle to become disillusioned and “check out” of politics.

“As you hear these dialogs, don’t let it disillusion you and say, ‘I’m going to remove myself from this,’ because that actually accelerates the decline,” Snyder said. “And if anything, when you hear about this polarization, we need you to step up and stand up and be louder and prouder to say, ‘I’m looking for common sense answers … what’s good for everybody.’”

One successful cross-party collaboration that was highlighted during the conversation was Snyder’s push for Medicaid expansion. The former governor described Michigan’s Medicaid expansion, known as Healthy Michigan, as a bipartisan success that saved lives.

“I had more support from the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, but Republicans got on board too, and we did it together,” he said. “There are a lot of people alive today in the state because we did that. That’s one of my proudest accomplishments.”

Stabenow echoed the significance of the expansion program, noting it still provides healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents.

‘The public policy prom’

Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council, described the annual dinner, which doubles as a fundraiser, as “the public policy prom,” a chance for open-minded people to converse and celebrate the council’s work.

“Despite everything going on — the lack of a state budget, everything going on in Washington, DC — there are still a number of people in Michigan who care about good public policy and want to make the state a better place without the extreme agendas,” Lupher said. “There is a path in the middle, and people recognize that and want to support that.”

Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Snyder, Stabenow honored for public service, urge bipartisanship