Michigan: The Crazy Quilt

Why anyone would want to govern Michigan is a wonder. The state has deep-seated economic problems, and it is riven by inter-and intraparty bitterness of a sort to make any Governor look bad. Yet there is never a dearth of aspirants, and this year is far, far from being an exception to that rule. The contenders: Incumbent Democrat John Swainson, 37, and Republican George Romney, 55, who resigned from his $150,000-a-year job as the head of American Motors to seek public office.

As every Michigan gubernatorial candidate must, Romney and Swainson have geared their campaigns to the economic problems that have kept their state stalled for the past decade. Decentralization of the auto industry has moved so many plants out of Michigan that only 32% of the nation's cars are now assembled there. During World War II and the Korean war, Michigan's auto plants received some 10% of all defense dollars. But the state has not kept pace with the demands of the electronics and missile age, now gets a meager 2.7% of defense spending. In addition, automation has thrown thousands of men out of work. Early in 1961, during a slump in auto orders, the unemployment rate in Michigan reached a shocking 14%.

Deadlock. While jobs were disappearing, a legislature controlled by rural Republicans was locked in a death struggle with six-term (1948-60) Democratic Governor "Soapy" Williams. As the state's population grew, by 22% between 1950 and 1960, the legislature reluctantly increased programs for schools and welfare. But it balked at providing adequate tax money to pay for them. Soapy was pretty abrasive, and there was considerable reason for resentment on the side of the legislature. Anyhow, it turned down Williams' proposed 5% income tax, relied instead upon inadequate sales taxes and a "business activities tax," which assessed companies not on their profits but on their total revenues, thereby discouraging new industry from entering the state. Year by year, the deficit mounted.

In 1960 Swainson campaigned for Governor on the claim that he could get along with the Republican legislators. He knew them well—as senate minority leader and as Williams' lieutenant governor presiding over the chamber—and he had always been on friendly personal terms with them. Skinning into office by 4,000 votes, Swainson at first tried playing pal with the legislative Republicans. He got nowhere. This year he turned tough, tried to ram through a fiscal reform program that included a 3% income tax. He still got nowhere. In the past fiscal year, Michigan's deficit increased by $13.9 million, to $85.6 million.

No, Thanks. While Swainson was struggling, Romney was beginning to generate some political dynamism. He had always been willing to lend his cyclonic energy to civic affairs. He led the campaign to set up a convention to rewrite Michigan's antiquated constitution. The convention was in session, with Romney as one of its vice presidents, when he an nounced in February that he was a candidate for Governor.