Michigan Politics

If Governor Jennifer Granholm ever seriously thought about the idea of a fee to visit Mackinac Island, she's rapidly distancing herself from it now. Well she should – for reasons of practicality and politics.

The Mackinac Island State Park, acquired from the U.S. government in 1895, is Michigan's oldest and most unique state park. Nearly a quarter of the island is outside of the park, including the City of Mackinac Island, which is the port of entry and path to such non-park places as the Grand Hotel. With more than 20 points of entry into parkland, the idea of charging an entry fee is "just totally not workable," says Park Commission Chairman Dennis Cawthorne, a well-connected Lansing attorney who once was the top Republican in the state House. He vows the commission will be "constructive and proactive" in working with Granholm on budget issues.

The park, which gets grants from other than the state, has an annual budget of $5.7 million.

Beyond the practical problems of an entry fee, there's a potentially sensitive political issue for Granholm, who wants the seven-member commission – all gubernatorial appointees – to look at ways to make up the $1.5 million loss, including looking at savings in its operations.

One such operation is maintaining the island's Governors' Summer Residence, the best perk of any governor in the land. I would not advocate closing it down, but I asked the commission what the savings would be if it were shuttered or sold. I was told Monday someone would get back to me.(State offices were closed Monday for Presidents’ Day.)

Granholm said, "It's the only park, I think, in our state system that is not supported by an entrance fee. All of the other parks are sort of self-supporting. They contribute to the Mackinac park."

She said she cut the park budget "because we have to balance the budget. But there may be ways of going about achieving those savings that do not require a fee. That's why we didn't propose a fee, because, you know, nobody wants to put a fee on Mackinac Island."

She said in Traverse City "somebody has suggested there could be a fee…But that's not what we have proposed."

That "somebody" was one of her own cabinet study groups.

Granholm said she has talked with Cawthorne and others on the commission "to think through" what can be done.

Cawthorne has appointed three commission task forces to look at options and report to the commission's March 23 meeting in Lansing.

One is looking at possibilities of tapping foundations and other sources of funds. Another group, including ex-Attorney General Frank Kelley, is looking at possible imposition or increases of fees on park attractions. Ex-U.S. Rep. Bob Traxler, D-Bay City, is checking out possible federal funds.

Whatever options are enacted, they're not likely to include an entrance fee to city-park Mackinac Island. Or shuttering of the governor's summer digs.

Other Budget Issues

If the Legislature passes her budget and economic development plans, Gov. Granholm says there'll be "no need" for tax increases in the next four years. That could be a big if.

"Are you confident you can avoid tax increases in the next four years?" I asked Granholm in an interview during her travels last week to Traverse City and Marquette to tout her legislative proposals in town meetings and media appearances. She said:

"Yeah, if the budget that we have proposed this year is passed as we proposed it, and if we get this economic development agenda passed, the plan for growing jobs, we will be fine, especially if we do the tax restructuring, which I think will provide the incentive for jobs for this state. So I think that there will be no need, or desire, to raise taxes."

At about this point in the interview, press aide Heidi Hansen interrupted to confirm to Granholm that the Senate Appropriations Committee had rejected her plan for $376 million in cuts to balance this year's budget. The House Appropriations Committee had approved it just hours earlier.

The stunned governor said: "I don't understand what's going on . . . The House took care of the concerns that the Senate had raised, and adopted a number of the suggestions that were made" by Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming.

Granholm said, "I applaud (House Speaker) Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) for his leadership in devising a reasonable solution . . . . He addressed all of Senator Sikkema's concerns."

Not quite. Sikkema spokesman Ari Adler said the main hang up was over the portion of her executive order that had some cuts in funding for universities. He also said that the fact that Granholm's road show took her out of the Capitol at the time was not a factor in the rejection.

Failure to reach a compromise last week is but a temporary setback. The good news for Granholm was that she was able to work out a deal with the new speaker, whom, she thought, had taken care of Sikkema's concerns.

The three, and, most notably, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Shirley Johnson, R-Royal Oak, will work this out in the coming days. The bigger task--and test of Granholm's leadership--is the budget for the new fiscal year and her economic package.

Granholm contends Republicans are too quick to reject ideas of a Democratic governor.

"It surprises me, even though I have been in Lansing six years, how good ideas find themselves not getting consideration because of who is proposing them. So. Bottom line, I think there is too much partisanship once you get within the beltway."

During her pitch to a town meeting audience of about 200 Thursday at the Great Lakes campus of Northwestern Michigan College, Granholm was asked if any constitutional changes were needed to ease budget problems.

"Well, we could get rid of the Legislature," she quipped, quickly adding, "I'm just kidding…just fantasizing."

But she wasn't joshing when she told the audience that Lansing politicians should "knock off the partisan stuff."

They won't, of course. Partisan stuff is part of the system, played by both sides.

George Weeks is the political columnist for The Detroit News and is syndicated by Superior Features .