Richard Dale Snyder was born on August 19, 1958, in Battle Creek, Michigan. He is an American business leader, investor, lawyer, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder began his career in business in 1982. He was the chairman of the board of Gateway from 2005 to 2007. He also co-founded Ardesta, LLC, a venture capital firm, and HealthMedia, Inc., a company that provides digital health coaching. He is currently the CEO of SensCy, a cybersecurity company in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A member of the Republican Party, Snyder won the 2010 Michigan gubernatorial election and was re-elected in 2014. He could not run for re-election in 2018 because of term limits and was replaced by Democrat Gretchen Whitmer. Snyder was considered a possible candidate for vice president of the United States in 2012, but Paul Ryan was chosen instead.
In 2014, Snyder became widely known for his role in the Flint water crisis, where he was accused of failing to address a situation that exposed thousands of Flint residents to water contaminated with lead. A report by the University of Michigan School of Public Health stated that Snyder had "major legal responsibility" for the crisis. In 2020, an article in Vice magazine reported evidence suggesting Snyder was involved in a cover-up and corruption related to the crisis, including repeated warnings about the dangers of his decisions regarding the water supply. In January 2021, Snyder was charged with two minor crimes related to the crisis. He did not admit guilt. In December 2022, a judge dismissed the charges.
Early life, education, and family
Snyder was born to Dale F. and Helen Louella Snyder in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan, where he grew up. His father owned a local window-cleaning business in Battle Creek and had Dutch heritage on his father's side. He has an older sister. At age 16, he took a business class at Kellogg Community College on weekends. By his senior year at Lakeview High School, Snyder had completed 23 college courses.
In November 1975, Snyder visited the University of Michigan's admissions office and spoke with the admissions director, who advised him to attend the University of Michigan and design his own academic path. Snyder earned a Bachelor of General Studies in 1977, a Master of Business Administration in 1979, and a Juris Doctor in 1982, all from the University of Michigan. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Snyder lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife, Sue, and their three children. He also has a vacation home near Gun Lake. The couple married in 1987 at Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan. Snyder is a practicing Presbyterian.
Business career
Snyder worked at Coopers & Lybrand from 1982 to 1991, starting in the tax department at the Detroit office. In 1988, he became a partner. The next year, he was named partner-in-charge of the mergers and acquisitions practice in the Chicago office. From 1982 to 1984, he worked as an adjunct assistant professor of accounting at the University of Michigan.
In 1991, Snyder joined Gateway, a computer company based in Irvine, California, as executive vice president. He served as president and chief operating officer from 1996 to 1997. He remained on the board of directors until 2007. From 2005 to 2007, he was chairman of the board. In 2006, he acted as interim chief executive officer while the company searched for a permanent leader. His time on the Gateway board lasted from 1991 to 2007, ending when Gateway was sold to Acer Inc. Snyder said he did not support outsourcing during his time on the board and worked to bring jobs to America as Gateway’s interim CEO.
In 1997, Snyder returned to Ann Arbor to start Avalon Investments Inc., a venture capital company with a $100 million fund, along with Ted Waitt, who co-founded Gateway. He led Avalon as president and chief executive officer from 1997 to 2000. In 2000, he co-founded Ardesta LLC, an investment firm, with three others. Ardesta invested in 20 start-up companies through 2011, and Snyder served as chairman and chief executive officer.
In 1998, Snyder helped start HealthMedia Incorporated (HMI), a company that created digital health coaching tools using personalized questionnaires to develop health plans. The University of Michigan gave HMI exclusive rights to research on health-related computer messaging. Despite these advantages, HMI struggled financially. In 2001, Snyder replaced the original CEO and used his own money to save the company from bankruptcy. After receiving more funding from venture capitalists, HMI was sold in 2008 for $200 million to Johnson & Johnson. The sale included personal health data from millions of users, which influenced the price. At the time, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman was on Johnson & Johnson’s board. In 2010, when running for Michigan governor, Snyder said HMI was a major success for the state. After he became governor, Johnson & Johnson merged HMI into a subsidiary and stopped operating it in Michigan.
In July 2022, Snyder co-founded SensCy with David Behen, a former Michigan CIO; Bhushan Kulkarni, an Ann Arbor entrepreneur; and Dave Kelly, who led cyber command for the Michigan State Police. SensCy is a cybersecurity company that helps small and medium-sized businesses improve their cyberhealth. Snyder’s firm created the SensCy Score, a number that shows how strong a company’s cybersecurity is. The company is based in Ann Arbor.
Snyder currently serves on the boards of the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (a National Historic Landmark), the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and several University of Michigan-related boards. He was first chair of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in 1999 under Republican governor John Engler and also led Ann Arbor SPARK.
Gubernatorial elections
In 2010, Rick Snyder ran against Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, state Senator Tom George, U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra, and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox for the Republican nomination for governor. Bill Ford Jr., head of Ford Motor Company, supported Snyder for the Republican nomination. Snyder campaigned as "pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-family," focusing on economic issues. His campaign highlighted his experience growing businesses and creating jobs in the private sector, stating his opponents were mostly career politicians. Snyder supports exceptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life (he signed a law banning partial birth abortion in October 2011). He opposes federal funding for abortions, allows embryonic stem cell research, and does not support same-sex marriage but allows civil unions.
In August 2010, Snyder won the Republican primary with 36% of the vote. In November, he faced Democratic nominee Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing, and three minor party candidates. By October 2010, Snyder’s campaign had raised over $11.6 million, more than his opponent. Snyder shared his tax returns for 2007 and 2008. He won the general election with 58% of the vote. After Snyder’s election in 2010, Republicans gained a majority in the Michigan House and strengthened their majority in the Michigan Senate. Snyder became the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) elected governor of Michigan and the only CPA serving as a U.S. governor at that time.
In January 2014, Snyder began his campaign for a second term as governor. He had no Republican primary opponents and faced Democratic former U.S. Representative Mark Schauer in the general election. Snyder had low approval ratings, making his re-election bid challenging. Schauer struggled with low name recognition. In November 2014, Snyder won with about 51% of the vote, defeating Schauer and securing a second term.
Governor of Michigan
Governor Snyder's first executive order as governor was to separate the Department of Natural Resources and Environment into two departments, as they had been before: the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality. On January 7, 2011, Snyder announced the appointment of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura D. Corrigan to lead the Department of Human Services and named Michigan Appeals Court Judge Brian K. Zahra to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Snyder gave his first State of the State address on January 19, 2011, the earliest such address in Michigan since Governor John Engler's speech on January 17, 1996. In the address, he publicly supported the Detroit River International Crossing, a move that received approval from Republicans. Snyder also appointed Andy Dillon, a pro-life Democrat and former Speaker of the House, to serve as state treasurer.
Snyder presented his first budget to the legislature on February 17, 2011. He called it a plan for "Michigan's reinvention" and claimed it would end the state's budget deficits. He described the budget as requiring "shared sacrifice" but also stated it would create jobs and encourage economic growth. The $46 billion budget reduced spending by $1.8 billion, eliminated tax exemptions for pensions, and replaced the state's complex business tax with a lower flat tax on the profits of C corporations. This change led State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer to criticize the budget, saying it placed the burden on children, working families, and seniors rather than ensuring shared responsibility. Snyder supported the government-backed rescue of the American auto industry, a position shared by 56% of Americans and 63% of Michiganders in a 2012 Pew Research Center poll.
On March 16, 2011, Snyder signed a controversial law that gave emergency managers in local communities more power to handle financial issues. The law was repealed by voters in November 2012, but Snyder signed a revised version back into law in December 2012. On December 22, 2011, Snyder signed The Public Employee Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act, which prevented same-sex domestic partners of public employees from receiving health benefits. In January 2012, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the law, claiming it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional in June 2013.
Snyder also participated in trade missions to Europe and Asia to promote Michigan businesses like Chrysler. In June 2012, he signed the fiscal year 2012 budget, the earliest completed in three decades. He worked with lawmakers to support a U.S. Congress measure to collect sales taxes on online purchases. As governor, Snyder replaced the state's complex business tax with a flat tax and passed a law that eliminated pension tax exemptions. For years, he said anti-union laws were not on his agenda, but on December 6, 2012, during a legislative session, he announced fast-track right-to-work legislation. The law passed without committee votes or public hearings and included a $1 million funding provision that made it ineligible for repeal via referendum. President Barack Obama criticized the law during a visit to a Detroit factory, calling it a policy that allows workers to earn "less money." The law, which prevents unions from requiring membership as a condition of employment, made Michigan the 24th right-to-work state in the U.S.
A March 2012 poll showed Snyder's approval rating reached 50% among likely voters, matching President Obama's rating. He was briefly considered as a potential Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012 and was also mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016. In December 2012, Snyder signed a law requiring facilities performing at least 120 abortions annually to obtain licenses as freestanding surgical centers. Planned Parenthood opposed the law, arguing it increased costs. In January 2013, Snyder visited Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he praised the country's innovation and entrepreneurship.
In March 2013, Snyder declared a financial emergency in Detroit and appointed Kevyn Orr as emergency manager. Under his leadership, over half of Michigan's Black population lived in cities where local government was managed by appointed officials rather than elected ones. On December 27, 2013, Snyder signed a law that canceled a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act allowing indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial. In January 2014, he announced a plan to offer visas to 50,000 immigrant workers with advanced degrees to boost the Detroit economy. In June 2014, Snyder created a 15-member commission to improve public defense for low-income individuals in the criminal justice system.
On September 10, 2014, Detroit reached a deal with Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties to create a regional water and sewer authority, a step toward resolving the city's $18 billion debt and exiting bankruptcy. On December 18, 2014, Snyder issued an executive order to establish the Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development.
Subsequent career
Before leaving his position as governor, Snyder created a new company named RPAction LLC, which is based in Ann Arbor and employs former members of his administration. On June 29, 2019, Snyder agreed to a future role at Harvard University where he would share his knowledge about state and local government. On July 3, he announced through a social media post that he was declining the opportunity. He wrote, "It would have been exciting to share my experiences, both positive and negative; our current political environment and its lack of civility makes this too disruptive. I wish them the best." During the 2020 United States presidential election, Snyder supported Democrat Joe Biden. He stated that President Trump lacks a moral compass and ignores the truth. He also claimed that the president does not fully understand policy areas such as public health, the economy, and foreign relations, and does not seem interested in learning about them.