| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan December 19, 2018 Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org Progress Michigan Unveils the Official Unofficial Rick Snyder Gubernatorial Portrait The People’s Portrait is an accurate description of the failed Snyder years LANSING — Today, Progress Michigan unveiled the unofficial official Rick Snyder gubernatorial portrait. The framed artwork was displayed on the grounds the Michigan Capitol as a testament to the legacy Rick Snyder leaves behind. Snyder’s portrait pays homage to some of the most egregious controversies surrounding his time in office, including the scandal-plagued Aramark contract, bottom of the barrel transparency rankings, the Flint Water Crisis, and Right to Work, among other things. It was unveiled during a short press conference on the Capitol steps and can be seen at the bottom of this release. “Rick Snyder was at the helm during the last eight years of total Republican control and the legacy he leaves behind is immortalized in this portrait,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Snyder’s time in office came with attacks on working families and unions, the state’s largest environmental and health disaster in the Flint Water Crisis, and an agenda that catered to corporate profit motives over the wellbeing of Michiganders and communities. Lame Duck is providing an opportunity for Snyder to salvage some shred of decency if he vetoes the controversial legislation that is veering toward his desk or already there, but the things displayed in this portrait are forever tied to his administration.” Progress Michigan created the artwork to begin the process of setting the record straight on Snyder’s tenure as the governor who chose profits over people time and time again. While Snyder still has an opportunity to do some good with the veto pen during Lame Duck, much of his legacy will have Michiganders not missing him in office. In the portrait, the now infamous Flint Water Plant tower is seen looming large in the background. The environmental and health disaster that unfolded in Flint will undoubtedly be a major part of what folks remember about Snyder’s time in office. The Flint Water Crisis is emblematic of how Snyder ran the state: it’s about money first. “The People’s Portrait of Gov. Snyder is fitting for the legacy he leaves Michigan and especially my hometown of Flint,” said Nayyirah Shariff, director of Flint Rising, who was on hand for the portrait unveiling. “It was Rick Snyder’s emergency manager law — forced on the people of this state and Flint — that led to the Flint Water Crisis. The people of Flint will forever bear the scars of Snyder’s governorship, but we won’t let our wounds define us. It is our resolve and our unity that will define Flint’s future — a future that thankfully does not include Rick Snyder in power.” “Rick Snyder ran as one tough nerd but in reality he lacked toughness when corporate lobbyists came calling with their radical agenda. This portrait should hang in the Capitol as a symbol of the failed policies of the Michigan GOP for years to come,” Scott continued. “Snyder may see himself as a champion of the people but this accurate description of his tenure shows he was nothing more than a tool of corporate lobbyists. He won’t be missed.”
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