Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder shakes hands with his new running mate, Brian Calley, at the start of a town hall meeting on Thursday.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

One day after announcing Brian Calley as his choice for lieutenant governor, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder introduced his new running mate at a town hall meeting at Washtenaw Community College on Thursday.

Snyder, an Ann Arbor venture capitalist, called the two-term state representative from Portland a great addition to his campaign to reinvent Michigan. He characterized Calley, 33, as a hard-working lawmaker and a family man with proven integrity.

State Rep. Brian Calley, Rick Snyder's choice for lieutenant governor, appeared with the Republican gubernatorial candidate at a town hall meeting Thursday at Washtenaw Community College.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"He was a community banker, so he knows what it takes to work with small businesses and to create jobs and to make things happen at the Main Street level," Snyder told the crowd of less than 100 people.

"And then he's been a successful legislator," Snyder added. "He's had two terms in the House and he's recognized as somebody who can work across the aisle and get the support of both parties to come together and show real results."

Calley, making his first public appearance in Washtenaw County, made light of the fact that his running mate is from a rival university. Calley graduated from Michigan State University in 1998 with a degree in business administration.

"The world must be upside down or on its head here, because we've got a Sparty here next to a Wolverine," Calley joked.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce went on record supporting Snyder's choice of running mate on Thursday, saying Calley has a proven record of being "pro-jobs, pro-taxpayer and pro-business." 

But a group called Progress Michigan described Calley as "someone who consistently votes against workers, consumers, women and political reforms."

Progress Michigan cited Calley's record of refusing to support unemployment benefits extensions, provide job training for the unemployed, opposing abortion exceptions, opposing expansion of hate crime protections and refusing to support campaign reforms that would rein in the influence of corporations and special interests.

Snyder defended Calley on Thursday — even responding to feedback that Calley, at age 33, might be a little young to be Michigan's lieutenant governor.

"That's the kind of attitude we need for the future, though," Snyder said. "We need to include our up-and-coming generations in our leadership to build for the long-term. And it's interesting, I look back when I was 33, I was actually helping build a Fortune 500 company, so it's amazing what young people can do with the right motivation."

A new poll released Thursday by EPIC/MRA shows Snyder with a 22-point lead over Democrat Virg Bernero in the race for governor, with overwhelming support from independent voters. Snyder leads Bernero 51 percent to 29 percent, the poll shows.

Independent voters favored Snyder 50 percent to 15 percent, with 35 percent undecided. The poll shows Snyder even has a slim lead among Bernero’s most natural constituency — union members and their families.

Snyder, who is proposing to redevelop the state with a "smaller, faster, better, cheaper government," took a couple of jabs at Bernero during Thursday's event.

"If you like how our government works, if you like how our political system works, the other candidate is a self-announced career politician — you should go vote for him," he said. "That's the world he knows, lives in, and loves."

Snyder criticized his opponent, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, by calling him a "career politician" on Thursday.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Much of Snyder's message was an almost-verbatim repeat from past town hall appearances. He talked about doing away with the Michigan Business Tax, and the need to retain young people. He also continued to portray himself as a real-world job creator and talked about his time as president of Gateway Computers.

"I helped run the computer company from '91 to '97," he said. "We grew from 700-some people to over 10,000 people in six years. And why did we grow? We grew because of outstanding customer service and because we sold innovative products at great value for money. Those concepts I've talked about, I know they work. We need to take those concepts from the private sector and apply them to the public sector."

Calley and Snyder both called the state's government "broken" and said the problems in Lansing require real-world solutions. Calley specifically shared a vision of Republicans and Democrats working together to solve the state's problems in the future, reaching compromises and respecting each other's different views.

"Michigan has lacked leadership for quite some time, and we see it in the broken culture in Lansing, the issues and the problems that we face there," Calley said. "And so much of it is because we're always looking in that rearview mirror. I love the past of Michigan, and I want us to celebrate that, but those fights of yesterday — this east side versus west side, Republicans versus Democrats, the idea of rural versus urban, and on and on — none of those fights solve any problems at all."

Snyder reiterated that he has pledged to not take any special interest money during his campaign, so he doesn't bring any "baggage" to the governor's office.

In response to an audience member question, Snyder affirmed his support for embryonic stem cell research, a stance that doesn't sit well with some conservatives and others who are pro-life. Snyder also shunned the state's film credit program.

"It's good to encourage arts and culture, but when you give someone 42 cents on the dollar of their expenses, it's economically inefficient compared to how you could otherwise use those dollars in a much more efficient way by having a lower tax rate," he said.

Several notable Republicans were on hand for the event, including Ann Arbor-area cardiologist Rob Steele, who is running against Congressman John Dingell in November, and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser.

Washtenaw County Commissioner Mark Ouimet, who is running as a Republican in the 52nd District state House race, gave the opening remarks. Ouimet has worked with Snyder on Ann Arbor SPARK's executive committee.

"I think we've had eight years of happy talk and cheerleading, and it's gotten us nowhere," Ouimet said of Michigan's current leadership. "We have one chance in this state to get it right, and Rick Snyder is that man who can make it right for all of us."

Calley told the crowd on Thursday that he's no stranger to Ann Arbor. He said he has spent a lot of time here this year because his young daughter had heart surgery at U-M Hospital, "so there's a warm spot in my heart for your city."

Calley said Michigan faces tough times ahead, and it's a good thing voters have the option of electing "one tough nerd" in November.

"It is an honor to be part of the team, to be here in Michigan, at this time in our history and all the excitement that can come along if we start looking in front of us and think about the potential that Michigan has," he said. "The past was great — it sure was — and the future can be even greater with Rick Snyder as our next governor."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.