Rick Snyder, American politician and businessman, 48th Governor of Michigan
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American politician, business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, and accountant who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.From 2005 to 2007, Snyder served as the chairman of the board of Gateway, Inc. Prior to his election as governor, he co-founded Ardesta, LLC, a venture capital firm and HealthMedia, Inc., a digital health coaching company, both based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.Snyder was considered a possible Republican Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2012, although ultimately Paul Ryan was selected. On February 3, 2014, Snyder announced his candidacy for re-election as Governor of Michigan in 2014. He was elected to a second term in the November 2014 vote, defeating his major challenger, Democrat Mark Schauer. Snyder was term-limited and could not seek re-election in 2018. He was succeeded on New Year's Day of 2019 by Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.
He gained national attention during the Flint water crisis, in which he was accused of mishandling the situation that exposed 6,000 to 12,000 Flint children to lead. A report by the University of Michigan School of Public Health concluded Snyder "bears significant legal responsibility" for the Flint water crisis. On April 16, 2020, an article was published in Vice giving details of evidence of corruption, and a cover-up by Snyder, including details of how he was warned repeatedly about the dangerous effects of the decisions he had made about the water supply to the city of Flint. In January 2021, Snyder was among those charged for his role in the crisis.
At the ongoing trial, Snyder pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges.