The Bailey Blog

Deal or No Deal is coming to Michigan’s Capitol. Or maybe it will be The Price is Right.

Maybe it’s going to have more of an Amazing Race flair – or the knock-down drag out tempo of Survivor.

The $64,000 Question is all about whether the Democrats will hold another primary election in Michigan.

Back in January, both parties thought moving Michigan’s primary to early January would provide a Wheel of Fortune for the Great Lakes State. Turns out they were wrong and we’re just The Biggest Loser. Unless you count Florida, but then we all know how well Florida does with counting.

In case you haven’t heard, Democratic Party officials, political leaders and union bosses have decided that Michigan Democrats should get a mulligan – they want to throw out the results of the Jan. 15 primary and hold another one on June 3.

Here’s the rub: they need the approval of the state Legislature but they only control the House while the Republicans control the Senate.

This could be interesting to watch. Of course, there’s also an ancient Chinese curse that says, “May you live in interesting times.”

A few hurdles have to be jumped to make the June 3 primary happen – and by saying “hurdles” I’m being politely optimistic.

First, Democrats have to raise between $10 million and $12 million to pay for another election because the state taxpayers don’t want to foot the bill. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell apparently are willing to help raise money. So, let’s say they raise enough private funds to run a public election – ok, on to the second hurdle.

The Legislature must then draft legislation that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will agree to. Well, gee, that shouldn’t be too hard, considering how well their two camps have gotten along this election cycle, right?

The third hurdle is that once the legislation is drafted, it has to be approved by the state Legislature — that bastion of cooperation we’ve all seen handle things like the state’s main business tax and the state budget with aplomb. (Here’s where the Deal or No Deal and The Price is Right analogies kick in – get it?)

And, finally, we reach the fourth hurdle: approval of a delegate selection process by the National Democratic Party. That shouldn’t be too hard. Unless of course they don’t like something about the process and decide that the Michigan delegates shouldn’t be seated at the convention as a form of punishment. But, they wouldn’t ever do that, would they?

Cue the theme from Jeopardy…

The holidays are here and this Christmas Eve I won’t be nestled all snug in my bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. I’ll be dreaming a very different dream of healthy Michigan residents and employees, of a healthy economy, of a decrease in deaths caused by cancer and heart disease – a dream of a smokefree Michigan…

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House (of Representatives), not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. House Bill 4163 had been sent out by the committee chair and there was a great yell of triumph from the Campaign for Smokefree Air.

Children with asthma were wishing for the best, of visits to restaurants with clean air in their chests. And mamma in her apron could work for a living, without the worry of cancer the secondhand smoke was giving.

When out in the Capitol lobby, there arose such a clatter, the people all wondered just what was the matter? Ohio has done it, and Illinois, too, so many states were smokefree, why is it so hard for Michigan to do?

Then it became clear, there was smoke in the air, from opponents who warned lawmakers, “You’d better not dare.” “We have,” they said, “our own science for you; just listen to us, so you’ll know what to do.”

But it wasn’t enough, and CSA found their excuses easy to snuff. In a flash, we showed them the truth: smokefree air is needed at every worksite – from office, to factory, to bar and to booth.

The people of Michigan called out in the night, “please Mr. Lawmaker, please make it right!”

We want what they have – in Arizona, Arkansas, California and Colorado. Why can’t we be like Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Idaho? From Louisiana to Maine, in Maryland, Minnesota, Montana – why they’ve even bet on smokefree air out in Nevada! New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, the Dakotas – residents are protected and smokefree, just like the folks in Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Out west in Utah, up north in Vermont, in rainy Washington and political D.C. - they’ve figured it out, so why, why, oh why can’t we?

So the lawmakers voted and did the right thing, they proved to constituents that they had been listening.

But then I awoke with a terrible start; I grabbed for my pillow and clutched at my heart. For I had only been dreaming of a smokefree Michigan, and I know those who want it will have to try again and again.

You see, the House has now passed it, but the Senate’s no cinch. We hope that it’s not our own Christmas Grinch.

So write to your lawmakers and tell them to vote; tell them you’re watching and you’re taking note. It’s good for me and for you, good for health and business too; be you naughty or nice, a smokefree Michigan is the right thing to do!

Ronald M. Davis, M.D.
President, American Medical Association
Director, Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
Henry Ford Health System
One Ford Place, 5C
Detroit, Michigan 48202-3450, USA
Tel: +1 313-874-6276

See other blogs from the 2007 Mackinac Policy Conference here.

The other day, I was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as follows: “We are tired of talk,” said John Bailey, president and chief executive officer of Troy-based John Bailey & Associates Inc. “Get this budget done. Don’t go on vacation. Don’t take weekends. That’s what business would do.”

I’ve received quite a few eyebrow raises for that comment while at the Leadership Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. But I stand behind what I said and I believe strongly that we have good, hard working legislators in Lansing who care deeply about Michigan. I know they recognize the importance of balancing the budget too. But Michigan business owners are indeed tired of the delay and discussion. We want to see action so we can believe that our entire state is moving forward.

In our business, if we lose an account, the entire team mobilizes to reorganize and replace that income. We have no other choice. We develop plans and act on them immediately. As a result, we stay in business and keep evolving. By adopting a real sense of urgency, Lansing could do the same.

In addition, uncertainty may lead business owners to seek greener pastures and our state can’t afford that. Many need to know now about next year’s taxes and important funding. Further delay just gives them time to figure out other options. Act now, Lansing. Do what you have to do. Forgo breaks and leisure time to get it done. In the end, Michigan will have greater faith in your leadership and the entire state and our economy will reap the benefits.

The Mackinac Conference brings excitement to conference-goers each year – some look forward to meeting new friends and connecting with old ones, submerged in a sea of handshakes, conversations and outcomes. Many use it as an excuse to polish up their spring and summer wardrobe as many fashions are first out-of-the-gate following the infamous Memorial Day fashion rules – so it’s really the Kentucky Derby networking event of the North.

For John Bailey & Assoicates Inc., Public Relations, it brings a rush of adrenaline. Each year we look forward to connecting with our clients on a different level, able to enjoy some unhurried time together in a beautiful setting. We anticipate making connections and enjoying conversations with people from across Southeast Michigan without having to worry about trekking back across town to another meeting on the busy Michigan highways. We await the informative conference sessions and wonderful speakers that bring a fresh perspective to our policy and infrastructure challenges and questions – perspectives that pop their way into our conversations and help to shape policy long after the conference is over.

At JB&A, the conference also is an exciting time due to the annual launch of our survey results with the Detroit Regional Chamber. The survey polls chamber members on a variety of issues facing SE Michigan businesses. Now in its fourth year, the results also provide a retrospective glance from where we have come. This year, some of the interesting features will include perspectives on the affordability of health care, overwhelming support for incentives to businesses and residents implementing energy efficiency practices and interesting transportation responses.

The Mackinac Leadership Policy Conference is truly a unique opportunity to take in information and share meaningful dialogue with colleagues, friends and, yes, even some competitors. It’s an opportunity to strengthen our business relationships, but more importantly, it’s an opportunity for all of us to focus on how we can strengthen our region and our state.

The two-year-old Web site pasadenanow.com, has posted a job opening for journalists in India to cover news in this wealthy city just outside Los Angeles. The editor said it can be done from afar now that weekly Pasadena City Council meetings can be watched over the Internet. And he said the idea makes business sense because of India’s lower labor costs.

The founding fathers who felt freedom of the press important enough to include it in the first amendment to the Bill of Rights must be rolling over in their graves.

And you can’t just chalk it up to it “being California.” Right here in Michigan’s state capital, the Booth Newspapers chain has decided to gut its Lansing bureau by forcing out seasoned veterans of political and government news coverage.

Journalism has lost its focus. Who is to blame? Just about everybody.

Corporate owners are to blame because they are focusing on the bottom line. When you look at a newspaper’s structure, every division brings in money directly, except the newsroom. So where do they cut the budget first? You guessed it: the newsroom.

Journalism students are to blame because the current crop is full of the entitlement generation. They expect a “dream job” where they get to write on the subjects they choose all while making great money and leading fun lifestyles – right out of college.

Journalism schools are to blame because they are putting too much emphasis on how to write for the Web, how to post a blog or how to create a YouTube video production on-line. You can’t ignore technological advances, but no matter the medium of delivery, a good story is one that is well-reported and well-written.

Many journalists are to blame because too many of them are content to report on the news by reading press releases and contacting sources by phone or e-mail. They have lost their drive to get out on the street and actually sniff out the real newsworthy stuff.

And alas, readers and viewers are to blame because we don’t protest enough. The 24-hour news cycle held so much promise because of all the time and space journalists would have available to them. Instead, the airwaves are filled with nonstop tabloid journalism that sounds more like a script from a nighttime soap opera than an actual newscast.

When we do protest, we tend to send the wrong message, telling newspapers that the Internet is where we are headed. A recent letter to the editor of the Lansing State Journal read: “Your product is delivering less and less local and national news. Where are the interesting articles that used to be published? The sections of the paper are getting very thin and lack content due to the ads. We plan to cancel our 35-year subscription and find news of interest on the Internet.”

If you want to affect change at an organization, never tell them you’ve given up on them already. And remember, the Internet is outstanding at making the world a smaller place, but it’s still not local. Just ask the folks in Pasadena reading about their city council meetings under a byline from India.

I’m hoping to say that soon when I call my mother as all good sons are supposed to.

Calling home took on a surreal tone for me this past weekend when I discovered I didn’t know my mother’s phone number. Now, before you judge me for not calling my mother enough, that’s not the case at all. The issue is that I’ve become too reliant on calling home via speed dial.

I grabbed my cell phone on Sunday to call her. But for some reason, her number was not in my cell phone’s speed dial anymore. So, I simply grabbed the next closest piece of technology: my PDA. Lo and behold, that last time it synced with the computer something went wrong. My mother’s entry was gone!

After a minute of guilt – and a touch of panic over possibly having to call my sister for our mother’s phone number – I discovered that I had Mom programmed into my cordless home phone.

All this panicked searching for a phone number got me thinking about technology and how over-reliant on it we’ve become. Before joining John Bailey & Associates, I worked for the state Senate, where I carried a fancier PDA that was a phone and scheduler and handled e-mail. When it died from overuse, I had a startling realization that I couldn’t remember the last time I looked up while walking to a meeting. I couldn’t remember when my brain had some down time to simply process all the minutia I’d been collecting all day long and needed to sort out. I couldn’t remember the last time I actually stayed focused in a meeting – on that meeting.

It’s amazing how much more focused I’ve become lately without a Blackberry buzzing on my hip, without a wireless laptop to drag around with me from meeting to meeting, and with the newfound strength to send a call to voicemail.

It’s startling how much more you can learn from people when you are actually willing to listen and focus on what they are saying. It’s a little thing called communicating – and we could all use a refresher course on why communicating isn’t the same thing as communication.

I’m proud to say I have fought the temptation to replace the Blackberry but I can’t pat myself on the back just yet. True rehabilitation will be achieved when I can call my mom without the safety net of speed dial.

So, wish me luck. I might be calling on some of you for support, assuming I can remember your number.
(more…)

Everyone knows the line about a “spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” Well in the case of the leaders in Lansing proposing tax increases and budget cuts to the public, effective communication is the spoonful of sugar.

The people of Michigan will be more supportive of spending cuts and tax increases if they understand the proposals and their impact – and the consequences if nothing happens.

The governor is a tremendous communicator and needs to explain to voters how dire Michigan’s budget situation is. It will help tremendously if the voters see the governor and Legislature working for a common purpose together rather than for a chosen political ideology.

In particular, business owners in the service industries like public relations, law, accounting and advertising will be a key audience because of the proposed new tax on services.

With such thin profit margins already, there’s the potential for job losses or companies changing locations or billing practices to avoid paying a new Michigan tax. We all need to be willing to look at it because we need to consider all the options if we are going to put the economic health of Michigan first.

Michigan’s budget situation requires a sense of urgency or the state will continue to flounder. Outside of Lansing, there is an apparent apathy – or perhaps a lack of empathy – from the public regarding government budget problems. A recent poll published in the Detroit Free Press said 64 percent of Michiganders would prefer spending cuts to solve the state’s budget problems.

All of Michigan’s elected leaders need to embrace technology to communicate with voters, using Web sites, e-mail, blogs and pod casts. The governor knows from her successful town hall meetings four years ago that two-way communication is always more productive and effective. She can revisit this tactic to communicate her plan and budget. She could even do a 30 to 40 minute movie of her presentation to communicate with community and business groups, cable channels, church groups, etc.

[Poll=6]