Gubernatorial Candidates Rick Snyder and Virg Bernero Made their Pitch Tonight to Michigan’s Large Arab-American Community.

posted on: Oct 22, 2010

The two didn’t appear on stage together and spoke separately to more than 500 people at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce annual banquet.

Snyder, an Ann Arbor Republican and businessman, said it’s time for residents of the state to drop the labels that define them, whether those tags are political, ideological or geographical.

The state has become too negative and divided along partisan, racial and ethnic lines.

“Every time that attitude is displayed, Michigan loses,” Snyder said. “The only label that matters is Michigander.”

Bernero, who has lamented the lack of debates in the campaign for governor, used his time before the crowd to tout his immigrant roots — his father came to the United States from Italy in 1948 — and bashed Snyder for both his campaign ads and his desire to move away from the state’s industrial past.

“I proudly stand with my Arab-American brothers and sisters and I will fight discrimination wherever it rears its ugly head,” Bernero said. “And if you want to wave a white flag and give up on manufacturing, I’m not the guy for you.”

The annual dinner is a staple for politicians.

Kathleen Gray
Detroit Free Press